The Latent Structure of Social Anxiety Disorder: A Taxometric Analysis

Debate exists regarding whether social anxiety is most accurately conceptualized as a categorical or dimensional phenomenon, and existing taxometric research has generated equivocal evidence. Further, researchers have yet to examine the latent structure of specific and generalized forms of social anxiety. The present study sought to extend previous research by further examining the latent structure of social anxiety, as well as the specific and generalized types, in a large nonclinical sample of adults (n = 2,019). Three taxometric procedures (MAXCOV, MAMBAC, and L-Mode) were applied to indicators derived from two commonly used measures of social fears. Results yielded convergent evidence of a dimensional structure for social anxiety, with specific and generalized social fears also exhibiting continuous relationships with milder social fears. The implications of these findings for the assessment, diagnosis, classification, and treatment of social anxiety are discussed.