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Sample records for greater social anxiety

  1. Mindfulness Facets, Social Anxiety, and Drinking to Cope with Social Anxiety: Testing Mediators of Drinking Problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clerkin, Elise M; Sarfan, Laurel D; Parsons, E Marie; Magee, Joshua C

    2017-02-01

    This cross-sectional study tested social anxiety symptoms, trait mindfulness, and drinking to cope with social anxiety as potential predictors and/or serial mediators of drinking problems. A community-based sample of individuals with co-occurring social anxiety symptoms and alcohol dependence were recruited. Participants ( N = 105) completed measures of social anxiety, drinking to cope with social anxiety, and alcohol use and problems. As well, participants completed the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire , which assesses mindfulness facets of accepting without judgment, acting with awareness, not reacting to one's internal experiences, observing and attending to experiences, and labeling and describing. As predicted, the relationship between social anxiety symptoms and drinking problems was mediated by social anxiety coping motives across each of the models. Further, the relationship between specific mindfulness facets (acting with awareness, accepting without judgment, and describe) and drinking problems was serially mediated by social anxiety symptoms and drinking to cope with social anxiety. This research builds upon existing studies that have largely been conducted with college students to evaluate potential mediators driving drinking problems. Specifically, individuals who are less able to act with awareness, accept without judgment, and describe their internal experiences may experience heightened social anxiety and drinking to cope with that anxiety, which could ultimately result in greater alcohol-related problems.

  2. An experimental manipulation of social comparison in social anxiety.

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    Mitchell, Melissa A; Schmidt, Norman B

    2014-01-01

    Negative self-appraisal is thought to maintain social anxiety particularly when comparing oneself to others. Work on social comparison suggests that gender may moderate the effects of social comparison in social anxiety. Self-appraisals of the desirability of one's personality may be more important to women, whereas self-appraisal of signs of anxiety may be more important to men. Within each gender, those with high social anxiety are expected to report more negative self-appraisal when comparing themselves to someone else described as high achieving. This study is the first we are aware of that examined gender-based interactive effects after a social comparison manipulation. Participants read a bogus profile of a fellow student's adjustment to college. They were randomly assigned to read a profile suggesting that the fellow student was "high achieving" or more normative in his/her achievements. When comparing to a "high achieving" individual, men with high social anxiety reported the most negative self-appraisals of their signs of anxiety. In addition, greater social anxiety was associated with a poorer self-appraisal of personality only among men. The implications of the findings for conceptualizing the role of social comparison in social anxiety are discussed.

  3. Cultural differences in perceived social norms and social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heinrichs, Nina; Rapee, Ronald M; Alden, Lynn A; Bögels, Susan; Hofmann, Stefan G; Oh, Kyung Ja; Sakano, Yuji

    2006-08-01

    Cultural considerations in social anxiety are a rarely investigated topic although it seems likely that differences between countries in social norms may relate to the extent of social anxiety. The present study investigated individuals' personal and perceived cultural norms and their relation to social anxiety and fear of blushing. A total of 909 participants from eight countries completed vignettes describing social situations and evaluated the social acceptability of the behavior of the main actor both from their own, personal perspective as well as from a cultural viewpoint. Personal and cultural norms showed somewhat different patterns in comparison between types of countries (individualistic/collectivistic). According to reported cultural norms, collectivistic countries were more accepting toward socially reticent and withdrawn behaviors than was the case in individualistic countries. In contrast, there was no difference between individualistic and collectivistic countries on individuals' personal perspectives regarding socially withdrawn behavior. Collectivistic countries also reported greater levels of social anxiety and more fear of blushing than individualistic countries. Significant positive relations occurred between the extent to which attention-avoiding behaviors are accepted in a culture and the level of social anxiety or fear of blushing symptoms. These results provide initial evidence that social anxiety may be related to different cultural norms across countries.

  4. Still lonely: Social adjustment of youth with and without social anxiety disorder following cognitive behavioral therapy.

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    Suveg, Cynthia; Kingery, Julie Newman; Davis, Molly; Jones, Anna; Whitehead, Monica; Jacob, Marni L

    2017-12-01

    Social experiences are an integral part of normative development for youth and social functioning difficulties are related to poor outcomes. Youth with anxiety disorders, and particularly social anxiety disorder, experience difficulties across many aspects of social functioning that may place them at risk for maladjustment. The goal of this paper was to compare social experiences of youth across anxiety diagnoses and examine whether treatment is helpful in improving social functioning. Ninety-two children (age 7-12 years; 58% male; 87.0% White) with a primary diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and/or social anxiety disorder participated in cognitive behavioral therapy. At both pre- and post-treatment, children with social anxiety disorder self-reported greater loneliness than youth without social anxiety disorder, though levels of peer victimization and receipt of prosocial behavior were similar across groups. Parents reported greater social problems for youth with social anxiety disorder compared to those without social anxiety disorder. All youth experienced improved social functioning following treatment per child- and parent-reports. The results call for an increased focus on the social experiences of youth with anxiety disorders, and particularly loneliness, for children with social anxiety disorder. The results document ways that evidenced-based practice can improve social functioning for youth with anxiety disorders. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Marijuana Effect Expectancies: Relations to Social Anxiety and Marijuana Use Problems

    OpenAIRE

    Buckner, Julia D.; Schmidt, Norman B.

    2008-01-01

    High social anxiety is related to marijuana problems, yet the nature of this relation remains unclear. We examined relations between marijuana effect expectancies, social anxiety, and marijuana among undergraduates (N=337). Social anxiety was related positively to negative expectancies and negatively to Tension Reduction Expectancies. Among socially anxious individuals, greater belief that marijuana produces cognitive/behavioral impairment was associated with greater marijuana use rates. Nega...

  6. Social media use and anxiety in emerging adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vannucci, Anna; Flannery, Kaitlin M; Ohannessian, Christine McCauley

    2017-01-01

    Social media use is central to the lives of emerging adults, but the implications of social media use on psychological adjustment are not well understood. The current study aimed to examine the impact of time spent using social media on anxiety symptoms and severity in emerging adults. Using a web-based recruitment technique, we collected survey information on social media use and anxiety symptoms and related impairment in a nationally representative sample of 563 emerging adults from the U.S. (18-22 years-old; 50.2% female; 63.3% Non-Hispanic White). Participants self-reported the amount of time they spent using various social media sites on an average day, and responded to anxiety questionnaires RESULTS: Hierarchical regression revealed that more time spent using social media was significantly associated with greater symptoms of dispositional anxiety (B=0.74, 95% CI=0.59-0.90, psocial media use was significantly associated with a greater likelihood of participants scoring above the anxiety severity clinical cut-off indicating a probable anxiety disorder (AOR=1.032, 95% CI=1.004-1.062, p=0.028). Study limitations include the cross-sectional design and reliance on self-report questionnaires. Given the ubiquity of social media among emerging adults, who are also at high risk for anxiety disorders, the positive association between social media use and anxiety has important implications for clinicians. Gaining a more nuanced understanding of this relationship will help to inform novel approaches to anxiety treatment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Cultural Aspects in Social Anxiety and Social Anxiety Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofmann, Stefan G.; Asnaani, Anu; Hinton, Devon E.

