Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the fear of negative evaluation scale-brief (BFNE) and the BFNE-straightforward for middle school students.

Jia Wei,Song Xue,Jinfu Zhang,Yadan Li,Chunyu Zhang,Valsamma Eapen

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0115948

Jia Wei, Song Xue + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0115948

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Journal: PloS one	Publication Date: Mar 23, 2015
Citations: 18	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Southwest University

Abstract

BackgroundThe 12-item brief version of the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNE) is one of the most widely used instruments to assess fear of negative evaluation. Recent evidence strongly supports the version composed of 8 straightforward items (BFNE-S), which possessesstronger psychometric properties. The purpose of the current study is to examine the psychometric prop-erties of the Chinese versions of the BFNE and BFNE-S for middle school students.MethodologyA total of 1009 middle school students were recruited in this study. The BFNE, the BFNE-S, the Friedman-Bendas Text Anxiety Scale (FBTAS), and the Social Anxiety Scale (SAS) were administered to 497 participants, and 52 participants were re-tested after four weeks. The BFNE, the BFNE-S, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR) wereadministered to 492 participants. The BFNE and BFNE-S significantly cor-related with all the scales, supporting their convergent, divergent and concurrent validity.Principal FindingsThe Cronbach's alpha of the BFNE (BFNE-S) was 0.864 (0.867) with 497 par-ticipants and 0.886 (0.844) with 492 participants, and the test-retest reliability coefficient was 0.791 (0.855) (ICC). Although the EFA identified a two-factor solution in which the 8 straightfor-ward items loaded on one factor and the 4 reversed items loaded on the other, the CFA, using a random intercept model to control the wording effect, supported a unidimensional factor struc-ture of the BFNE. Both EFA and CFA supported the unidimensional assumption of the BFNE-S. The correlations of the BFNE and BFNE-S were 0.929 and 0.952 in two samples.ConclusionsThe Chinese versions of the BFNE and BFNE-S demonstrate adequate psychometric properties for assessing fear of negative evaluation. The results support their use among the Chinese middle school students. Considering its greater parsimony and excellent reliability and validity, the BFNE-S is a better tool.

Highlights

Fear of negative evaluation was originally defined by Waston and Friend as “apprehension about other’s evaluations, distress over their negative evaluations, avoidance of evaluative situations, and the expectation that others would evaluate oneself negatively” [1]
The purpose of the current study is to examine the psychometric prop-erties of the Chinese versions of the brief version of the FNE (BFNE) and BFNE-S for middle school students
The Chinese versions of the BFNE and BFNE-S demonstrate adequate psychometric properties for assessing fear of negative evaluation. The results support their use among the Chinese middle school students

Summary

Introduction

Fear of negative evaluation was originally defined by Waston and Friend as “apprehension about other’s evaluations, distress over their negative evaluations, avoidance of evaluative situations, and the expectation that others would evaluate oneself negatively” [1]. This construct has been thought to be central to social anxiety disorder (SAD) [2]. The fear of negative evaluation has been found to be significantly associated with measures of anxiety and distress among individuals with SAD [4]. The purpose of the current study is to examine the psychometric prop-erties of the Chinese versions of the BFNE and BFNE-S for middle school students

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