Psychometric properties of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) in a longitudinal study of African Americans with anxiety disorders

The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) is a widely used measure of social anxiety. However, no study has examined the psychometric properties of the LSAS in an African American sample. The current study examined the LSAS characteristics in 97 African Americans diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Overall, the original LSAS subscales showed excellent internal consistency and temporal stability. Similar to previous reports, fear and avoidance subscales were so highly correlated that they yielded redundant information. Confirmatory factor analyses for three previously proposed models failed to demonstrate an excellent fit to our data. However, a four-factor model showed minimally acceptable fit. Overall, the LSAS performed similarly in our African American sample as in previous European American samples. Exploratory factor analyses are warranted to determine whether a better factor structure exists for African Americans.

► We examined the psychometric properties the LSAS in an African American sample.
► LSAS subscales demonstrated excellent internal consistency and temporal stability.
► A four-factor model demonstrated the best fit in an African American sample.
► Exploratory factor analyses are needed to determine the best structure.