Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24)

Abstract

The Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24) is a widely utilized self-report psychological scale developed by James C. McCroskey in 1982. Its primary function is to measure an individual’s level of communication apprehension (CA), defined as an individual’s level of fear or anxiety associated with real or anticipated communication with another person or persons. The instrument consists of 24 items designed to assess CA across four distinct communication contexts: group discussion, meetings, interpersonal conversation, and public speaking. The PRCA-24 is instrumental in identifying individuals who experience high levels of generalized communication anxiety (trait CA).

Keywords

Communication Apprehension, CA, PRCA-24, James C. McCroskey, Trait anxiety, Public Speaking Anxiety, Communication Fear, Self-Report Scale, Communication measurement.

Authors

James C. McCroskey

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the PRCA-24 is to provide a quantitative measure of an individual’s overall predisposition toward experiencing fear or anxiety in communication settings, often referred to as trait CA. By utilizing a multi-contextual approach, the scale allows researchers and practitioners to identify not only the overall severity of the apprehension but also the specific contexts (e.g., public speaking versus interpersonal interactions) where this anxiety is most pronounced.

The scale serves as a crucial diagnostic tool in educational and clinical settings, helping to identify students or individuals who may benefit from communication interventions, such as systematic desensitization or cognitive restructuring techniques, to manage their communication anxiety.

Construct

The PRCA-24 measures Communication Apprehension (CA), conceptualized as a multi-dimensional construct. McCroskey defines CA as “an individual’s level of fear or anxiety associated with real or anticipated communication with another person or persons.” It specifically targets trait CA—the relatively stable, enduring pattern of anxiety experienced across most communication situations—rather than temporary state anxiety.

The construct is structured around four distinct communication contexts: group discussion, meeting communication, interpersonal conversation, and public speaking. This structural differentiation is key to the instrument’s utility, acknowledging that while some individuals experience generalized CA, others may only experience significant anxiety in specific settings.

Validity

The validity of the PRCA-24, particularly its content validity, has been rigorously examined. McCroskey, Beatty, Kearney, and Plax (1985) confirmed that the 24 items adequately represent the conceptual domain of communication apprehension across the four specified contexts: group, meeting, interpersonal, and public speaking. This ensures that the instrument is contextually comprehensive and covers the breadth of communication situations where anxiety might manifest.

Furthermore, the scale has demonstrated strong concurrent and predictive validity. High scores on the PRCA-24 consistently correlate negatively with actual communication behaviors, such as frequency of participation and willingness to communicate, and positively with physiological measures of stress and anxiety during communication events.

Reliability

The PRCA-24 exhibits excellent internal consistency reliability. Numerous studies across diverse populations have reported high Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the overall measure, consistently exceeding 0.90. This indicates that the 24 items reliably measure the unitary construct of generalized trait anxiety related to communication.

The reliability of the four sub-scores (Group, Meeting, Interpersonal, and Public Speaking) is also robust, typically yielding Cronbach’s alpha values ranging from 0.70 to 0.85, confirming that these sub-scales are internally coherent measures of context-specific communication fear.

Factor Analysis

Factor analytic studies of the PRCA-24 generally support a hierarchical structure. While the 24 items load significantly onto a single, dominant factor representing generalized trait communication apprehension, confirmatory factor analysis supports the presence of four distinct, correlated factors corresponding precisely to the measured contexts: group discussion, meetings, interpersonal conversation, and public speaking.

This structural finding validates the scoring methodology, which allows researchers to calculate both a total generalized CA score and four context-specific sub-scores, providing a nuanced profile of the respondent’s communication anxiety patterns.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report psychological scale (Psychometric Instrument)

Format: 24 statements rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1=Strongly Disagree to 5=Strongly Agree)

Language Available: Primarily English, though translations exist in various academic contexts.

Population Group: Generally used with students and adults.

Age Group: Adolescents (High School) and Adults.

