The social phobia and anxiety inventory: problem of underlying medical conditions.

The study investigated the possibility of score inflation in the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory due to underlying medical conditions in respondents. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders provides an exclusionary rule disallowing a diagnosis of social phobia when the fear is based on the presence of a medical condition. A computer-administered procedure, designed to simulate visually this paper-and-pencil inventory was created and compared to the original in a pilot study with r of .94 between the two procedures. Analysis indicates such medically based responding is common among college men and women (N= 127, M age = 19.0). Specifically, 50% of respondents reported 0 or 1 medical condition(s), while those in the fourth quartile averaged 43 medical bases for their responses. The most frequent self-reports of medical conditions were stuttering (2.8%), acne (2.4%), dry mouth (2.1%), obesity (.9%), and scars (.9%). Several possible solutions were discussed in view of the overall conclusion of a substantive basis for medical responding on this inventory.