In the eye of the beholder – validating the visual social anxiety scale (VSAS) in social anxiety disorder.
Saved in:
| Title: | In the eye of the beholder – validating the visual social anxiety scale (VSAS) in social anxiety disorder. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Massad, Raz (AUTHOR), Hertz-Palmor, Nimrod (AUTHOR), Blay, Yoav (AUTHOR), Gur, Shay (AUTHOR), Schneier, Franklin R. (AUTHOR), Lazarov, Amit (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Mar2026, Vol. 55 Issue 2, p223-251. 29p. |
| Subjects: | Social anxiety, Self-report inventories, Exploratory factor analysis, Receiver operating characteristic curves, Test reliability, Social phobia, Sensitivity & specificity (Statistics) |
| Abstract: | The Visual Social Anxiety Scale (VSAS) is a novel picture-based self-report measure of social anxiety that shown promising psychometric properties among non-selected participants. The present study aimed to validate the VSAS among individuals with clinically diagnosed social anxiety disorder (SAD) and establish clinical cutoff scores. One-hundred-and-three adults with SAD completed the VSAS with a battery of additional self-report measures of social anxiety, depression, and general anxiety. Internal consistency, convergent and discriminant validities, were assessed. Clinical cutoff scores were established via a Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis using a control group of individuals without any past or present psychopathology (n = 34). An Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was performed to explore underlying thematic factors. The VSAS exhibited high internal consistency and adequate convergent and discriminant validities. The ROC analysis showed the area under the curve to be 0.95 and yielded an optimal cutoff score of 23.40, providing high accuracy (0.90), sensitivity (0.89), and specificity (0.91) for distinguishing SAD from non-SAD individuals. The EFA revealed a 3-factor structure representing the following themes: social interpersonal situations, formal interpersonal situations, and being the center of attention. The psychometric properties of the VSAS support its utility in assessing and identifying individuals with clinical SAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
|
Full text is not displayed to guests.
Login for full access.
|
|
| Abstract: | The Visual Social Anxiety Scale (VSAS) is a novel picture-based self-report measure of social anxiety that shown promising psychometric properties among non-selected participants. The present study aimed to validate the VSAS among individuals with clinically diagnosed social anxiety disorder (SAD) and establish clinical cutoff scores. One-hundred-and-three adults with SAD completed the VSAS with a battery of additional self-report measures of social anxiety, depression, and general anxiety. Internal consistency, convergent and discriminant validities, were assessed. Clinical cutoff scores were established via a Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) analysis using a control group of individuals without any past or present psychopathology (n = 34). An Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was performed to explore underlying thematic factors. The VSAS exhibited high internal consistency and adequate convergent and discriminant validities. The ROC analysis showed the area under the curve to be 0.95 and yielded an optimal cutoff score of 23.40, providing high accuracy (0.90), sensitivity (0.89), and specificity (0.91) for distinguishing SAD from non-SAD individuals. The EFA revealed a 3-factor structure representing the following themes: social interpersonal situations, formal interpersonal situations, and being the center of attention. The psychometric properties of the VSAS support its utility in assessing and identifying individuals with clinical SAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 16506073 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/16506073.2025.2487777 |
