Abstract

This study aims to examine the psychometric properties of the Italian version of two self-report questionnaires developed to assess different and complementary aspects of fear of flying: the Flight Anxiety Situations Questionnaire (FAS; van Gerwen, Spinhoven, van Dyck e Diekstra, 1999) and the Flight Anxiety Modality Questionnaire (FAM; van Gerwen, Spinhoven, van Dyck e Diekstra, 1999). The FAS concerns anxiety- provoking stimuli and measures the level of anxiety produced by specific situations related to flying while the FAM focuses on anxiety responses, and it is related to physical symptoms and distressing cognitions. The sample was composed of 494 subjects (269 male and 225 female) with a mean age of 38.69 years old (DS = 12.21). Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) have been used to verify the factor structure of the two instruments. Some aspects of concurrent validity have been verified with the SCL-90-R (Derogatis, 1994) and the STAI-Y-2 (Spielberger et al., 1970). Results showed a satisfactory factor structure and excellent values of the internal consistency for the two questionnaires (FAS: Generalized Flight Anxiety Scale, a = .92; Anticipatory Flight Anxiety Scale, a = .97; In-Flight Anxiety Scale, a = .97; FAM: a = .97). Correlation between the FAS and the SCL-90-R scales - ANX (r = .62**), PHOB (r = .55**), OC (r = .35*) and SOM (r = .33*) -, and between the FAM and SCL- 90-R scales - ANX (r = .35*), PHOB (r = .41**) and SOM (r = .27*) - were statistically significant. These findings suggest that the FAS and the FAM maybe useful in the assessment of «Fear of Flying» also in Italy.