Defining the Optimal Threshold Scores for the Social Fobia Spectrum – Short Version (SHY-SV)

Background: The Social Phobia Spectrum – Short Version (SHY – SV) is a self-report instrument recently developed for the evaluation of a broad spectrum of social phobic manifestations, including both full-threshold and sub-threshold symptoms as well as atypical symptoms and personality traits. While the SHY – SV has proven a useful tool for the quantification of social phobic symptoms, it currently lacks a validated diagnostic threshold. 
Aim: This study aimed to determine the optimal cut-off score on the SHY - SV for identifying the presence of a clinical diagnosis of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD).
Methods: the study included 104 subjects, of which 52 diagnosed with SAD and 52 healthy controls (HC). Trained psychiatrists conducted clinical diagnoses based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria and subsequently assessed participants using the SHY – SV. A Receiver-Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve was used to find the optimal SHY - SV threshold score for the identification of clinical SAD.
Results: a cut-off score of 37 on the SHY – SV proved most effective in distinguishing individuals with SAD, exhibiting satisfactory levels of both specificity (0.981) and sensitivity (1.00).
Conclusion: our findings suggest that a SHY – SV score of 37 serves as the most discriminative threshold for identifying individuals with SAD.