The Communication Anxiety Regulation Scale: Development and Initial Validation
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2015
Abstract
A series of studies present the development and validation of the Communication Anxiety Regulation Scale (CARS), a self-report measure designed to assess the use of emotion regulation strategies to manage acute communication anxiety—in contrast to measures of general emotion regulation tendencies. Study 1 delineates the item derivation and selection process that yielded the final 12 CARS items. Results of an exploratory factor analysis supported the existence of four distinct subscales, each representing one of four anxiety regulation strategies (suppression, reappraisal, avoidance, and venting). Study 2 confirmed this factor structure and also examined correlations of the CARS with existing measures in an attempt to establish concurrent validity. Finally, Study 3 presents results of an item-sort task demonstrating the scale’s face validity and items’ substantive validity. Overall, findings provide preliminary support for the utility of the CARS as measure of communication anxiety regulation to be used by communication and psychology researchers.
Recommended Citation
Hanley White, K., Howard, M. C., Zhong, B., Soto, J. A., Perez, C. R., Lee, E. A., Dawson-Andoh, N. A., & Minnick, M. R. (2015). The Communication Anxiety Regulation Scale: Development and Initial Validation. Communication Quarterly, 63(1), 23–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/01463373.2014.965836
Journal
Communication Quarterly
Rights
© 2015 Eastern Communication Association
Comments
This article was originally published in Communication Quarterly. The full-text article from the publisher can be found here.
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