پرسشنامه هراس از مکانهای بسته هلندی: ویژگی های روانسنجی و اعتبار پیش بینی

Fear of suffocation and fear of restriction are thought to underlie claustrophobia and can be assessed with the Claustrophobia Questionnaire (CLQ; Radomsky et al., 2001). A first study tested the psychometric properties of a Dutch version of the CLQ. Students (N = 363) completed a Dutch translation of the CLQ and a set of other questionnaires assessing other specific fears, anxiety or depression. Results confirmed the two-factor structure and showed that the Dutch version of the CLQ has good psychometric properties. A second study tested the predictive validity of the Dutch CLQ. Participants (N = 23) were exposed each to nine claustrophobic situations with elements of suffocation, restriction or both. The Dutch CLQ was found to be a significant predictor of fear and respiratory reactivity during claustrophobic exposure. It can be concluded that the Dutch version of the CLQ is a reliable and valid instrument to assess claustrophobic fear.

Claustrophobia, the fear of enclosed spaces, is a rather common specific phobia with a prevalence of 4% in the general population (Öst, 2007). Two major fear components are assumed to underlie the disorder: fear of restriction and fear of suffocation (Rachman & Taylor, 1993). Restriction is aversive and the fear experienced by claustrophobic patients in an enclosed space may, from an evolutionary perspective, resemble the fear that animals display when they cannot escape from a (potentially) dangerous situation (Rachman, 1997). This fear of restriction is not entirely independent from the other claustrophobic fear component, fear of suffocation. Because people need a constant supply of air to stay alive, possibility of getting an insufficient amount of air is a prominent threat. Following Rachman (1997), fear of suffocation will arise when (a) people think that there is insufficient air supply in the room, (b) access to air is hampered or interrupted externally, e.g., by breathing through a mask, and (c) there is sufficient air present in the room, but the air is thought to be blocked by a physiological malfunction, for example insufficient airflow through the trachea. Also a misinterpretation of bodily signals may trigger fear of suffocation ( Rachman, 1997).