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Fear Questionnaire
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About Fear Questionnaire
Scale Name
Fear Questionnaire
Author Details
Isaac Marks
Translation Availability
Not Sure
Background/Description
The Fear Questionnaire (FQ) is a self-report questionnaire that assesses the severity of three types of phobias: agoraphobia, social phobia, and blood/injury phobia. It was developed by Isaac Marks in 1979 and has since become one of the most widely used instruments for assessing phobias in both clinical and research settings.
Fear is a normal and adaptive emotion that helps us to avoid danger. However, when fear is excessive or persistent and interferes with our daily lives, it can become a phobia. Phobias are anxiety disorders characterized by an intense and irrational fear of a specific object or situation.
The FQ was developed to provide a brief and easy-to-administer measure of phobic fear. It is based on the cognitive-behavioral theory of phobias, which posits that phobias are learned through classical conditioning. Classical conditioning is a type of learning in which a neutral stimulus (e.g., a spider) becomes paired with an aversive stimulus (e.g., a bite) and eventually comes to elicit a fear response.
The FQ consists of 15 items, each of which describes a situation that is commonly feared by people with phobias. For example, some items assess the fear of being in crowded places (agoraphobia), the fear of social situations (social phobia), and the fear of blood or injections (blood/injury phobia).
Participants are asked to rate their fear of each situation on a 5-point Likert scale, with 1 indicating “No fear” and 5 indicating “Extreme fear.” The total score is calculated by summing the scores for all 15 items. Higher scores indicate a greater degree of phobic fear.
Administration, Scoring and Interpretation
- Provide the participant with the FQ and a pen or pencil. Explain to the participant that the FQ is a self-report questionnaire that assesses the severity of phobias.
- Ask the participant to read the instructions at the top of the FQ carefully. The instructions explain that the participant should rate their fear of each situation on a 5-point Likert scale, with 1 indicating “No fear” and 5 indicating “Extreme fear.”
- Allow the participant to complete the FQ at their own pace. Do not offer any assistance or clarification.
- Once the participant has completed the FQ, collect it from them. Thank them for their participation.
Reliability and Validity
The Fear Questionnaire (FQ) is a reliable and valid measure of phobias. It has been shown to have high internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity.
Internal consistency is a measure of how well the items on a questionnaire are correlated with each other. A high internal consistency coefficient indicates that the items are measuring the same underlying construct. The FQ has been shown to have high internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients typically ranging from 0.80 to 0.90.
Test-retest reliability is a measure of how consistent a questionnaire is over time. It is assessed by administering the questionnaire to the same group of people twice and comparing the scores. The FQ has been shown to have high test-retest reliability, with Pearson correlation coefficients typically ranging from 0.70 to 0.90.
Convergent validity is a measure of how well a questionnaire correlates with other measures of the same construct. For example, the FQ is expected to correlate with other measures of phobias, such as the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Phobia Scale. The FQ has been shown to have high convergent validity, with correlation coefficients typically ranging from 0.50 to 0.70.
Discriminant validity is a measure of how well a questionnaire distinguishes between different constructs. For example, the FQ is expected to correlate more highly with other measures of phobias than with measures of other anxiety disorders, such as generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder. The FQ has been shown to have high discriminant validity, with correlation coefficients between the FQ and other anxiety disorders typically ranging from 0.20 to 0.40.
Available Versions
24-Items
Reference
Marks, IM, Mathews: Brief standard self-rating for phobic patients. Behavior Research
and Therapy 17:263-167, 1979
Important Link
Scale File:
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the Fear Questionnaire?
A: The Fear Questionnaire (FQ) is a self-report questionnaire that assesses the severity of three types of phobias: agoraphobia, social phobia, and blood/injury phobia.
Q: Who developed the Fear Questionnaire?
A: The Fear Questionnaire was developed by Isaac Marks in 1979.
Q: What does the Fear Questionnaire measure?
A: The Fear Questionnaire measures the intensity and irrationality of fear of specific objects or situations.
Q: How is the Fear Questionnaire administered?
A: The Fear Questionnaire is a self-report questionnaire, meaning that the participant completes it on their own. The participant is asked to rate their fear of each situation on a 5-point Likert scale, with 1 indicating “No fear” and 5 indicating “Extreme fear.”
Q: How is the Fear Questionnaire scored?
A: The Fear Questionnaire is scored by summing the scores for all 15 items. Higher scores indicate a greater degree of phobic fear.
Q: What are the cut-off scores for the Fear Questionnaire?
A: There are no official cut-off scores for the Fear Questionnaire. However, a score of 30 or higher is generally considered to indicate clinically significant phobic fear.
Q: What are the uses of the Fear Questionnaire?
A: The Fear Questionnaire can be used for a variety of purposes, including:
- Screening for phobias
- Assessing the severity of phobias
- Evaluating the effectiveness of treatments for phobias
Q: Is the Fear Questionnaire reliable and valid?
A: Yes, the Fear Questionnaire is a reliable and valid measure of phobias. It has been shown to have high internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity.
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