The assessment of social anxiety disorder in people who stutter using the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale Japanese version (LSAS-J)

Abstract

This study examined the comorbidity of social anxiety disorder in 100 people who stutter. The mean age of the patients are 24 years (range, 10-57 years ; male : female, 3.7：1). The social anxiety of the patients was assessed using the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale Japanese version (LSAS-J). The results showed that teenage female patients had higher LSAS-J scores, while patients who were ≧ 30 years of age had lower LSAS-J scores. Moreover, 50% of the adult patients had an LSAS-J score of ≧ 50, which corresponds to moderate SAD. In conclusion, SAD is a frequent comorbidity in people who stutter. Assessing whether a person who stutters has SAD provides information that can be useful for selecting an appropriate therapeutic approach for the treatment of stuttering.