Value of the Fear Questionnaire in differentiating agoraphobia and social phobia

The present study examined responses on the Fear Questionnaire (FQ) of 68 patients suffering panic disorder with agoraphobia, 50 social phobics, 75 subjects with 'non-clinical' panic attacks, and 188 non-panicking controls. The FQ agoraphobia and social subscales had satisfactory internal consistency and were accurate (82%) in correctly differentiating the patients. In general, the patient and control groups differed as expected. The highest level of social fear was reported by social phobics and the highest level of agoraphobic fear was reported by patients with panic disorder and agoraphobia. Five items from these two subscales significantly differentiated social phobia from panic disorder with agoraphobia. The results support the reliability and validity of the FQ.