    2010-01-01

    To examine cultural aspects in social anxiety and social anxiety disorder (SAD), we reviewed the literature on the prevalence rates, expressions, and treatments of social anxiety/SAD as they relate to culture, race, and ethnicity. We further reviewed factors that contribute to the differences in social anxiety/SAD between different cultures, including individualism/collectivism, perception of social norms, self-construal, gender roles, and gender role identification. Our review suggests that the prevalence and expression of social anxiety/SAD depends on the particular culture. Asian cultures typically show the lowest rates, whereas Russian and US samples show the highest rates, of SAD. Taijin kyofusho is discussed as a possible culture-specific expression of social anxiety, although the empirical evidence concerning the validity of this syndrome has been mixed. It is concluded that the individual's social concerns need to be examined in the context of the person's cultural, racial, and ethnic background in order to adequately assess the degree and expression of social anxiety and social anxiety disorder. This has direct relevance for the upcoming DSM-V. PMID:21132847

  8. A Contextual Approach to Experiential Avoidance and Social Anxiety: Evidence from an Experimental Interaction and Daily Interactions of People with Social Anxiety Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kashdan, Todd B.; Goodman, Fallon R.; Machell, Kyla A.; Kleiman, Evan M.; Monfort, Samuel S.; Ciarrochi, Joseph; Nezlek, John B.

    2014-01-01

    Experiential avoidance, the tendency to avoid internal, unwanted thoughts and feelings, is hypothesized to be a risk factor for social anxiety. Existing studies of experiential avoidance rely on trait measures with minimal contextual consideration. In two studies, we examined the association between experiential avoidance and anxiety within real-world social interactions. In the first study, we examined the effect of experiential avoidance on social anxiety in everyday life. For two weeks, 37 participants with Social Anxiety Disorder [SAD] and 38 healthy controls provided reports of experiential avoidance and social anxiety symptoms during face-to-face social interactions. Results showed that momentary experiential avoidance was positively related to anxiety symptoms during social interactions and this effect was stronger among people with SAD. People low in EA showed greater sensitivity to the level of situational threat than high EA people. In the second study, we facilitated an initial encounter between strangers. Unlike Study 1, we experimentally created a social situation where there was either an opportunity for intimacy (self-disclosure conversation) or no such opportunity (small-talk conversation). Results showed that greater experiential avoidance during the self-disclosure conversation temporally preceded increases in social anxiety for the remainder of the interaction; no such effect was found in the small-talk conversation. Our findings provide insight into the association between experiential avoidance on social anxiety in laboratory and naturalistic settings, and demonstrate that the effect of EA depends upon level of social threat and opportunity. PMID:24749634

  9. Social support and performance anxiety of college music students.

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    Schneider, Erin; Chesky, Kris

    2011-09-01

    This study characterized perceived social support and performance anxiety of college music students, compared characteristics to those of non-music majors, and explored the relationships between social support and performance anxiety. Subjects (n = 609) completed a questionnaire that included demographics, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and visual analog scale measures of performance anxiety. Results showed that music majors perceived significantly lower levels of social support from significant others when compared to non-music majors. Perceived social support was significantly correlated with measures of performance anxiety. Students with greater perceived social support reported less frequent anxiety and lower levels of impact of anxiety on ability to perform. These findings may have practical implications for schools of music and conservatories.

  10. Attribution bias and social anxiety in schizophrenia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amelie M. Achim

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Studies on attribution biases in schizophrenia have produced mixed results, whereas such biases have been more consistently reported in people with anxiety disorders. Anxiety comorbidities are frequent in schizophrenia, in particular social anxiety disorder, which could influence their patterns of attribution biases. The objective of the present study was thus to determine if individuals with schizophrenia and a comorbid social anxiety disorder (SZ+ show distinct attribution biases as compared with individuals with schizophrenia without social anxiety (SZ− and healthy controls. Attribution biases were assessed with the Internal, Personal, and Situational Attributions Questionnaire in 41 individual with schizophrenia and 41 healthy controls. Results revealed the lack of the normal externalizing bias in SZ+, whereas SZ− did not significantly differ from healthy controls on this dimension. The personalizing bias was not influenced by social anxiety but was in contrast linked with delusions, with a greater personalizing bias in individuals with current delusions. Future studies on attribution biases in schizophrenia should carefully document symptom presentation, including social anxiety.

  11. The separate and interactive effects of drinking motives and social anxiety symptoms in predicting drinking outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clerkin, Elise M; Barnett, Nancy

    2012-05-01

    Our goal was to test the separate and interactive effects of drinking motives and social anxiety symptoms in predicting drinking-related consumption and problems. Participants (N=730; 59.7% female) were undergraduate college students who completed measures of social anxiety symptoms, drinking motives, alcohol consumption, and drinking problems. Greater social anxiety symptoms were significantly associated with less alcohol consumption, and there was some evidence that greater social anxiety symptoms were also associated with greater alcohol-relevant problems. Significant interactions between social anxiety and motives indicated that a) alcohol use was most pronounced for individuals high in enhancement motives and low in social anxiety symptoms; and b) among participants low in coping motives, drinking problems were greater for individuals high (vs. low) in social anxiety symptoms. More fully identifying the individual difference factors that link social anxiety symptoms with drinking outcomes is important for informing prevention and intervention approaches. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Neural mechanisms of proactive and reactive cognitive control in social anxiety.

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    Schmid, Petra C; Kleiman, Tali; Amodio, David M

    2015-09-01

    Social anxiety--the fear of social embarrassment and negative evaluation by others--ranks among people's worst fears, and it is often thought to impair task performance. We investigated the neurocognitive processes through which trait social anxiety relates to task performance, proposing a model of the joint contributions of reactive control, theoretically associated with conflict monitoring and activity of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), and proactive control, theoretically associated with top-down regulation and activity of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). Participants varying in their degree of trait social anxiety completed the Eriksen flanker task while electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. Task-related left dlPFC activity was indexed by relative left prefrontal EEG (inverse alpha), and conflict-related dACC activity was indexed by the N2r component of the event-related potential. Stronger activity in both regions predicted better response control, and greater social anxiety was associated with worse response control. Furthermore, for all participants, greater left prefrontal EEG activity predicted better behavioral control, but for high social anxiety participants only, greater N2r responses also predicted behavioral control. This pattern suggests that low social anxiety individuals engaged a proactive control process, driven by dlPFC activity, whereas high social anxiety individuals relied additionally on a reactive control process, driven by conflict-related dACC activity. These findings support a model of control that involves different patterns of interplay between proactive and reactive strategies and may help to explain self-regulatory impairments in social anxiety. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Social anxiety disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phobia - social; Anxiety disorder - social; Social phobia; SAD - social anxiety disorder ... People with social anxiety disorder fear and avoid situations in which they may be judged by others. It may begin in ...

