The DSM-5 social anxiety disorder severity scale: Evidence of validity and reliability in a clinical sample

•The APA recommends the DSM-5 Social Anxiety Disorder scale for the assessment of Social Anxiety Disorder severity.•The psychometric properties of the scale have not been adequately assessed in an English-speaking clinical sample.•The scale demonstrates reliability and validity in a clinical sample.

With DSM-5, the APA began providing guidelines for anxiety disorder severity assessment that incorporates newly developed self-report scales. The scales share a common template, are brief, and are free of copyright restrictions. Initial validation studies have been promising, but the English-language versions of the scales have not been formally validated in clinical samples. Forty-seven individuals with a principal diagnosis of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) completed a diagnostic assessment, as well as the DSM-5 SAD severity scale and several previously validated measures. The scale demonstrated internal consistency, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. The next steps in the validation process are outlined.