22nd February 2024

Investigations

If a social anxiety disorder is suspected, the 3-item Mini-Social Phobia Inventory (Mini-Spin) or the following two questions can be asked as screening tools:

2 questions used for screening:

• Do you avoid social settings or activities?
• Do you become scared or embarrassed in social situations?

If the patient answers yes to one of the above questions or scores >6 on the Mini-Spin tool, they should be referred for further testing. 

Social anxiety disorder assessment tools: 

• The Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) is sensitive and specific for social anxiety disorder – It is a 17-item questionnaire, with each question rated out of 5. Scores range from 0-68. A SPIN score of 21-30 = mild social phobia, 31-40 = moderate phobia, 41-50= severe phobia and >50= very severe phobia
• The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) assesses how much of an impact social anxiety disorder has on different activities of daily living. It is commonly used to measure response to treatment. It is a 24-item questionnaire, scores range from 0-144.  A score of 0-29 indicates no social anxiety disorder, 30-49 indicates mild social anxiety, 50-64 moderate social anxiety, 65-79 marked social anxiety, 80-94 severe social anxiety and >95 very severe social anxiety.