  14. Cannabis Use Behaviors and Social Anxiety: The Roles of Perceived Descriptive and Injunctive Social Norms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ecker, Anthony H.; Buckner, Julia D.

    2014-01-01

    Objective: Individuals with greater social anxiety are particularly vulnerable to cannabis-related impairment. Descriptive norms (beliefs about others’ use) and injunctive norms (beliefs regarding others’ approval of risky use) may be particularly relevant to cannabis-related behaviors among socially anxious persons if they use cannabis for fear of evaluation for deviating from what they believe to be normative behaviors. Yet, little research has examined the impact of these social norms on the relationships between social anxiety and cannabis use behaviors. Method: The current study investigated whether the relationships of social anxiety to cannabis use and use-related problems varied as a function of social norms. The sample comprised 230 (63.0% female) current cannabis-using undergraduates. Results: Injunctive norms (regarding parents, not friends) moderated the relationship between social anxiety and cannabis-related problem severity. Post hoc probing indicated that among participants with higher (but not lower) social anxiety, those with greater norm endorsement reported the most severe impairment. Injunctive norms (parents) also moderated the relationship between social anxiety and cannabis use frequency such that those with higher social anxiety and lower norm endorsement used cannabis less frequently. Descriptive norms did not moderate the relationship between social anxiety and cannabis use frequency. Conclusions: Socially anxious cannabis users appear to be especially influenced by beliefs regarding parents’ approval of risky cannabis use. Results underscore the importance of considering reference groups and the specific types of norms in understanding factors related to cannabis use behaviors among this vulnerable population. PMID:24411799

  15. Early adolescents' relationships with parents, teachers, and peers and increases in social anxiety symptoms.

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    Weymouth, Bridget B; Buehler, Cheryl

    2018-04-05

    Previous research on social anxiety has clearly identified interpersonal relationships as important for social anxiety symptoms. Few studies, however, have utilized longitudinal designs and have examined mechanisms that might explain links between negative interpersonal relationships and changes in youths' social anxiety over time. Recent models of social anxiety suggest that negative interpersonal relationships are linked to social anxiety through effects on social skills and behaviors. Using an autoregressive design and a sample of 416 two-parent families (51% female, 91% White), this study examined whether connections among parent-adolescent hostility, teacher support (6th grade), and changes in early adolescent social anxiety symptoms (6th to 8th grades) are mediated by youths' compliance with peers (7th grade). Results indicated that youths who experienced greater parent-adolescent hostility and lower teacher support engaged in greater compliance with peers. In turn, those who engaged in greater compliance with peers experienced increases in social anxiety symptoms. Significant indirect effects were substantiated for only parent-adolescent hostility. Associations were unique to adolescent social anxiety after accounting for depressive symptoms. Associations did not differ for early adolescent girls and boys. The results reveal that nuanced social processes involving social behaviors and relationships with parents and teachers have important and potentially unique implications for changes in early adolescent social anxiety symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. Cannabis craving in response to laboratory-induced social stress among racially diverse cannabis users: The impact of social anxiety disorder

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    Buckner, Julia D; Zvolensky, Michael J; Ecker, Anthony H; Jeffries, Emily R

    2016-01-01

    Social anxiety disorder appears to be a risk factor for cannabis-related problems. Although it is presumed that increases in cannabis craving during elevated social anxiety reflect an intent to cope with greater negative affectivity, it is unclear whether increases in physiological arousal during social stress are related to cannabis craving, especially among those with social anxiety disorder. Similarly, no studies have assessed motivational reasons for cannabis use during elevated social stress. Thus, the current study tested whether increases in state social anxiety (measured subjectively and via physiological arousal) were related to greater cannabis craving among 126 current cannabis users (88.9% with cannabis use disorder, 31.7% with social anxiety disorder, 54.0% non-Hispanic Caucasian) randomly assigned to either a social interaction or reading task. As predicted, cannabis users in the social interaction condition reported greater cannabis craving than those in the reading condition. This effect was particularly evident among those with social anxiety disorder. Although physiological arousal did not moderate the relationship between condition and craving, coping motives were the most common reasons cited for wanting to use cannabis and were reported more among those in the social interaction task. These experimental results uniquely add to a growing literature suggesting the importance of elevated state social anxiety (especially among those with social anxiety disorder) in cannabis use vulnerability processes. PMID:26839322

  17. Cannabis craving in response to laboratory-induced social stress among racially diverse cannabis users: The impact of social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckner, Julia D; Zvolensky, Michael J; Ecker, Anthony H; Jeffries, Emily R

    2016-04-01

    Social anxiety disorder appears to be a risk factor for cannabis-related problems. Although it is presumed that increases in cannabis craving during elevated social anxiety reflect an intent to cope with greater negative affectivity, it is unclear whether increases in physiological arousal during social stress are related to cannabis craving, especially among those with social anxiety disorder. Similarly, no studies have assessed motivational reasons for cannabis use during elevated social stress. Thus, the current study tested whether increases in state social anxiety (measured subjectively and via physiological arousal) were related to greater cannabis craving among 126 current cannabis users (88.9% with cannabis use disorder, 31.7% with social anxiety disorder, 54.0% non-Hispanic Caucasian) randomly assigned to either a social interaction or reading task. As predicted, cannabis users in the social interaction condition reported greater cannabis craving than those in the reading condition. This effect was particularly evident among those with social anxiety disorder. Although physiological arousal did not moderate the relationship between condition and craving, coping motives were the most common reasons cited for wanting to use cannabis and were reported more among those in the social interaction task. These experimental results uniquely add to a growing literature suggesting the importance of elevated state social anxiety (especially among those with social anxiety disorder) in cannabis use vulnerability processes. © The Author(s) 2016.

  18. Conditioned Subjective Responses to Socially Relevant Stimuli in Social Anxiety Disorder and Subclinical Social Anxiety.

