The Spanish version of the GELOPH<15>: Properties of a questionnaire for the assessment of the fear of being laughed at

Abstract

Gelotophobia is defined as the fear of being laughed at. First empirical studies revealed that it is a valid and useful new concept. It should be best conceptualized as a one-dimensional individual differences phenomenon within the range of normality. The present instrumental study presents first empirical data on the Spanish version of a subjective measure for the fear of being laughed. The scale was tested in a construction sample from Spain (n = 601) and in a replication sample from Colombia (n = 211). The article describes the adaptation of the GELOPH<15> to Spanish. The translation yielded good psyhometric properties in terms of a high reliability (α = .85, α = .81). As in the original form, a one-dimensional factor solution fit the data best in both samples. The item endorsements to single items varied considerable in both samples. The fear of being laughed at exited independently from demographic variable. The only exception was higher scores for younger participants in Colombia. 11.61% and 8.53% exceeded a cut-off score indicating at least a slight expression of gelotophobic symptoms in Spain and Colombia, respectively. The Spanish form proved to be a useful and reliable instrument for the subjective assessment of gelotophobia.