title: Two-phase survey to determine social anxiety and gender differences in Omani adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is a lack of studies examining the effectiveness of some of the commonly used instruments to elicit the presence of social anxiety disorder (SAD) in Arab-speaking populations, such as those in Oman. The aim of this study was to establish the influence of social anxiety and the role of gender among Omani adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  A two-phase protocol was used, entailing the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) against the gold standard, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
  
  
  RESULTS
  According to DSM and LSAS, the prevalence of social phobia among Omani students was generally higher compared to what has been reported in other parts of the world and the crosstabs analysis showed a significant correlation between gender and SAD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Arabic version of LSAS proved to be an effective tool for assessing and quantifying the presence of SAD. This study discusses the sociocultural factors affecting social phobia in Omani society.
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioural Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
authors.forename: Marwan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al-Sharbati
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioural Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
authors.forename: Samir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Al-Adawi
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ophthalmology, Department of Visual Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Petrini
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioural Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
authors.forename: Ahmed Sa
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Bait Amer
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioural Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Suleimani
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioural Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
authors.forename: Salwa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Al-Lawatiya
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioural Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
authors.forename: Ziad
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zaidan
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioural Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
authors.forename: Sara S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Al-Adawi
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioural Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
authors.forename: Ala'Alddin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al Hussaini
keywords: Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale; Omani; adolescent; gender; social phobia