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    Tinoco-González, Daniella; Fullana, Miquel Angel; Torrents-Rodas, David; Bonillo, Albert; Vervliet, Bram; Pailhez, Guillem; Farré, Magí; Andión, Oscar; Perez, Víctor; Torrubia, Rafael

    2015-01-01

    Although enhanced fear conditioning has been implicated in the origins of social anxiety disorder (SAD), laboratory evidence in support of this association is limited. Using a paradigm employing socially relevant unconditioned stimuli, we conducted two separate studies to asses fear conditioning in individuals with SAD and non-clinical individuals with high social anxiety (subclinical social anxiety [SSA]). They were compared with age-matched and gender-matched individuals with another anxiety disorder (panic disorder with agoraphobia) and healthy controls (Study 1) and with individuals with low social anxiety (Study 2). Contrary to our expectations, in both studies, self-report measures (ratings of anxiety, unpleasantness and arousal to the conditioned stimuli) of fear conditioning failed to discriminate between SAD or SSA and the other participant groups. Our results suggest that enhanced fear conditioning does not play a major role in pathological social anxiety. We used a social conditioning paradigm to study fear conditioning in clinical and subclinical social anxiety. We found no evidence of enhanced fear conditioning in social anxiety individuals. Enhanced fear conditioning may not be a hallmark of pathological social anxiety. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  19. Social Exclusion Anxiety

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Søndergaard, Dorte Marie

    2017-01-01

    Social exclusion anxiety is a term which builds on a social-psychological concept of human beings as existentially dependent on social embeddedness. This entry explores the concept in relation to bullying among children, which is a widespread and serious problem in schools and institutions. Social...... exclusion anxiety and longing for belonging are both central aspects of the affects and processes that enact and challenge social groups. Social exclusion anxiety should not be confused with ‘social phobia’, which is a concept within clinical psychology that focuses on the individual and refers to a phobic...... psychological condition. Social exclusion anxiety instead points to a distributed affect which circulates and smolders in all social groups. This is the result of an ever-present risk of someone being judged unworthy to belong to, or deemed not a legitimate participant in, a social group. Such anxiety may...

  20. Effects of gender role self-discrepancies and self-perceived attractiveness on social anxiety for women across social situations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howell, Ashley N; Weeks, Justin W

    2017-01-01

    Psychosocial factors, such as gender role norms, may impact how social anxiety disorder (SAD) is experienced and expressed in different social contexts for women. However to date, these factors have not been examined via experimental methodology. This was a cross-sectional, quasi-experimental controlled study. The current study included 48 highly socially anxious (HSA) women (70.9% meeting criteria for SAD) and examined the relationships among psychosocial factors (i.e. gender role self-discrepancies and self-perceived physical attractiveness), self-perceived social performance, and state anxiety, across two in vivo social tasks (i.e. conversation and opinion speech). On average, participants reported belief that they ought to be less feminine for the speech task and more masculine for both the conversation and speech tasks. Also, for the conversation task, only lower self-rated attractiveness predicted poorer self-perceived performance and greater post-task state anxiety, above gender role self-discrepancies and confederate gender. For the speech task, only greater self-discrepancy in prototypical masculine traits predicted poorer performance ratings, and it was related to greater state anxiety in anticipation of the task. For HSA women, psychosocial factors may play different roles in social anxiety across social contexts.

  1. The Effect of Social Anxiety on Urge and Craving among Smokers with and without Anxiety Disorders

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    Kimbrel, Nathan A.; Morissette, Sandra B.; Gulliver, Suzy B.; Langdon, Kirsten J.; Zvolensky, Michael J.

    2014-01-01

    Background Despite the often social nature of smoking, relatively little research has been conducted on the relationship between smoking and social anxiety disorder (SAD). Method Participants (N = 99) included 34 smokers without current mental health disorders, 37 smokers with SAD, and 28 smokers who met criteria for other anxiety disorder diagnoses (e.g., panic disorder or generalized anxiety disorder, but not SAD). Nicotine and placebo patches were administered to participants in a counterbalanced manner across two assessment days. Urge and craving were assessed before and after a 5-hour nicotine absorption/deprivation period. Results Compared to smokers without current mental health disorders, smokers with SAD did not report greater nicotine dependence, but did endorse greater motivation to use nicotine to avoid negative outcomes. In addition, after controlling for demographic variables, smoking characteristics, pre-deprivation urge and craving, and other anxiety/depression symptoms, social anxiety symptoms uniquely predicted urge and craving in the placebo patch condition; however, social anxiety had no influence on urge and craving in the nicotine patch condition. Conclusions These findings suggest that one potential reason that smokers with SAD may have worse cessation outcomes is that they may experience higher levels of craving and urge to smoke during quit attempts. Thus, during a quit attempt, particularly in the absence of nicotine replacement therapy, smokers with SAD are likely to benefit from additional treatment aimed at managing or reducing their social anxiety symptoms. PMID:24331637

  2. Social anxiety and heavy situational drinking: coping and conformity motives as multiple mediators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terlecki, Meredith A; Buckner, Julia D

    2015-01-01

    Individuals with clinically elevated social anxiety are at greater risk for alcohol use disorder, and the relation between social anxiety and drinking problems is at least partially accounted for by drinking more in negative emotional (e.g., feeling sad or angry) and personal/intimate (e.g., before sexual intercourse) situations. Identification of cognitive/motivational factors related to drinking in these high-risk situations could inform the development of treatment and prevention interventions for these high-risk drinkers. The current cross-sectional study examined the mediating effect of drinking motives on the relationship between social anxiety and drinking these high-risk situations among undergraduates (N=232). Clinically elevated social anxiety was associated with greater coping and conformity motives. Both coping and conformity motives mediated the relation between social anxiety and heavier alcohol consumption in negative emotional and personal/intimate contexts. Multiple mediation analyses indicated that these motives work additively to mediate the social anxiety-drinking situations relationship, such that heavy situational drinking among undergraduates with clinically elevated social anxiety can be jointly attributed to desire to cope with negative affect and to avoid social scrutiny. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Social anxiety and suicidal ideation: Test of the utility of the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide.

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    Buckner, Julia D; Lemke, Austin W; Jeffries, Emily R; Shah, Sonia M

    2017-01-01

    Social anxiety is related to greater suicidality, even after controlling for depression and other psychopathology. The Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicide (IPTS; Joiner, 2005) proposes that people are vulnerable to wanting to die by suicide if they experience both perceived burdensomeness (sense that one is a burden to others) and thwarted belongingness (a greater sense of alienation from others). Socially anxious persons may be especially vulnerable to these interpersonal factors. The current study tested whether interpersonal IPTS components independently and additively mediate the social anxiety-suicidal ideation (SI) relation among 780 (80.5% female) undergraduates. Social anxiety was significantly, robustly related to SI and to thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. Social anxiety was indirectly related to SI via thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. The sum of these indirect effects was significant. Moderated mediation analyses indicated that perceived burdensomeness only mediated the relation between social anxiety and SI at higher levels of thwarted belongingness. Findings highlight that difficulties in interpersonal functioning may serve as potential pathways through which social anxiety may lead to greater suicidality. Findings highlight that difficulties in interpersonal functioning may serve as potential pathways through which social anxiety may lead to greater suicidality. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Social anxiety symptoms across diagnoses among outpatients attending a tertiary care mood and anxiety disorders service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graystone, H J; Garner, M J; Baldwin, D S

