A confirmatory factor analysis of a self‐report version of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale

AbstractOne of the most popular measures of social phobia is the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS; Liebowitz, 1987). The LSAS is a 24‐item semi‐structured interview measure of fear and avoidance experienced in a range of social and performance situations. Recently, the LSAS has been modified to a self‐report version (LSAS‐SR) by several independent groups (Cox, Ross, Swinson, & Direnfeld, 1998; Fresco et al., 2001; Mancini, Van Ameringen, & Oakman, 1999). A self‐report version offers ease of administration, but it may differ from the structured interview version in its psychometric properties. We conducted confirmatory factor analyses of the self‐report version of the LSAS using data from a sample of 188 outpatients with anxiety disorders. The structure and psychometric properties of the LSAS‐SR are highly similar to that of the LSAS and robust across groups of patients with a variety of primary anxiety disorders. We argue in favor of adopting the 4‐factor model for the LSAS proposed by Safren et al. (1999) instead of the models implied by the scoring instructions for the LSAS. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 59: 149–161, 2003.

A confirmatory factor analysis of a self‐report version of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale Journal Articles