The Alena Social Anxiety Scale (ASAS): A novel mechanistic assessment tool


📝 Proprietary assessment tool

This white paper describes the development of the ASAS, a novel self-assessment tool for measuring the mechanisms that drive social anxiety symptoms.

Key findings

4

mechanisms measured that drive social anxiety
symptoms

Valid

strong correlation (r = 0.765)
with the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN)

Reliable

very strong test-retest reliability (r = 0.845) at a
1-week interval

Consistent

very strong internal consistency
(Cronbach’s α = 0.847)

Aim

At Alena, we recognise that while social anxiety may manifest similarly among individuals, the underlying causes vary significantly. Traditional methods have predominantly focused on gauging the severity of symptoms, but we believe that a more nuanced approach is needed. To address this, we have developed the Alena Social Anxiety Scale (ASAS), an innovative 16-item self-report questionnaire designed to delve into the core mechanisms of social anxiety.

Methods

Development of the ASAS was conducted in three sequential phases:

  1. Initialisation phase: Generating and testing a large pool items designed to validly tap into the underlying constructs of social anxiety.

  2. Refinement phase: Narrowing down to the most informative items that address each key underlying construct.

  3. Finalisation phase: A final narrowing down and assessment of test-retest reliability across one week.

In each phase, we recruited 100 participants balanced for gender aged over 18 years old living the United Kingdom. Participants completed the version of the ASAS being evaluated in that phase, and also completed the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN), a validated tool for measuring the severity of social anxiety symptoms. 

Results

The reliability and validity of the ASAS are robust, as evidenced by its strong correlation with the gold-standard Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) measure of social anxiety symptom severity (r = 0.765). Additionally, the internal consistency of the ASAS is high (α = 0.883), and it demonstrates high test-retest reliability over a one-week period (r = 0.845). These metrics affirm the ASAS is a valid and reliable measure of social anxiety symptoms. We look forward to a future where the ASAS can be used as a tool that transcends traditional symptom-focused assessments by dissecting and targeting specific mechanisms, offering a more detailed and dynamic view of therapy progress.