    2009-04-01

    Social phobia is a common, persistent and disabling anxiety disorder in which co-existing depressive symptoms are common. However the prevalence of social anxiety symptoms in patients with other mood and anxiety disorders is uncertain. In consecutive patients attending a tertiary referral mood and anxiety disorders service, depressive symptoms were assessed by the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and social anxiety symptoms by the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). The Clinical Global Impression of Severity (CGI-S) was completed following the appointment. 75 patients (48 women, 27 men; mean age 45.9 years) completed the study. 38 had a single diagnosis and 37 co-morbid diagnoses: 15 patients had bipolar disorder, 35 unipolar depressive disorder, 19 an anxiety disorder, and 6 other disorders. Independent samples t-tests and one-way between-subjects ANOVA revealed that the severity of social anxiety symptoms but not depressive symptoms was significantly greater in patients with co-morbid diagnoses (LSAS 73.7 vs 54.2, t(72)=2.44, pdepression or bipolar disorder (respectively; LSAS 78.8 vs 59.4 vs 50.0, F(2, 65)=3.13, p=.05; MADRS 22.2 vs 19.8 vs 17.5, F(2, 66)depression (R(2)=0.376, pdepressive and social anxiety symptoms across a range of diagnoses. Depressive and social anxiety symptoms were most severe but least well correlated among tertiary care outpatients with anxiety disorders, emphasising the need for comprehensive evaluation and treatment.

  5. The Double Meaning of Online Social Space: Three-Way Interactions Among Social Anxiety, Online Social Behavior, and Offline Social Behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koo, Hoon Jung; Woo, Sungbum; Yang, Eunjoo; Kwon, Jung Hye

    2015-09-01

    The present study aimed to investigate how online and offline social behavior interact with each other ultimately to affect the well-being of socially anxious adolescents. Based on previous studies, it was assumed that there might be three-way interactive effects among online social behavior, offline social behavior, and social anxiety regarding the relationship with well-being. To measure social anxiety, online and offline social behavior, and mental well-being, self-report questionnaires such as the Korean-Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, Korean version of the Relational Maintenance Behavior Questionnaire, and Korean version of Mental Health Continuum Short Form were administered to 656 Korean adolescents. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the three-way interaction of online social behavior, offline social behavior, and social anxiety was indeed significant. First, online social behavior was associated with lower well-being of adolescents with higher social anxiety under conditions of low engagement in offline social behavior. In contrast, a higher level of online social behavior predicted greater well-being for individuals with high social anxiety under conditions of more engagement in offline social behavior. Second, online social behavior was not significantly related to well-being in youths with low social anxiety under conditions of both high and low engagement in offline social behavior. Implications and limitations of this study were discussed.

  6. Investigating the Role of Interpersonal Sensitivity, Anger, and Perfectionism in Social Anxiety.

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    Mohammadian, Youkhabeh; Mahaki, Behzad; Dehghani, Mahmoud; Vahid, Mohammadkazem Atef; Lavasani, Fahimeh Fathali

    2018-01-01

    The investigation of personality characteristics and emotional experiences of the people suffering from anxiety disorders is one of the most important issues which are considered by researchers and clinicians. Perfectionism, sensitivity to interpersonal rejection, and anger are personality traits related to social anxiety. In social anxiety disorder, it has also been focused on anger as a personality characteristic and as an emotional condition. The main purpose of this work is to investigate the role of these variables in predicting social anxiety among a nonclinical group of Iranian students. In this cross-sectional study, 131 students completed the self-report version of Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale Self-Report version (LSAS-SR), Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS), Interpersonal Sensitivity Measure (IPSM), and State and Trait Anger Expression Inventory. Multiple linear regressions were conducted to examine the concurrent associations between perfectionism, interpersonal sensitivity and quality of emotional experience, and expression of anger with severity of self-report social anxiety. Greater levels of FMPS total were significantly associated with a greater level of LSAS total, fear, and avoidance of social and functional situations ( P = 0.022, P = 0.024, and P = 0.006). Moreover, a significant positive correlation between IPSM total ( P = 0.015) with fear and also between anger expression index ( P = 0.009) with avoidance subscale were found. In accordance to the previous researches, we found that perfectionism, interpersonal sensitivity, anger experience, and anger expression skills are related to social anxiety. How these personality traits are related to fear and avoidance of social situations and their concurrent effects on predicting social anxiety were discussed.

  7. Social anxiety and cardiovascular responses to active coping conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MARGIT GRAMER

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available This study assessed the influence of trait social anxiety on cardiovascular, emotional and behavioral responses to active performance situations representing social and cognitive demands. Thirty-six male and thirty-six female students categorized as either high or low in trait social anxiety performed a mental arithmetic task and two interpersonal tasks requiring persuasive behavior: Preparation and Performance of a Speech, Role-played Interpersonal Interactions. The cardiovascular effects of social anxiety varied over experimental stressors and appear to reflect differences in effort or task engagement rather than differential affective experiences. During Role-played Interactions high socially anxious subjects displayed lower increases in systolic blood pressure compared to low anxious participants. This effect was partially mediated by behavioral indicators of social competence and suggests a more inhibited coping approach of socially anxious participants. Findings for Mental Arithmetic were in the opposite direction, high socially anxious subjects displayed greater heart rate effects. In the absence of group differences in state anxiety this effect might result from stronger audience effects on effort or task motivation in socially anxious participants. These findings strengthen the view that active performance situations elicit cardiovascular effects that are largely attributable to differences in task engagement. The data also indicate the importance of considering situational factors in social anxiety research.

  8. The impact of high trait social anxiety on neural processing of facial emotion expressions in females.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Felmingham, Kim L; Stewart, Laura F; Kemp, Andrew H; Carr, Andrea R

    2016-05-01

    A cognitive model of social anxiety predicts that an early attentional bias leads to greater cognitive processing of social threat signals, whereas the vigilance-avoidance model predicts there will be subsequent reduction in cognitive processing. This study tests these models by examining neural responses to social threat stimuli using Event-related potentials (ERP). 19 women with high trait social anxiety and 19 women with low trait social anxiety viewed emotional expressions (angry, disgusted, happy and neutral) in a passive viewing task whilst ERP responses were recorded. The HSA group revealed greater automatic attention, or hypervigilance, to all facial expressions, as indexed by greater N1 amplitude compared to the LSA group. They also showed greater sustained attention and elaborative processing of all facial expressions, indexed by significantly increased P2 and P3 amplitudes compared to the LSA group. These results support cognitive models of social anxiety, but are not consistent with predictions of the vigilance-avoidance model. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  9. Social Anxiety Disorder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S Seedat

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available According to epidemiological studies, rates of social anxiety disorder(SAD or social phobia range from 3% to 16% in the generalpopulation.[1,2]Social phobia and specific phobias have an earlier ageof onset than other anxiety disorders.

