Abstract

Numerous scales have been developed and used for measuring social interaction anxiety among students and educational professionals. Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) is one such important measure that has been widely used around the world. However, little is known about its testing in Pakistani context. The present study examined the psychometric features and theoretical structure of the SIAS in Pakistani higher education context. Data were collected from 291 students from three public sector universities of Khyber Pakhtunkwa. The validation was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was performed to identify the factor structure and the underlying dimensions in the scale. Based on the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) a four factor model emerged consisting of 20 items. In the second phase, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed to evaluate the four-factor hypothetical model based on Structural Equation Modeling. The results showed that SIAS is a valid and reliablescale. The findings of the present study supported the multidimensionality of the scale. The model indicated an excellent model fit for the 20 items scale that can be used for measuring social interaction anxiety among students in higher education. The limitations of the study along with conclusion and recommendations are provided for future research.

Key words: social interaction anxiety scale, Pakistani context, higher education