The German Version of the Gaze Anxiety Rating Scale (GARS): Reliability and Validity.
<h4>Objective</h4>Fear of eye gaze and avoidance of eye contact are core features of social anxiety disorders (SAD). To measure self-reported fear and avoidance of eye gaze, the Gaze Anxiety Rating Scale (GARS) has been developed and validated in recent years in its English version. The...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2016-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0150807&type=printable |
| _version_ | 1826584069577637888 |
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| author | Gregor Domes Lisa Marx Ines Spenthof Markus Heinrichs |
| author_facet | Gregor Domes Lisa Marx Ines Spenthof Markus Heinrichs |
| author_sort | Gregor Domes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <h4>Objective</h4>Fear of eye gaze and avoidance of eye contact are core features of social anxiety disorders (SAD). To measure self-reported fear and avoidance of eye gaze, the Gaze Anxiety Rating Scale (GARS) has been developed and validated in recent years in its English version. The main objectives of the present study were to psychometrically evaluate the German translation of the GARS concerning its reliability, factorial structure, and validity.<h4>Methods</h4>Three samples of participants were enrolled in the study. (1) A non-patient sample (n = 353) completed the GARS and a set of trait questionnaires to assess internal consistency, test-retest reliability, factorial structure, and concurrent and divergent validity. (2) A sample of patients with SAD (n = 33) was compared to a healthy control group (n = 30) regarding their scores on the GARS and the trait measures.<h4>Results</h4>The German GARS fear and avoidance scales exhibited excellent internal consistency and high stability over 2 and 4 months, as did the original version. The English version's factorial structure was replicated, yielding two categories of situations: (1) everyday situations and (2) situations involving high evaluative threat. GARS fear and avoidance displayed convergent validity with trait measures of social anxiety and were markedly higher in patients with GSAD than in healthy controls. Fear and avoidance of eye contact in situations involving high levels of evaluative threat related more closely to social anxiety than to gaze anxiety in everyday situations.<h4>Conclusions</h4>The German version of the GARS has demonstrated reliability and validity similar to the original version, and is thus well suited to capture fear and avoidance of eye contact in different social situations as a valid self-report measure of social anxiety and related disorders in the social domain for use in both clinical practice and research. |
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| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-03-14T15:31:53Z |
| publishDate | 2016-01-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-eb1ce5556e3f4536adb9fedccfec64d42025-02-25T05:35:37ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032016-01-01113e015080710.1371/journal.pone.0150807The German Version of the Gaze Anxiety Rating Scale (GARS): Reliability and Validity.Gregor DomesLisa MarxInes SpenthofMarkus Heinrichs<h4>Objective</h4>Fear of eye gaze and avoidance of eye contact are core features of social anxiety disorders (SAD). To measure self-reported fear and avoidance of eye gaze, the Gaze Anxiety Rating Scale (GARS) has been developed and validated in recent years in its English version. The main objectives of the present study were to psychometrically evaluate the German translation of the GARS concerning its reliability, factorial structure, and validity.<h4>Methods</h4>Three samples of participants were enrolled in the study. (1) A non-patient sample (n = 353) completed the GARS and a set of trait questionnaires to assess internal consistency, test-retest reliability, factorial structure, and concurrent and divergent validity. (2) A sample of patients with SAD (n = 33) was compared to a healthy control group (n = 30) regarding their scores on the GARS and the trait measures.<h4>Results</h4>The German GARS fear and avoidance scales exhibited excellent internal consistency and high stability over 2 and 4 months, as did the original version. The English version's factorial structure was replicated, yielding two categories of situations: (1) everyday situations and (2) situations involving high evaluative threat. GARS fear and avoidance displayed convergent validity with trait measures of social anxiety and were markedly higher in patients with GSAD than in healthy controls. Fear and avoidance of eye contact in situations involving high levels of evaluative threat related more closely to social anxiety than to gaze anxiety in everyday situations.<h4>Conclusions</h4>The German version of the GARS has demonstrated reliability and validity similar to the original version, and is thus well suited to capture fear and avoidance of eye contact in different social situations as a valid self-report measure of social anxiety and related disorders in the social domain for use in both clinical practice and research.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0150807&type=printable |
| spellingShingle | Gregor Domes Lisa Marx Ines Spenthof Markus Heinrichs The German Version of the Gaze Anxiety Rating Scale (GARS): Reliability and Validity. PLoS ONE |
| title | The German Version of the Gaze Anxiety Rating Scale (GARS): Reliability and Validity. |
| title_full | The German Version of the Gaze Anxiety Rating Scale (GARS): Reliability and Validity. |
| title_fullStr | The German Version of the Gaze Anxiety Rating Scale (GARS): Reliability and Validity. |
| title_full_unstemmed | The German Version of the Gaze Anxiety Rating Scale (GARS): Reliability and Validity. |
| title_short | The German Version of the Gaze Anxiety Rating Scale (GARS): Reliability and Validity. |
| title_sort | german version of the gaze anxiety rating scale gars reliability and validity |
| url | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0150807&type=printable |
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