Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale – LSAS
Measures the severity of social anxiety and avoidance across a range of social and performance situations.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale – LSAS was developed by Michael R. Liebowitz (1987). It is designed to measure Social Anxiety. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 48 items organized into 2 factors/subscales: Fear or Anxiety, Avoidance.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Fear or Anxiety | 1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17,19,21,23,25,27,29,31,33,35,37,39,41,43,45,47 | 24 |
| Avoidance | 2,4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18,20,22,24,26,28,30,32,34,36,38,40,42,44,46,48 | 24 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 0 = None / Never (0%), 1 = Mild / Occasionally (up to 33% of the time), 2 = Moderate / Often (33% to 67% of the time), 3 = Severe / Usually (67% to 100% of the time).
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 0 to 144. Interpretation guidelines:
- Mild Social Anxiety: 0 – 54
- Moderate Social Anxiety: 55 – 65
- Marked Social Anxiety: 66 – 80
- Severe Social Anxiety: 81 – 95
- Very Severe Social Phobia (Anxiety): 96 – 144
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of clinical (alpha = 0.95), non-clinical (alpha = 0.94).
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.