  10. Exercise dependence, social physique anxiety, and social support in experienced and inexperienced bodybuilders and weightlifters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hurst, R.; Hale, B.; Smith, D.; Collins, D.

    2000-01-01

    Objectives—To investigate psychological correlates of exercise dependence in experienced and inexperienced bodybuilders and weightlifters. Secondary objectives included measuring social physique anxiety, bodybuilding identity, and social support among bodybuilders and weightlifters. Methods—Thirty five experienced bodybuilders, 31 inexperienced bodybuilders, and 23 weightlifters completed the bodybuilding dependence scale, a bodybuilding version of the athletic identity measurement scale, the social physique anxiety scale, and an adapted version of the social support survey-clinical form. Results—A between subjects multivariate analysis of variance was calculated on the scores of the three groups of lifters for the four questionnaires. Univariate F tests and follow up tests indicated that experienced bodybuilders scored significantly higher than inexperienced bodybuilders and weightlifters on bodybuilding dependence (pbodybuilding identity (pbodybuilders exhibit more exercise dependence, show greater social support behaviour, and experience less social physique anxiety than inexperienced bodybuilders and weightlifters. Key Words: bodybuilding; exercise dependence; social physical anxiety; social support; athletic identity PMID:11131230

  11. Compensatory internet use among individuals higher in social anxiety and its implications for well-being

    OpenAIRE

    Weidman, Aaron C.; Fernandez, Katya C.; Levinson, Cheri A.; Augustine, Adam A; Larsen, Randy J.; Rodebaugh, Thomas L.

    2012-01-01

    The social compensation hypothesis states that the internet primarily benefits individuals who feel uncomfortable communicating face-to-face. In the current research, we tested whether individuals higher in social anxiety use the internet as a compensatory social medium, and whether such use is associated with greater well-being. In Study 1, individuals higher in social anxiety reported greater feelings of comfort and self-disclosure when socializing online than less socially anxious individu...

  12. Investigating the role of interpersonal sensitivity, Anger, and Perfectionism in social anxiety

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Youkhabeh Mohammadian

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: The investigation of personality characteristics and emotional experiences of the people suffering from anxiety disorders is one of the most important issues which are considered by researchers and clinicians. Perfectionism, sensitivity to interpersonal rejection, and anger are personality traits related to social anxiety. In social anxiety disorder, it has also been focused on anger as a personality characteristic and as an emotional condition. The main purpose of this work is to investigate the role of these variables in predicting social anxiety among a nonclinical group of Iranian students. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 131 students completed the self-report version of Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale Self-Report version (LSAS-SR, Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS, Interpersonal Sensitivity Measure (IPSM, and State and Trait Anger Expression Inventory. Multiple linear regressions were conducted to examine the concurrent associations between perfectionism, interpersonal sensitivity and quality of emotional experience, and expression of anger with severity of self-report social anxiety. Results: Greater levels of FMPS total were significantly associated with a greater level of LSAS total, fear, and avoidance of social and functional situations (P = 0.022, P = 0.024, and P = 0.006. Moreover, a significant positive correlation between IPSM total (P = 0.015 with fear and also between anger expression index (P = 0.009 with avoidance subscale were found. Conclusions: In accordance to the previous researches, we found that perfectionism, interpersonal sensitivity, anger experience, and anger expression skills are related to social anxiety. How these personality traits are related to fear and avoidance of social situations and their concurrent effects on predicting social anxiety were discussed.

  13. Relations among Social Anxiety, Eye Contact Avoidance, State Anxiety, and Perception of Interaction Performance during a Live Conversation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howell, Ashley N; Zibulsky, Devin A; Srivastav, Akanksha; Weeks, Justin W

    2016-01-01

    There is building evidence that highly socially anxious (HSA) individuals frequently avoid making eye contact, which may contribute to less meaningful social interactions and maintenance of social anxiety symptoms. However, research to date is lacking in ecological validity due to the usage of either static or pre-recorded facial stimuli or subjective coding of eye contact. The current study examined the relationships among trait social anxiety, eye contact avoidance, state anxiety, and participants' self-perceptions of interaction performance during a live, four-minute conversation with a confederate via webcam, and while being covertly eye-tracked. Participants included undergraduate women who conversed with same-sex confederates. Results indicated that trait social anxiety was inversely related to eye contact duration and frequency averaged across the four minutes, and positively related to state social anxiety and negative self-ratings. In addition, greater anticipatory state anxiety was associated with reduced eye contact throughout the first minute of the conversation. Eye contact was not related to post-task state anxiety or self-perception of poor performance; although, trends emerged in which these relations may be positive for HSA individuals. The current findings provide enhanced support for the notion that eye contact avoidance is an important feature of social anxiety.

  14. Social Anxiety among Chinese People.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Qianqian; Chang, Weining C

    2015-01-01

    The experience of social anxiety has largely been investigated among Western populations; much less is known about social anxiety in other cultures. Unlike the Western culture, the Chinese emphasize interdependence and harmony with social others. In addition, it is unclear if Western constructed instruments adequately capture culturally conditioned conceptualizations and manifestations of social anxiety that might be specific to the Chinese. The present study employed a sequence of qualitative and quantitative approaches to examine the assessment of social anxiety among the Chinese people. Interviews and focus group discussions with Chinese participants revealed that some items containing the experience of social anxiety among the Chinese are not present in existing Western measures. Factor analysis was employed to examine the factor structure of the more comprehensive scale. This approach revealed an "other concerned anxiety" factor that appears to be specific to the Chinese. Subsequent analysis found that the new factor-other concerned anxiety-functioned the same as other social anxiety factors in their association with risk factors of social anxiety, such as attachment, parenting, behavioral inhibition/activation, and attitude toward group. The implications of these findings for a more culturally sensitive assessment tool of social anxiety among the Chinese were discussed.

  15. Cannabis craving in response to laboratory-induced social stress among racially diverse cannabis users: The impact of social anxiety disorder

    OpenAIRE

    Buckner, Julia D; Zvolensky, Michael J; Ecker, Anthony H; Jeffries, Emily R

    2016-01-01

    Social anxiety disorder appears to be a risk factor for cannabis-related problems. Although it is presumed that increases in cannabis craving during elevated social anxiety reflect an intent to cope with greater negative affectivity, it is unclear whether increases in physiological arousal during social stress are related to cannabis craving, especially among those with social anxiety disorder. Similarly, no studies have assessed motivational reasons for cannabis use during elevated social st...

