Utility of the PANAS-X in Predicting Social Phobia in African American Females

Abstract

Burgeoning literature in the field of social anxiety suggests that social phobia may diverge from the other anxiety disorders in terms of the association it shares with low positive affect. Research examining positive affect and social anxiety has contributed to the understanding of social phobia in non-Hispanic White populations, but the cross-cultural generalization of anxiety in African Americans remains unknown. The current study used receiver operating characteristic analysis to estimate the extent to which scores on the Positive and Negative Affect Scales of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule–Expanded form (PANAS-X) predicted anxiety disorder diagnoses in a sample of 91 community-dwelling African American females. Subsequent receiver operating characteristic analyses were conducted to evaluate the utility of the Positive and Negative Affect Scales of the PANAS-X in predicting social phobia specifically. Results suggest that the PANAS-X is a clinically useful measure for predicting anxiety disorder diagnosis and, more specifically, social phobia in African American females. Additionally, optimal cutoff scores were identified, underscoring the potential use of the PANAS-X as a screening device for anxiety in African American females.