title: The Liebowitz social anxiety scale for children and adolescents: an initial psychometric investigation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the psychometric properties of a newly developed clinician rating scale, the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale for Children and Adolescents (LSAS-CA).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 154 children and adolescents participated in an assessment consisting of a diagnostic interview, the LSAS-CA, and other measures of psychopathology and impairment. Sixty-one of these children also participated in a second LSAS-CA administration, by a different rater blind to diagnosis, within 7 days of the initial assessment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  High internal consistency (alpha =.90-.97 for full sample and.83-.95 for social phobia group) and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.89-0.94) were obtained for LSAS-CA total and subscale scores. LSAS-CA scores had stronger associations with measures of social anxiety and general impairment than with a measure of depression. Subjects with social anxiety disorder had significantly higher LSAS-CA scores than subjects with other anxiety disorders and healthy controls. A LSAS-CA cutoff score of 22.5 represented the best balance of sensitivity and specificity when distinguishing between individuals with social phobia and normal controls, whereas a cutoff of 29.5 was optimal for distinguishing social phobia from other anxiety disorders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Initial findings suggest that the LSAS-CA is a reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of social anxiety disorder.
authors.affiliation: New York University School of Medicine, Child Study Center, New York, NY 10016, USA. carrie.masia@med.nyi.edu
authors.forename: Carrie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Masia-Warner
authors.forename: Eric A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Storch
authors.forename: Donna B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Pincus
authors.forename: Rachel G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: Richard G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Heimberg
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Liebowitz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity