ObjectiveSystemic sclerosis (jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"SSjats:styled-contentc) is an autoimmune disease that can cause disfiguring changes in appearance. This study examined the structural validity, internal consistency reliability, convergent validity, and measurement equivalence of the Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"SAASjats:styled-content) across jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"SSjats:styled-contentc disease subtypes.MethodsPatients enrolled in the Scleroderma Patient‐centered Intervention Network Cohort completed the jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"SAASjats:styled-content and measures of appearance‐related concerns and psychological distress. Confirmatory factor analysis (jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"CFAjats:styled-content) was used to examine the structural validity of the jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"SAASjats:styled-content. Multiple‐group jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"CFAjats:styled-content was used to determine whether jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"SAASjats:styled-content scores can be compared across patients with limited and diffuse disease subtypes. Cronbach’s alpha was used to examine internal consistency reliability. Correlations of jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"SAASjats:styled-content scores with measures of body image dissatisfaction, fear of negative evaluation, social anxiety, and depression were used to examine convergent validity. jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"SAASjats:styled-content scores were hypothesized to be positively associated with all convergent validity measures, with correlations significant and moderate to large in size.ResultsA total of 938 patients with jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"SSjats:styled-contentc were included. jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"CFAjats:styled-content supported a 1‐factor structure (Comparative Fit Index 0.92, Standardized Root Mean Residual 0.04, and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation 0.08), and multiple‐group jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"CFAjats:styled-content indicated that the scalar invariance model best fit the data. Internal consistency reliability was good in the total sample (α = 0.96) and in disease subgroups. Overall, evidence of convergent validity was found with measures of body image dissatisfaction, fear of negative evaluation, social anxiety, and depression.ConclusionThe jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"SAASjats:styled-content can be reliably and validly used to assess fear of appearance evaluation in patients with jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"SSjats:styled-contentc, and jats:styled-content style="fixed-case"SAASjats:styled-content scores can be meaningfully compared across disease subtypes.
