Heteronormative and cisnormative stereotypes in commonly-used social anxiety scales: A scoping review

Abstract

Social anxiety is a common, but under-researched topic in the LGBTQIA+ community. We conducted a scoping review of studies between January 2014 and April 2024 that included LGBTQIA+ samples with social anxiety scales evaluating scales for outdated language. The search produced 1155 results out of which 17 articles fit the inclusion criteria. The results suggest that 47 % of the measures include items that reinforce heteronormative or cisnormative stereotypes and 29.4 % of studies included scales inappropriate for the population under investigation. Therefore, the wordings of certain items need to be adapted to fit the investigated population and a re-examination of the psychometric properties of the revised scales is needed.

Keywords

• LGBTQIA+
• Social anxiety scales
• Heteronormativity