Mood
Social anxiety check
17 questions · 5 min
This questionnaire looks at three sides of social anxiety: feeling afraid of people or of being judged, avoiding social situations, and physical signs like blushing, sweating or trembling around others. It asks how much each of these bothered you over the past week.
You get an overall result, and one for each of the three sides under More detail. It’s a starting point for understanding how you’re doing, not a diagnosis.
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What it shows
How much social fears, avoidance and physical nerves bothered you in the past week.
What it doesn’t
A diagnosis. Only a professional can assess social anxiety disorder.
Who it’s for
This is for you if you often feel nervous around people, worry about being judged, or find yourself avoiding parties, meetings or speaking up. It can help you see which side of social anxiety affects you most: the fear itself, the avoiding, or the physical signs.
It can also be a useful thing to bring to a doctor or therapist, and to retake every couple of weeks if you’re working on social fears.
Questions people ask
What does the SPIN measure?
Three sides of social anxiety over the past week: fear of people or of being judged, avoiding social situations, and physical signs like blushing, sweating, trembling or a pounding heart around others.
How long does it take?
About five minutes. There are 17 statements, and you choose how much each one bothered you, from “Not at all” to “Extremely”.
How is it scored?
Each answer scores 0 to 4, giving a total from 0 to 68, with separate scores for fear, avoidance and physical signs. In the original study, a score of 19 or more helped tell apart people with social anxiety disorder from those without, so from 19 up your result suggests it’s worth a closer look.
Is shyness the same as social anxiety?
Not quite. Many people feel shy or nervous in some situations. Social anxiety tends to mean the fear is strong or lasting enough to cause real distress or hold you back, and this test shows how much it’s been bothering you, not which one you have.
Is this a diagnosis?
No. Only a professional can assess social anxiety disorder. Your score is a starting point for understanding how you’re doing.
What can I do if my score is high?
A doctor or therapist can help with social fears, and talking therapies work well for them. Telling someone you trust how you’ve been feeling can be a good first step too.
Where it comes from
Developed by Kathryn Connor, Jonathan Davidson and colleagues at Duke University in 2000.
Social Phobia Inventory
On iPhone or iPad?
Sprout is an app there too, and this link opens the test straight away if you have it.
Coming soon to the App Store