Optimal Cut Points for Remission and Response for the German Version of the Social Phobia Anxiety Inventory (SPAI).

OBJECTIVE

The German version of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI-G) is a validated measure for the detection of social anxiety disorder (SAD). The aim of the present study was to develop optimal cut points (OC) for remission and response to treatment for the SPAI-G.

METHODS

We used Receiver Operating Characteristic methods and bootstrapping to analyse the data of 359 patients after psychotherapeutic treatment. OCs where defined as the cut points with the highest sensitivity and specificity after bootstrapping.

RESULTS

For remission, an OC of 2.79 was found, and for response, a change in score from pre- to posttreatment by 11% yielded best results.

CONCLUSIONS

The OC we identified for remissionmay be used to improve the diagnostic utility of the SPAI-G. However, the cut point for response achieved only borderline-acceptable levels of sensitivity and specificity, calling into doubt their utility in clinical and research setting.