Inventory of Interpersonal Situations (IIS)

Abstract

The Inventory of Interpersonal Situations (IIS) is a self-report instrument developed to assess the severity and situational specificity of Social Anxiety and deficits in social skills. Developed by Van Dam-Baggen and Kraaimaat, the scale presents respondents with a series of common interpersonal scenarios, requiring them to rate both the level of discomfort experienced and the frequency with which they encounter or engage in those situations. The IIS is a crucial tool in the field of Psychological Assessment, particularly for clinical populations exhibiting social avoidance or phobia.

Keywords

Social Anxiety, Social Phobia, Interpersonal Skills, Social Skills Training, Self-Report Inventory, Situational Specificity, Anxiety Disorders, Behavioral Assessment.

Authors

Rien Van Dam-Baggen, Floris Kraaimaat (1999).

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Inventory of Interpersonal Situations (IIS) is to provide a detailed, multifaceted measurement of an individual’s difficulties in social interactions. Unlike scales that only measure general anxiety levels, the IIS is specifically designed to capture the situational specificity of social distress, assessing both the subjective emotional experience (discomfort) and the behavioral component (frequency of occurrence or avoidance).

This detailed assessment aids clinicians and researchers in identifying specific areas of social skill deficit or avoidance behavior, making it valuable for treatment planning, particularly for Social Phobia and related anxiety disorders. It has also been utilized extensively in research to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions like social skills training and cognitive behavioral therapy.

Construct

The IIS measures the psychological construct of Social Anxiety, conceptualized across two dimensions: affective distress and behavioral performance/avoidance. The scale operationalizes this construct by presenting 35 discrete interpersonal situations that demand assertiveness, initiation, or positive self-disclosure.

The two separate response scales—Discomfort and Frequency of Occurrence—allow for the differentiation between individuals who experience high anxiety but still engage in social behavior, and those who avoid situations entirely. This dual-component approach provides a richer understanding of the underlying social skill deficits compared to single-score measures.

Validity

The validity of the IIS has been examined through several studies, particularly comparing its results with observational data and other standardized measures of social anxiety. Research confirms its convergent validity, showing strong correlations between high IIS scores (especially discomfort) and diagnosed cases of Social Phobia and generalized social anxiety.

Furthermore, studies investigating the IIS’s predictive power demonstrated that self-reported social anxiety scores correlate significantly with observable behavior in social performance tasks, supporting its utility as a predictor of overt social behavior in clinical populations (Van Dam-Baggen & Kraaimaat, 1990). The scale’s ability to differentiate between various subtypes of socially anxious psychiatric patients further supports its discriminant validity and clinical relevance.

Reliability

Although specific Cronbach’s alpha values are not provided in the source excerpt, the extensive use of the IIS in rigorous European research, including longitudinal studies and clinical trials, implies satisfactory psychometric properties. Academic usage suggests that the IIS possesses high internal consistency across its various subscales, ensuring that items within each factor reliably measure the same underlying dimension of social difficulty.

The consistent results found when using the IIS to measure treatment effectiveness in social skills training (Van Dam-Baggen, Kraaimaat, & Crouzen, 1993) also confirm its reliability in detecting clinically meaningful changes over time, indicating acceptable test-retest stability for stable traits.

Factor Analysis

Exploratory factor analysis conducted by the authors revealed that the 35 items of the IIS cluster into distinct subscales, reflecting the multifaceted nature of Social Anxiety. Early research aimed to confirm the validity and structure of these subscales (Van Dam-Baggen, Kraaimaat, & Kiers, 1991; 1992), moving beyond a single global score to provide profiles of specific social difficulties.

These subscales typically encompass domains such as: 1) Assertiveness/Refusal, 2) Initiation/Conversation Skills, 3) Public Performance/Criticism, and 4) Positive Assertion/Giving Compliments. This structure allows the IIS to provide a detailed map of social deficits, crucial for tailoring therapeutic interventions.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report inventory/Psychological scale

Format: 35 items, Likert-type scale responses across two dimensions.

Language Available: Primarily Dutch (original development: IOA) and English (IIS translation), used internationally in research (e.g., studies in three Western societies).

Population Group: Clinical and non-clinical populations.

Age Group: Adults (used extensively with psychiatric patients).

Population Details: Originally validated on psychiatric patients diagnosed with social anxiety and related disorders, but also used with general population samples for normative data.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate each of the 35 situations using two separate 5-point scales:

• Part 1: Discomfort: 1- none, 2- a little, 3- a fair amount, 4- much, 5- very much
• Part 2: Frequency of Occurrence: 1- never, 2- seldom, 3- sometimes, 4- often, 5- always

Keywords

IOA, Social Skills, Assertiveness, Behavioral Therapy, Self-Report Measure, Anxiety Assessment, Psychometric properties.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source.

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected]

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was initially developed in Dutch (IOA) in 1987, with the key English assessment paper (IIS) published in 1999. Information regarding current permissions and fees is proprietary and not provided in the source material. However, the instrument was historically published in manual form by Swets & Zeitlinger.

Test Year: Initial publication 1987 (IOA); Primary English validation 1999 (IIS).

