A comparison of social phobia outcome measures in cognitive-behavioral group therapy.
Use SPAI or SPS/SIAS—not LSAS—to track CBT progress in adult social-phobia clients.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team ran group CBT for the adults with social phobia.
They gave three questionnaires before and after: SPAI, SPS/SIAS, and LSAS.
No control group—just watched which scale showed the biggest change.
What they found
SPAI and SPS/SIAS scores dropped a lot after therapy.
LSAS barely budged, so it missed the improvement.
Bottom line: SPAI and SPS/SIAS catch change; LSAS does not.
How this fits with other research
Vassos et al. (2023) built on this work. They kept the same CBT group format but added peer feedback after video practice. Extra feedback gave a moderate boost—showing the 1998 protocol can still grow.
Matson et al. (2009) looked at kid tools, not adult ones. Their review warns many social-skills scales have weak proof. That caution supports picking well-tested adult tools like SPAI and SPS/SIAS.
Robinson et al. (2011) made a new role-play test for autism. Like the 1998 study, they asked, "Which tool actually shows real change?" Both papers push clinicians to check a scale’s sensitivity before using it.
Why it matters
If you run CBT groups for social anxiety, grab SPAI or SPS/SIAS and skip LSAS for progress tracking. You’ll see clear, motivating gains each week. The 2023 update says you can also add peer feedback for an extra punch. Picking the right ruler means you—and your client—know when therapy is working.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This article reports the effects of a cognitive-behavioral group therapy program for social phobia (N = 25 outpatients) on several psychometric measures. It is the first study to simultaneously examine three newer and promising social-phobia measures: the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and accompanying Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS), the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI), and the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). More traditional measures of social phobia were also included, along with measures of anxious and depressed mood. Among the newer scales, the SPAI and SPS/SIAS were found to have good sensitivity to treatment. There was limited support for the LSAS. Intercorrelations among all of the outcome measures are presented both before and after cognitive-behavioral therapy. Strengths and weakness of each of the newer social-phobia measures are discussed.
Behavior modification, 1998 · doi:10.1177/01454455980223004