Psychological Medicine, 2001, 31, 1025–1035.  2001 Cambridge University Press DOI : 10.1017S003329170105405 Printed in the United Kingdom The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale : a comparison of the psychometric properties of self-report and clinician-administered formats D.M.FRESCO, M.E.COLES, R. G.HEIMBERG,  M.R. LIEBOWITZ, S.HAMI, M. B. STEIN  D.GOETZ From the Adult Anxiety Clinic of Temple University, Philadelphia, PA ; Anxiety Disorders Clinic, New York State Psychiatry Institute, and Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY ; and Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, CA, USA ABSTRACT Background. The clinician-administered version of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS-CA) is a commonly used assessment device for the evaluation of social anxiety disorder and has been shown to have strong psychometric characteristics. Because of its apparently straightforward rating format and potential savings in time and effort, interest in the use of the LSAS as a self-report (LSAS-SR) measure has increased, and the LSAS-SR has been used in a number of studies. However, the psychometric properties of the LSAS-SR have not been well established. Methods. This study examined the psychometric properties of the LSAS-SR in comparison to the LSAS-CA in a sample of 99 individuals with a primary diagnosis of social anxiety disorder and 53 individuals with no current psychiatric disorder. Results. There was little difference between the two versions of the LSAS on any scale or subscale score. Both forms were internally consistent and the subscale intercorrelations for the two forms were essentially identical. Correlations of each LSAS-SR index with its LSAS-CA counterpart were all highly significant. Finally, the convergent and discriminant validity of the two forms of the LSAS was shown to be strong. Conclusion. Results of this study suggest that the self-report version of the LSAS compares well to the clinician-administered version and may be validly employed in the assessment of social anxiety disorder. INTRODUCTION Although social anxiety disorder (or social phobia as it is also known) was once regarded as the ‘ neglected anxiety disorder ’ (Liebowitz et al. 1985), tremendous progress has been made in refining its diagnostic criteria, reliably assessing its symptoms and associated impairments, and developing medication and psychosocial treat- ments (Heimberg et al. 1995 ; Stein 1995). Social anxiety disorder is the third most  Address for correspondence : Professor Richard G. Heimberg, Adult Anxiety Clinic of Temple University, Temple University, 419 Weiss Hall, 1701 North 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122-6085, USA. common psychiatric disorder with a lifetime prevalence of 133 % (Kessler et al. 1994). It is associated with significant impairment in social, educational and vocational functioning (Liebowitz et al. 1985). Social anxiety disorder can interfere with any facet of life that evokes the spectre of evaluation by others, such as the ability to initiate or maintain social or romantic relationships, attend classes that require par- ticipation in discussion, take part in meetings at the workplace, or join social or recreational groups (Schneier et al. 1994). Individuals with social anxiety disorder are less likely to be married, more likely to terminate their education early, more likely to be unproductive at work or 1025