Factorial structure of the social anxiety scale and its relationship with maladaptive perfectionism among Polish students

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Who: Piotr Bereznowski
Where: International Sopot Youth Conference 2016

Abstract: One of the most popular measures of social phobia is the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS; Liebowitz, 1987). The LSAS has been modified to a self-report version (LSAS-SR). The LSAS-SR is a 24-item measure of fear or anxiety and avoidance experienced in social interactions and performance situations. Scoring instructions for the LSAS imply two components: (1) fear or anxiety and (2) avoidance, while exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielded better match for 4-factor structure among outpatients in North America: (1) social interaction, (2) public speaking, (3) observation by others, and (4) eating and drinking in public (Oakman et al., 2003; Safren et al., 1999). A self-report version offers ease of administration, but it may differ from the structured interview version in its psychometric properties. The study was conducted on 392 university students (including 248 women and 137 men, 7 participants did not report gender). Mean age was M = 23.09 years (SD = 5.31). These individuals were studying at the universities in Tricity and Katowice. The factorial structure of LSAS-SR as well as its relationship with maladaptive perfectionism was examined. The results showed that both 2-factor and 4-factor structures have barely acceptable fit to data in Polish student sample. It is suggested that the scale could be shortened to achieve better psychometric properties.