• MeSH
• biologická evoluce MeSH
• fobie * etiologie   patofyziologie   MeSH
• hadi * MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mozek fyziologie   MeSH
• percepce fyziologie   MeSH
• pozornost MeSH
• predátorské chování MeSH
• psychologické techniky MeSH
• psychologické testy MeSH
• teoretické modely MeSH
• učení MeSH
• vývoj dítěte MeSH
• znaky a insignie MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH

BACKGROUND: Although tiny in size and mostly harmless, spiders evoke exceptional fear in a significant part of the population and arachnophobia is one of the most common anxiety disorders with prevalence 2.7-6.1%. Two standard measures have been widely used to reliably assess the emotional and cognitive component of spider fear, the Spider Questionnaire (SPQ) and Spider Phobia Beliefs Questionnaire (SBQ). We aimed to develop and validate their Czech translations, describe distribution of spider fear in the Czech population, and analyse its association with disgust propensity and other sociodemographic characteristics. METHODS: In Phase 1, we developed Czech translations of both questionnaires using a back-translation procedure and then tested their psychometric properties against their English versions in a counterbalanced experimental design using the Mann-Whitney U test and two-sided t-test. In Phase 2, we analysed scores on the Czech SPQ and SBQ on a larger sample. We evaluated the effects of age, gender, level of education, biology background, and association with the assessments of snake fear (i.e. the Snake Questionnaire, SNAQ) and disgust propensity (i.e. the Disgust Scale-Revised, DS-R) using a Spearman correlation, redundancy analysis, and general linear models. RESULTS: We have demonstrated that the Czech SPQ and SBQ are equivalent to their originals and show excellent test-retest reliability (SPQ: 0.93; SBQ: 0.87-0.90). In total, 398 (10.3%) out of 3863 subjects reached the cut-off point for potential spider phobia. In addition, SPQ and SBQ scores were highly correlated (0.73-0.79), significantly more than with the SNAQ (0.21-0.32) or the DS-R (0.36-0.40). Two multivariate statistical methods revealed a significant association between the gender, age, level of education, biology background, or disgust propensity and the SPQ scores. CONCLUSION: The Czech SPQ and SBQ may produce reliable and valid assessments of spider fear, but they must be further psychometrically tested considering the limitation of this study before wider use. We corroborate previous findings that fear of spiders is significantly associated with sociodemographic variables, such as gender, age, or education, as well as with the individual level of disgust propensity.

• MeSH
• fobie * diagnóza   psychologie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• pavouci * MeSH
• průzkumy a dotazníky MeSH
• reprodukovatelnost výsledků MeSH
• strach psychologie   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH

Animal phobias are one of the most prevalent mental disorders. We analysed how fear and disgust, two emotions involved in their onset and maintenance, are elicited by common phobic animals. In an online survey, the subjects rated 25 animal images according to elicited fear and disgust. Additionally, they completed four psychometrics, the Fear Survey Schedule II (FSS), Disgust Scale - Revised (DS-R), Snake Questionnaire (SNAQ), and Spider Questionnaire (SPQ). Based on a redundancy analysis, fear and disgust image ratings could be described by two axes, one reflecting a general negative perception of animals associated with higher FSS and DS-R scores and the second one describing a specific aversion to snakes and spiders associated with higher SNAQ and SPQ scores. The animals can be separated into five distinct clusters: (1) non-slimy invertebrates; (2) snakes; (3) mice, rats, and bats; (4) human endo- and exoparasites (intestinal helminths and louse); and (5) farm/pet animals. However, only snakes, spiders, and parasites evoke intense fear and disgust in the non-clinical population. In conclusion, rating animal images according to fear and disgust can be an alternative and reliable method to standard scales. Moreover, tendencies to overgeneralize irrational fears onto other harmless species from the same category can be used for quick animal phobia detection.

• MeSH
• afekt fyziologie   MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• emoce fyziologie   MeSH
• fobie psychologie   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• odpor * MeSH
• průzkumy a dotazníky MeSH
• psychometrie MeSH
• strach psychologie   MeSH
• zpráva o sobě MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Snake and spider phobia are one of the most prevalent anxiety disorders, yet quick and reliable measures are rather scarce. Recently, attempts have been made to shorten two widespread measures of snake and spider fear, the Snake Questionnaire (SNAQ) and Spider Questionnaire (SPQ). The new 12-item scales demonstrate very good psychometric qualities in terms of internal consistency and discriminatory power. Using the same approach on a bigger sample from another cultural background, we aimed to verify psychometric properties of the short scales. In total, 2 644 Czechs completed the SNAQ, 1 816 of which also completed the SPQ. The item response theory revealed that nine and seven items on the shorter SNAQ and SPQ, respectively, were identical with the Hungarian study. The 12-item scales show excellent reliability (α = 0.84 and 0.91) and highly correlate with scores on the full versions (r = 0.81 and 0.89) as well as with fear and disgust ratings of snake and spider images. Thus, despite slight discrepancies in the selected items, we confirm that the shorter SNAQ and SPQ keep considerable diagnostic strengths and can be used in the clinical practice as reliable, easy-to- administer, and fast screening tools for snake and spider phobia.

• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Millions of people worldwide suffer from specific phobias. Almost any stimulus may trigger a phobic reaction, but snakes are among the most feared objects. Half of the population feel anxious about snakes and 2-3% meet the diagnostic criteria for snake phobia. Despite such a high ratio, only one instrument is commonly used, the Snake Questionnaire (SNAQ). The aim of this study was to develop a standardized Czech translation, describe its psychometric properties and analyze the distribution of snake fears. In a counter-balanced design 755 respondents were asked to complete the English and Czech SNAQ (first or last) with a 2-3 month delay; 300 of them completed both instruments. We found excellent test-retest reliability (0.94), although the total scores differed significantly when the English version was administered first. The mean score was 5.80 and Generalized Linear Models revealed significant effects of sex and field of study (women and people with no biology education scored higher than men and biologists). A cut-off point for snake phobia as derived from a previous study identified 2.6% of the subjects as phobic. Finally, the score distribution was similar to other countries supporting the view that fear of snakes is universal.

• MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• fobie diagnóza   psychologie   MeSH
• hadi * MeSH
• jazyk (prostředek komunikace) MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• lineární modely MeSH
• průzkumy a dotazníky normy   MeSH
• psychometrie MeSH
• reprodukovatelnost výsledků MeSH
• strach psychologie   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• validační studie MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH