A DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS OF CLAUSTROPHOBIA

The present study investigated whether situational and cognitive dimen sions of claustrophobia exist. To this end, the Claustrophobia Situati ons Questionnaire (CSQ) and the Claustrophobia General Cognitions Ques tionnaire (CGCQ) were developed and exploratory factor analyses were p erformed on these scales. Two-factor solutions for both the anxiety an d the avoidance ratings on the Csa were obtained, accounting for 40.1% and 34.2% of the variance, respectively. Two subscales were created f rom the two-factor solution of the anxiety section of the CSQ: (I) ''F ear of Entrapment'' and (2) ''Fear of Physical Confinement.'' Two subs cales were also created from the two-factor solution of the avoidance section of the CSQ: (I) Avoidance of Crowds'' and (2) Avoidance of Phy sical Confinement.'' A three-factor solution was obtained for the CGCQ accounting for 54.4% of the variance, from which the following three subscales were created: (I) ''Fear of Loss of Control,'' (2) ''Fear of Suffocation, '' and (3) ''Fear of Inability to Escape. '' Cronbach al phas for all subscales ranged from .84 to .94. Exploratory correlation al analyses were conducted between the situational and the cognitive d imensions.