Psychometric properties of the Persian version of Social Avoidance and Distress scale (SADS)

The aim of this study was to investigate the validity, reliability and factor structure of Persian version of social avoidance and distress scale (SADS). For this purpose, 276 students (141 males and 135 females) were selected by convenience sampling. Following by translation and back-translation of SADS, this scale was used along with Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) and the Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSSI) to check the convergent and the divergent validities, respectively. Data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient. The factor analysis showed one factor. The reliability was calculated 0.83 using test-retest method, and the internal consistency was obtained equal to 0.83 using Kuder-Richardson approach. Furthermore, the correlations with SPIN and BSSI were measured 0.62 and 0.21, respectively. So, the reliability and validity of the Persian version of SADS among Iranian university students are acceptable.