  16. Compensatory internet use among individuals higher in social anxiety and its implications for well-being.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weidman, Aaron C; Fernandez, Katya C; Levinson, Cheri A; Augustine, Adam A; Larsen, Randy J; Rodebaugh, Thomas L

    2012-08-01

    The social compensation hypothesis states that the internet primarily benefits individuals who feel uncomfortable communicating face-to-face. In the current research, we tested whether individuals higher in social anxiety use the internet as a compensatory social medium, and whether such use is associated with greater well-being. In Study 1, individuals higher in social anxiety reported greater feelings of comfort and self-disclosure when socializing online than less socially anxious individuals, but reported less self-disclosure when communicating face-to-face. However, in Study 2, social anxiety was associated with lower quality of life and higher depression most strongly for individuals who communicated frequently online. Our results suggest that, whereas social anxiety may be associated with using the internet as an alternative to face-to-face communication, such a strategy may result in poorer well-being.

  17. Interpretation bias and social anxiety: does interpretation bias mediate the relationship between trait social anxiety and state anxiety responses?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Junwen; Milne, Kirby; Dayman, Janet; Kemps, Eva

    2018-05-23

    Two studies aimed to examine whether high socially anxious individuals are more likely to negatively interpret ambiguous social scenarios and facial expressions compared to low socially anxious individuals. We also examined whether interpretation bias serves as a mediator of the relationship between trait social anxiety and state anxiety responses, in particular current state anxiety, bodily sensations, and perceived probability and cost of negative evaluation pertaining to a speech task. Study 1 used ambiguous social scenarios and Study 2 used ambiguous facial expressions as stimuli to objectively assess interpretation bias. Undergraduate students with high and low social anxiety completed measures of state anxiety responses at three time points: baseline, after the interpretation bias task, and after the preparation for an impromptu speech. Results showed that high socially anxious individuals were more likely to endorse threat interpretations for ambiguous social scenarios and to interpret ambiguous faces as negative than low socially anxious individuals. Furthermore, negative interpretations mediated the relationship between trait social anxiety and perceived probability of negative evaluation pertaining to the speech task in Study 1 but not Study 2. The present studies provide new insight into the role of interpretation bias in social anxiety.

  18. A comparison of unemployed job-seekers with and without social anxiety

    Science.gov (United States)

    Himle, Joseph A; Weaver, Addie; Bybee, Deborah; O'Donnell, Lisa; Vlnka, Sarah; Laviolette, Wayne; Steinberger, Edward; Zipora, Golenberg; Levine, Debra Siegel

    2014-01-01

    Objective Literature consistently demonstrates that social anxiety disorder has substantial negative impacts on occupational functioning. However, to date, no identified empirical work has focused on understanding the specific nature of vocational problems among persons with social anxiety disorder. This study examines the association between employment-related factors (i.e., barriers to employment; skills related to employment; and job aspirations) and social anxiety among a sample of adults seeking vocational rehabilitation services. Methods Data from intake assessments, including a screen for social anxiety disorder, of 265 low-income, unemployed adults who initiated vocational rehabilitation services in urban Michigan was examined to assess differences in barriers to employment, employment skills, job aspirations, and demographic characteristics among participants who screened positive for social anxiety disorder compared to those who did not. Bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed. Results Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that greater perceived experience and skill barriers to employment, fewer skills related to social-type occupations, and less education were significantly associated with social anxiety, after adjusting for other factors. Bivariate analysis also suggested that participants who screened positive for social anxiety disorder were significantly less likely to aspire to social jobs. Conclusions Employment-related factors likely impacting occupational functioning were significantly different between persons with and without social anxiety problems. Identifying these differences in employment barriers, skills, and job aspirations offer potentially important functional targets for psychosocial interventions aimed at social anxiety disorder and suggest the need for vocational service professionals to assess and address social anxiety among their clients. PMID:24733524

  19. Examining the interrelationships between social anxiety, smoking to cope, and cigarette craving.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, Noreen L; VanderVeen, Joseph W; Cohen, Lee M; DeMarree, Kenneth G; Morrell, Holly E R

    2012-08-01

    Smokers with symptoms of social anxiety often report smoking as a way to cope with negative affect. These individuals have lower success rates when attempting cessation compared with the general population. However, there is a paucity of research examining the role of social anxiety in nicotine dependence. The present study explored the relationships between symptoms of social anxiety, smoking to cope with these symptoms during social situations (STC), and cigarette craving. Thirty-eight participants completed measures of social anxiety and STC at baseline. Cigarette craving was subsequently assessed pre and post exposure to smoking-related images during periods of nicotine satiation and deprivation. Regression analyses revealed that greater symptoms of social anxiety predicted the frequency of STC behaviors and the number of cigarettes participants thought they would need in order to feel more comfortable in social situations. Symptoms of social anxiety and several behaviors associated with STC (e.g., avoiding social situations in which smoking is not permitted) predicted increases in craving during nicotine deprivation, but not satiation. These findings suggest that symptoms of social anxiety and STC behaviors may play a role in the maintenance of smoking behaviors. Further, targeting symptoms of social anxiety within the context of smoking cessation treatment may be particularly helpful and may improve the rates of smoking cessation among individuals with symptoms of social anxiety. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Intolerance for approach of ambiguity in social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuckertz, Jennie M; Strege, Marlene V; Amir, Nader

    2017-06-01

    Previous research has utilised the approach-avoidance task (AAT) to measure approach and avoidance action tendencies in socially anxious individuals. "Neutral" social stimuli may be perceived as ambiguous and hence threatening to socially anxious individuals, however it is unclear whether this results in difficulty approaching ambiguous ("neutral") versus unambiguous threat (e.g. disgust) faces (i.e. intolerance of ambiguity). Thirty participants with social anxiety disorder (SADs) and 29 non-anxious controls completed an implicit AAT in which they were instructed to approach or avoid neutral and disgust faces (i.e. pull or push a joystick) based on colour of the picture border. Results indicated that SADs demonstrated greater difficulty approaching neutral relative to disgust faces. Moreover, intolerance for approach of ambiguity predicted social anxiety severity while controlling for the effects of trait anxiety and depression. Our results provide further support for the role of intolerance of ambiguity in SAD.

  1. "Social Anxiety Disorder Carved at its Joints": evidence for the taxonicity of social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weeks, Justin W; Carleton, R Nicholas; Asmundson, Gordon J G; McCabe, Randi E; Antony, Martin M

    2010-10-01

    Previous findings suggest that social anxiety disorder may be best characterized as having a dimensional latent structure (Kollman et al., 2006; Weeks et al., 2009). We attempted to extend previous taxometric investigations of social anxiety by examining the latent structure of social anxiety disorder symptoms in a large sample comprised of social anxiety disorder patients (i.e., putative taxon members) and community residents/undergraduate respondents (i.e., putative complement class members). MAXEIG and MAMBAC were performed with indicator sets drawn from a self-report measure of social anxiety symptoms, the Social Interaction Phobia Scale (Carleton et al., 2009). MAXEIG and MAMBAC analyses, as well as comparison analyses utilizing simulated taxonic and dimensional datasets, yielded converging evidence that social anxiety disorder has a taxonic latent structure. Moreover, 100% of the confirmed social anxiety disorder patients in our overall sample were correctly assigned to the identified taxon class, providing strong support for the external validity of the identified taxon; and k-means cluster analysis results corroborated our taxometric base-rate estimates. Implications regarding the conceptualization, diagnosis, and assessment of social anxiety disorder are discussed. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Mindfulness Facets, Social Anxiety, and Drinking to Cope with Social Anxiety: Testing Mediators of Drinking Problems

    OpenAIRE

    Clerkin, Elise M.; Sarfan, Laurel D.; Parsons, E. Marie; Magee, Joshua C.