Population Details: Applicable to any population where measurement of communication fear across common contexts is required. Widely used in communication studies and educational psychology.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate their agreement with 24 statements. Scores are calculated by summing reverse-coded and standard items within the four sub-contexts (Group, Meetings, Interpersonal, Public Speaking) and then summing the sub-context scores for a total CA score. The total score range is 24 to 120.

Keywords

Communication measurement, CA assessment, McCroskey scale, Public speaking, Group communication, Likert scale, Self-assessment, Communication fear, Content validity.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: Contact author via official university channels (J. C. McCroskey).

Correspondence Address: Refer to the official website of the author for current contact information.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The PRCA-24 was initially published in 1982 by James C. McCroskey. The instrument is often made available for non-commercial academic research and classroom use free of charge, provided proper citation is given. Commercial or clinical use typically requires explicit permission from the author or copyright holder.

The instrument details and access information can be found at the author’s dedicated website: http://www.jamescmccroskey.com/measures/prca24.htm

Reference’s

• McCroskey, J. C. (1982). An introduction to rhetorical communication (4th Ed). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. (Also available in more recent editions of this book, now published by Allyn & Bacon.)
• McCroskey, James C. & Beatty, Michael J. (1984). Communication apprehension and accumulated communication state anxiety experiences: A research note. Communication Monographs, 51(1), 79-84.
• McCroskey, James C., Beatty, Michael J., Kearney, Patricia and Timothy Plax, G. (1985). The Content Validity of the PRCA-24 as a Measure of Communication Apprehension across Communication Contexts. Communication Quarterly, 33(3), 165-173.

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Items of the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24)

The instrument consists of 24 items, scored on a 5-point Likert scale where:

• Strongly Disagree = 1
• Disagree = 2
• Neutral = 3
• Agree = 4
• Strongly Agree = 5

1. I dislike participating in group discussions.
2. Generally, I am comfortable while participating in group discussions.
3. I am tense and nervous while participating in group discussions.
4. I like to get involved in group discussions.
5. Engaging in a group discussion with new people makes me tense and nervous.
6. I am calm and relaxed while participating in group discussions.
7. Generally, I am nervous when I have to participate in a meeting.
8. Usually I am calm and relaxed while participating in meetings.
9. I am very calm and relaxed when I am called upon to express an opinion at a meeting.
10. I am afraid to express myself at meetings.
11. Communicating at meetings usually makes me uncomfortable.
12. I am very relaxed when answering questions at a meeting.
13. While participating in a conversation with a new acquaintance, I feel very nervous.
14. I have no fear of speaking up in conversations.
15. Ordinarily I am very tense and nervous in conversations.
16. Ordinarily I am very calm and relaxed in conversations.
17. While conversing with a new acquaintance, I feel very relaxed.
18. I’m afraid to speak up in conversations.
19. I have no fear of giving a speech.
20. Certain parts of my body feel very tense and rigid while giving a speech.
21. I feel relaxed while giving a speech.
22. My thoughts become confused and jumbled when I am giving a speech.
23. I face the prospect of giving a speech with confidence.
24. While giving a speech, I get so nervous I forget facts I really know.

Scoring Formulas:

• Group discussion: 18 – (scores for items 2, 4, & 6) + (scores for items 1, 3, & 5)
• Meetings: 18 – (scores for items 8, 9, & 12) + (scores for items 7, 10, & 11)
• Interpersonal: 18 – (scores for items 14, 16, & 17) + (scores for items 13, 15, & 18)
• Public Speaking: 18 – (scores for items 19, 21, & 23) + (scores for items 20, 22, & 24)

Interpretation of Total Score (Range 24-120):

• Scores between 24 and 55 indicate a low level of communication apprehension.
• Scores between 55 and 83 indicate a moderate level of communication apprehension.
• Scores between 83 and 120 indicate a high level of communication apprehension (high trait CA).