Construction and psychometric characteristics of two self-report questionnaires for the assessment of fear of flying.

Abstract

This article presents the development of and data on the dimensional structure, reliability, and validity of 2 new inventories for assessing different aspects of fear of flying: the Flight Anxiety Situations questionnaire (FAS), which assesses anxiety related to flying experienced in different situations, and the Flight Anxiety Modality questionnaire (FAM), which measures symptom modalities in which anxiety in flight situations is expressed. Two initial questionnaires were constructed from multiple sources. Factor analytic studies were conducted to assess their internal structure, and the final versions were examined in a sample of 746 patients who experienced fear of flying. A principal-components analysis investigated the optimal dimensional structure in 2 randomly created subsamples. A 3-factor solution for the FAS and a 2-factor solution for the FAM were revealed. The internal consistency and test-retest reliability were good to excellent. Moderately strong correlations between the subscales suggest sufficient factorial specificity and convergent validity. The subscales were sensitive to change.

Internal sensations as a source of fear: exploring a link between hypoxia and flight phobia

“…The FAM consists of two subscales: the Somatic Modality Scale, which assesses the physical symptoms during a flight, and the Cognitive Modality Scale, relating to the presence of distressing cognitions during a flight. The FAM has been shown to be a reliable and stable measure of these two modalities of fear of flying with Cronbach's α above .89 and test-retest correlations above .79 (Van Gerwen, et al, 1999). For the operationalisation of somatic sensations we used the Somatic Modality Scale, since we were interested in the bodily sensations experienced during a flight.…”

“…And last, the Generalized Flight Anxiety Scale which contains 7 items that refer to the anxiety when confronted with stimuli associated with flying and airplanes in general, regardless of personal involvement in a flight situation. The FAS has been shown to be a reliable and stable measure of fear of flying with Cronbach's α above .88 and test-retest correlations above .90 (Van Gerwen, et al, 1999). To operationalize the anxiety experienced during the flight we used a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of 10 cm on which participants were asked to indicate their current level of anxiety or fear.…”

“…The Flight Anxiety Modality Questionnaire (FAM) (Van Gerwen, et al, 1999) is an 18-item self report questionnaire, designed to measure the specific modality of anxiety symptoms in flight situations. Each item is rated on a five-point Likert type scale, ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (very intensely).…”

Development and evaluation of the Air Travel Stress Scale.

“…Fear of flying was assessed by the 18-item (current ␣ ϭ .95; M ϭ 0.95, SD ϭ 0.80) Flight Anxiety Modality Scale (Van Gerwen et al, 1999), on which symptoms of anxiety or anticipated anxiety in flight situations are rated on a scale from 0 (no reaction) to 4 (very intense reaction), with higher scores reflecting more anxiety.…”

“…Whereas there are measures of how stress is experienced in general (e.g., Sarason, Johnson, & Siegel, 1978) and in driving a car (e.g., Deffenbacher, Oetting, & Lynch, 1994) as well as measures of the related problem of flying phobia (e.g., Van Gerwen, Spinhoven, Van Dyck, & Diekstra, 1999), there are no known measures of air travel stress. This article describes the development and evaluation of a measure of air travel stress, the Air Travel Stress Scale (ATSS).…”