Psychometric Properties of the Greek Version of the Claustrophobia Questionnaire

Background: Claustrophobia is defined as the fear of enclosed spaces, and it is a rather common specific phobia. Although the Claustrophobia Questionnaire (CLQ) is a valid questionnaire to measure claustrophobia, there are no studies to validate this tool in Greek. Thus, our aim was to translate and validate the CLQ in Greek. Methods: We applied the forward-backward translation method to translate the English CLQ in Greek. We conducted confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to examine the two-factor model of the CLQ. We examined the convergent and divergent validity of the Greek CLQ by using the Fear Survey Schedule-III (FSS-III-CL), the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI-NL-N), and the Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). We calculated intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cronbach’s alpha to assess the reliability of the Greek CLQ. Results: Our CFA confirmed the two-factor model of the CLQ since all the model fit indices were very good. Standardized regression weights between the 26 items of the CLQ and the two factors ranged from 0.559 to 0.854. The convergent validity of the Greek CLQ was very good since it was correlated strongly with the FSS-III-CL and moderate with the NEO-FFI-NL-N and the STAI. Additionally, the Greek CLQ correlated higher with the FSS-III-CL than with the NEO-FFI-NL-N and the STAI indicating very good divergent validity. Reliability of the Greek CLQ was excellent since the ICC in test-retest study was 0.986 and the Cronbach’s alpha was 0.956. Conclusions: The Greek version of the CLQ is a reliable and valid tool to measure levels of claustrophobia among individuals.