Asians consistently report higher social anxiety symptoms but have lower prevalence rates, compared to Westerners. As cultural differences and measurement issues could both be potential sources for the discrepancy, it is important to examine whether score differences between cultural groups are due to measurement issues or genuine underlying differences in social anxiety. This study used 402 participants to examine the construct of social anxiety and measurement invariance of six social anxiety scales using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Results supported scalar invariance of a three-factor bifactor model (comprised of Fear/Avoidance of Social Interaction, Fear of Negative Evaluation, and Taijin Kyofusho/fear of interpersonal relationships). Furthermore, multivariate analysis of covariance and moderation analysis revealed Asian Americans endorsed higher Fear/Avoidance of Social Interaction symptoms, but do not differ in Taijin Kyofusho and Fear of Negative Evaluation symptoms, compared to European Americans. This study showed when measurement bias is minimized, Asians still endorse higher symptoms of Fear/Avoidance of Social Interactions. Moreover, Taijin Kyofusho appears to be an aspect of social anxiety identified in more than one cultural group rather than a culture-related specific syndrome. Thus, it is important for clinicians and researchers to consider Taijin Kyofusho in the evaluation of social anxiety. / School Psychology
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TEMPLE/oai:scholarshare.temple.edu:20.500.12613/334 |
| Date | January 2020 |
| Creators | Ruan, Linda, 0000-0003-4884-7676 |
| Contributors | Pendergast, Laura L., Fiorello, Catherine A., Schneider, Joel W., DuCette, Joseph P., Hindman, Annemarie H. |
| Publisher | Temple University. Libraries |
| Source Sets | Temple University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 108 pages |
| Rights | IN COPYRIGHT- This Rights Statement can be used for an Item that is in copyright. Using this statement implies that the organization making this Item available has determined that the Item is in copyright and either is the rights-holder, has obtained permission from the rights-holder(s) to make their Work(s) available, or makes the Item available under an exception or limitation to copyright (including Fair Use) that entitles it to make the Item available., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
| Relation | http://dx.doi.org/10.34944/dspace/318, Theses and Dissertations |
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