More intensive probing increases the detection of social anxiety disorders in schizophrenia

This study examined the influence of the assessment methods in detecting social anxiety disorders (SAD). We used a two-stage procedure to elicit social anxiety symptoms (SAS) to diagnose SAD in 80 people with a schizophrenia spectrum psychotic disorder (SZSPD) from an early intervention program. We observed a 28.8% lifetime prevalence of SAD when considering only the SAS elicited using the SCID probes (first stage), and a significant increase to 48.8% after adding the probes from the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (second stage). In conclusion, the LSAS can increase the sensitivity in detecting SAS and hence SAD comorbid to SZSPD.