The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale

The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale – Self-Report (LSAS–SR) is a 24-item, self-rated scale that measures social phobia’s role in your life across various situations.

Take the test here:

What it tests

The LSAS is one of the most popular and widely used measures of social phobia that has been developed;^[1]Social phobia. Modern problems of pharmacopsychiatry (Liebowitz, 1987) and unlike other social anxiety questionnaires, the LSAS is the only situation-based instrument of social anxiety that also distinguishes between fear and avoidance ratings.^[2]The Liebowitz social anxiety scale as a self-report instrument: a preliminary psychometric analysis (Baker et al., 2002)

So the test not only gives a measure of your social anxiety, but a measure of how much you tend to avoid social situations as well.

Who the test is designed for

• Autistic adults judged to have an IQ in the normal range or higher (IQ > = 100+)
• Versions for adolescents and children are also available

Versions & translations

The test has been translated into most languages. Non-adult versions are also available:

• Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale for Children and Adolescents (LSAS–CA)

Taking the test

The Test consists of 24 statements, giving you 4 choices in two categories for each statement:

Fear

1. None = 0 points
2. Mild = 1 point
3. Moderate = 2 points
4. Severe = 3 points

Avoidance

1. Never = 0 points
2. Occasionally = 1 point
3. Often = 2 points
4. Usually = 3 points

The 24 items are divided into two subscales:

• 13 statements relate to performance anxiety
• 11 concern social situations

Scoring

Method

• Each item is rated on two 4-point Likert-type scales
• The first rating is a measure of fear/anxiety and ranges from 0 (none) to 3 (severe)
• The second rating is a measure of avoidance and ranges from 0 (never) to 3 (usually)
• Never (0%); occasionally (1–33%); often (33–67%); usually (67–100%)^[3]The Liebowitz social anxiety scale as a self-report instrument: a preliminary psychometric analysis (Baker et al., 2002)

Scoring

• A total score is calculated by summing all of the fear and avoidance ratings
• There is a maximum of 144 points

Interpretation

• A score of 30+ means you have social anxiety disorder
• A score of 60+ means you have generalized social anxiety disorder

On the National Social Anxiety Center website, the following scoring scale is used:

Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale scoring scale

Validity

How reliable, accurate, valid, and up to date is the test?

• The LSAS–SR showed overall good psychometric properties as indicated by the results of test–retest reliability, internal consistency, and convergent and discriminant validity.^[4]The Liebowitz social anxiety scale as a self-report instrument: a preliminary psychometric analysis (Baker et al., 2002)
• However, the fear subscale of performance situations showed lesser test–retest reliability, meaning ratings of this scale can change when retaking the test.^[5]The Liebowitz social anxiety scale as a self-report instrument: a preliminary psychometric analysis (Baker et al., 2002)
• Furthermore, the scale was sensitive to treatment change.^[6]The Liebowitz social anxiety scale as a self-report instrument: a preliminary psychometric analysis (Baker et al., 2002)

Discussion

Natalie:

Score: 80 (38 fear / 42 avoidance)

I found the test useful in terms of assessing my level of social anxiety. I also like that the test has good psychometric properties. I would suggest taking the test and then sitting with what answers you chose and then going through it once again after a few minutes. Research shows that about 50% of autistics have social anxiety compared to the general population. I suspect the number is greater than that.

Eva:

Score: 103 (50 fear / 53 avoidance)

#6 and #20 seem like the approximately same question; if I fear talking in front of an audience, I will fear giving an oral talk equally. However, I understand the distinction, because preparing an oral presentation creates extra pressure on top of speaking to an audience. Being the center of attention (#15) is another compounding pressure, although it’s also the main fear of speaking to an audience (#6).

Taking a test of your ability, skill, or knowledge (#17) constitutes a different fear for me; the fear is not about social pressure, but about not meeting my expectations and the impact this might have on my ego.

Urinating in a public bathroom (#13) constitutes a pretty unique fear, as historically, I haven’t had much of a problem with it. But as a trans woman, I have some social anxiety around it because of a fear I don’t pass as a woman, and someone might express discomfort around me being there. So far, this has never occurred, but I can’t help but think about it every time I use a public restroom.

What I didn’t like about the test is that—when you take the test on the NSAC website on mobile—for each answer, a pop-up panel opens rather than a drop-down menu. This makes it slower to take the test than it needs to be.

Also, I initially missed that each item is ranked on both fear and avoidance, so the design of the test could be improved to make this more clear.

Kendall:

Score: 92 (38 fear / 54 avoidance)

The statements, or situations, are more concise and unambiguous than most tests. Still, I often had to consider the balance between fear and avoidance, so I experienced uncertainty on several items. The results did surprise me—with a 92 (38 fear / 54 avoidance), I landed with surety in the Severe social anxiety category (80–94).

Hailey:

Score: 112 (54 fear / 58 avoidance)

I like that this test provides the two categories. Initially, I had expected that my avoidance score would match the fear score for each question, but that wasn’t necessarily the case. For example, in the situation “using a telephone in public”, I rated my fear as “moderate”, yet my avoidance as “occasionally”. For me, it is often more stressful to ignore a call because I feel pressured by the person who is calling me.

A couple of the questions seemed unclear to me, such as #4, “drinking with others”. I wasn’t sure what the questionnaire defined as “others”, and whether someone is a friend, acquaintance, or stranger changes the answer for me.

Overall, I find the test very useful and enlightening. I was amazed to see that I scored 112. While I am quite aware that I have social anxiety, I didn’t realize how significant it is! I’ve structured my life around avoiding most of the situations listed, which I suppose is my way of accommodating my social anxiety.

Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale

Read each situation carefully and answer two questions about that situation; the first about how anxious or fearful you feel in the situation, and the second about how often you avoid the situation.

If you encounter a situation you ordinarily do not experience, imagine if you were faced with it, and then rate the degree to which you would fear this hypothetical situation and how often you would tend to avoid it. Please base your ratings on how the situations have affected you in the last week.

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