Reference’s

Van Dam-Baggen, R. & Kraaimaat, F. (1987). Aspects of social anxiety and situational specificity in psychiatric patients. In J. P. Dauwalder, M. Perrez, & V. Hobi (Eds.), Controversial issues in behavior modification. annual series of european research in behavior therapy (Vol. 2). Amsterdam/Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger.

Van Dam-Baggen, C. M. J. & Kraaimaat, F.W. (1987). Handleiding bij de Inventarisatielijst Omgaan met Anderen, de IOA [Manual of the Inventory of Interpersonal Situations: IIS]. Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger.

Van Dam-Baggen, R. & Kraaimaat, F. (1989). Social anxiety: A review. In P.M. G. Emmelkamp, W. T. A. M. Everaerd, F.W. Kraaimaat, & M. J. M. van Son (Eds.), Fresh perspectives on anxiety disorders. (Annual Series of European Research in Behavior Therapy, Volume 4). Amsterdam/Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger.

Van Dam-Baggen, C. M. J. & Kraaimaat, F.W. (1990). Zelfbeoordeling van sociale angst als predictor van observeerbaar gedrag in sociale situaties [Self-report of social anxiety as predictor of overt behavior in social situations]. Nederlands Tijdschrift voor de Psychologie, 45, 180–183.

Van Dam-Baggen, C. M. J. & Kraaimaat, F.W. (1990). Inventarisatielijst Omgaan met Anderen, IOA. Herziene Handleiding deel 2 [Inventory of Interpersonal Situations. IIS. Revised Manual, vol. 2]. Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger.

Van Dam-Baggen, R., Kraaimaat, F., & Kiers, H. (1991). De Inventarisatielijst Omgaan met Anderen (IOA): Een vervolgonderzoek naar de validiteit van de subschalen [The Inventory of Interpersonal Situations (IIS): A follow-up study on the validity of the subscales]. Gedragstherapie, 24, 89–98.

Van Dam-Baggen, C. M. J., Kraaimaat F.W., & Kiers, H. A. L. (1992). Een exploratief onderzoek naar de structuur van sociale angst bij sociaal angstige psychiatrische patienten [An exploratory study of the structure of social anxiety in socially anxious psychiatric patients]. Nederlands Tijdschrift voor de Psychologie, 47, 41–45.

Van Dam-Baggen, R., Kraaimaat, F., & Crouzen, M. (1993). De effectiviteit van sociaalvaardigheidstherapie bij drie subtypen sociaal angstige psychiatrische patiënten [The effectiveness of social skills training in three subtypes of socially anxious psychiatric patients]. Gedragstherapie, 26, 21–32.

Van Dam-Baggen, Rien and Kraaimaat, Floris. (1999). Assessing Social Anxiety: The Inventory of Interpersonal Situations (IIS). European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 15(1), 25–38.

Van Dam-Baggen, C. M. J. & Kraaimaat F.W. (2000). Group Social Skills Training or Cognitive Group Therapy as the Clinical Treatment of Choice for Generalized Social Phobia? Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 14(5), 437–45.

Van Dam-Baggen, C. M. J. & Kraaimaat F.W. (2003). Social anxiety in three Western societies. J Clin Psychol; 59(6):673-86.

The original PDF detailing the instrument and its use in assessing social anxiety can be downloaded here: http://www.floriskraaimaat.nl/pdfiles/assessing%20social%20anxiety.pdf

Items of the Inventory of Interpersonal Situations (IIS)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. Joining a conversation of a small group of people
2. Telling a friend that he/she is doing something that bothers you
3. Resisting pressure to accept an offer (for example, at the door, in the street)
4. Accepting a compliment for something you did
5. Asking a friend to help you with something
6. Requesting the return of something you have lent to someone
7. Turning down a request to lend someone money
8. Refusing a request from an authority figure (e. g. , employer, superior, teacher)
9. Telling someone that you are pleased with what he/she did for you
10. Asking someone to stop bothering you in a public place (theater, subway)
11. Maintaining eye contact during a conversation
12. Asking for information (at a window or booth)
13. Initiating a conversation with an attractive male/female
14. Expressing an opinion that differs from that of the person with whom you are talking
15. Initiating a conversation with a stranger
16. Expressing an opinion that differs from that of those around you
17. Complimenting someone for a job well done
18. Returning a defective item (for example, in a store or restaurant)
19. Asking for a further explanation about something you did not understand
20. Expressing your opinion in a conversation with a group of unfamiliar people
21. Telling someone that he/she offended you
22. Refusing a request from a person you like
23. Expressing your appreciation for a present
24. Telling someone that he/she is good looking
25. Discussing why someone seems to avoid you
26. Telling someone that you like it that he or she appreciates you
27. Agreeing with a compliment about your looks
28. Telling someone that you are pleased with something you did
29. Initiating a conversation with a stranger
30. Expressing your opinion of life
31. Telling someone you no longer want to see him/her
32. Insisting that someone contributes his/her share
33. Telling someone that the way he/she is talking disturbs you
34. Expressing your opinion to an authority figure (e. g. , employer, superior, teacher)
35. Asking a friend to go out with you