Summary

What it measures:

• Screening tool for social phobia (SP)
• Assesses a range of social fears, avoidance behaviors, and symptoms of physiological distress¹

Target Population:

Validated for people 13 years old and up.²

This tool has been translated and culturally validated in the following populations: Spanish adolescents,³ Chinese (Taiwan) adolescents,⁴ Brazilian Portuguese students,⁵ and Italian adults.⁶

Taskforce Recommendations:
The United States Preventative Services Task Force recommends that primary care clinicians screen patients aged 8-64 for anxiety. See APTA's practice advisory: Screening Patients for Anxiety for additional details.

Clinical Insights:
SPIN is a quick and easy screening tool for adolescents and adults with strong psychometric properties. A physical therapist (PT) can utilize this screening tool to determine if a patient's social anxiety could impact their PT Plan of Care (POC). A cutoff score of ≥ 19 warrants referral to a qualified health care professional. This referral could be to a patient's established primary care physician (PCP) or other properly trained health care provider. If a patient does not have a PCP, the PT should assist the patient or caregiver in searching for an appropriate provider. This can be accomplished utilizing an online directory or a patient's insurance database for in-network providers.

Time:
Brief questionnaire (17 self-rated questions) 

Cost:
Free but permission to use SPIN must be obtained from the copyright holder.