SSPS - A German version of the questionnaire to assess the cognitive components of fear of public speaking

Background: Fear of public speaking is an important aspect of social anxiety disorder. We introduce the German version of the "Self Statements During Public Speaking Scale" (SSPS), a 10-item questionnaire that assesses positive and negative self-statements in public speaking situations. Objective: The factor structure, reliability, and validity of the German translation of the questionnaire were assessed. Method: 385 German students as well as a small sample of social phobic and panic patients completed the SSPS and a number of additional scales assessing psychopathology. The factor structure was analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis. Results: The factor structure of the original scale was replicated with only few modifications. Internal consistency was satisfactory to good in the student sample. The SSPS subscales were substantially correlated with self-reported fear of public speaking. Conclusions: The SSPS is a short, reliable questionnaire in German that assesses the cognitive aspects of public speaking anxiety.