    2016-01-01

    This cross-sectional study tested social anxiety symptoms, trait mindfulness, and drinking to cope with social anxiety as potential predictors and/or serial mediators of drinking problems. A community-based sample of individuals with co-occurring social anxiety symptoms and alcohol dependence were recruited. Participants (N = 105) completed measures of social anxiety, drinking to cope with social anxiety, and alcohol use and problems. As well, participants completed the Five Facet Mindfulness...

  3. Social anxiety and parental overprotection in young adults with and without intellectual disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hemm, Cahley; Dagnan, Dave; Meyer, Thomas D

    2018-05-01

    Developmental literature highlights peer relationships and parental overprotection as factors implicated in the development of social anxiety. These factors are highly prevalent in the lives of people with intellectual disabilities; however research has not examined whether these factors are associated with social anxiety for this population. Twenty-one individuals without intellectual disabilities and 21 individuals with intellectual disabilities (aged 16-24 years) completed the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents with follow-up questions, the Glasgow Anxiety Scale-Intellectual disabilities and the parental overprotection subscale of the Parental Bonding Instrument with follow-up questions. Aspects of general and social anxiety were significantly greater in the intellectual disabilities group. There were no significant differences in parental overprotection between groups, however, qualitative analyses revealed differences in experiences of social anxiety and parental overprotection. Further research into factors associated with social anxiety in people with intellectual disabilities may inform adaptations to therapies and early intervention. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Social Anxiety among Chinese People

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qianqian Fan

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The experience of social anxiety has largely been investigated among Western populations; much less is known about social anxiety in other cultures. Unlike the Western culture, the Chinese emphasize interdependence and harmony with social others. In addition, it is unclear if Western constructed instruments adequately capture culturally conditioned conceptualizations and manifestations of social anxiety that might be specific to the Chinese. The present study employed a sequence of qualitative and quantitative approaches to examine the assessment of social anxiety among the Chinese people. Interviews and focus group discussions with Chinese participants revealed that some items containing the experience of social anxiety among the Chinese are not present in existing Western measures. Factor analysis was employed to examine the factor structure of the more comprehensive scale. This approach revealed an “other concerned anxiety” factor that appears to be specific to the Chinese. Subsequent analysis found that the new factor—other concerned anxiety—functioned the same as other social anxiety factors in their association with risk factors of social anxiety, such as attachment, parenting, behavioral inhibition/activation, and attitude toward group. The implications of these findings for a more culturally sensitive assessment tool of social anxiety among the Chinese were discussed.

  5. Social Anxiety among Chinese People

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Qianqian; Chang, Weining C.

    2015-01-01

    The experience of social anxiety has largely been investigated among Western populations; much less is known about social anxiety in other cultures. Unlike the Western culture, the Chinese emphasize interdependence and harmony with social others. In addition, it is unclear if Western constructed instruments adequately capture culturally conditioned conceptualizations and manifestations of social anxiety that might be specific to the Chinese. The present study employed a sequence of qualitative and quantitative approaches to examine the assessment of social anxiety among the Chinese people. Interviews and focus group discussions with Chinese participants revealed that some items containing the experience of social anxiety among the Chinese are not present in existing Western measures. Factor analysis was employed to examine the factor structure of the more comprehensive scale. This approach revealed an “other concerned anxiety” factor that appears to be specific to the Chinese. Subsequent analysis found that the new factor—other concerned anxiety—functioned the same as other social anxiety factors in their association with risk factors of social anxiety, such as attachment, parenting, behavioral inhibition/activation, and attitude toward group. The implications of these findings for a more culturally sensitive assessment tool of social anxiety among the Chinese were discussed. PMID:26380367

  6. Social communication deficits: Specific associations with Social Anxiety Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halls, Georgia; Cooper, Peter J; Creswell, Cathy

    2015-02-01

    Social communication deficits are prevalent amongst children with anxiety disorders; however whether they are over-represented specifically among children with Social Anxiety Disorder has not been examined. This study set out to examine social communication deficits among children with Social Anxiety Disorder in comparison to children with other forms of anxiety disorder. Parents of 404 children with a diagnosed anxiety disorder completed the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ; Rutter, M., Bailey, A., Lord, C., 2003. The Social Communication Questionnaire - Manual. Western Psychological Services, Los Angeles, CA). Children with a diagnosis of Social Anxiety Disorder (n=262) and anxious children without Social Anxiety Disorder (n=142) were compared on SCQ total and subscale scores and the frequency of participants scoring above clinical cut-offs. Children with Social Anxiety Disorder scored significantly higher than anxious children without Social Anxiety Disorder on the SCQ total (t(352)=4.85, p<.001, d=.55, r=.27), Reciprocal Social Interaction (t(351)=4.73, p<.001, d=.55, r=.27), communication (t(344)=3.62, p<.001, d=.43, r=.21) and repetitive, restrictive and stereotyped behaviors subscales (t(353)=3.15, p=.002, d=.37, r=.18). Furthermore, children with Social Anxiety Disorder were three times more likely to score above clinical cut-offs. The participants were a relatively affluent group of predominantly non-minority status. The social communication difficulties measure relied on parental report which could be influenced by extraneous factors. Treatments for Social Anxiety Disorder may benefit from a specific focus on developing social communication skills. Future research using objective assessments of underlying social communication skills is required. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Social anxiety, acute social stress, and reward parameters interact to predict risky decision-making among adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richards, Jessica M; Patel, Nilam; Daniele-Zegarelli, Teresa; MacPherson, Laura; Lejuez, C W; Ernst, Monique

    2015-01-01

    Risk-taking behavior increases during adolescence, leading to potentially disastrous consequences. Social anxiety emerges in adolescence and may compound risk-taking propensity, particularly during stress and when reward potential is high. However, the manner in which social anxiety, stress, and reward parameters interact to impact adolescent risk-taking is unclear. To clarify this question, a community sample of 35 adolescents (15-18yo), characterized as having high or low social anxiety, participated in a study over two separate days, during each of which they were exposed to either a social stress or a control condition, while performing a risky decision-making task. The task manipulated, orthogonally, reward magnitude and probability across trials. Three findings emerged. First, reward magnitude had a greater impact on the rate of risky decisions in high social anxiety (HSA) than low social anxiety (LSA) adolescents. Second, reaction times (RTs) were similar during the social stress and the control conditions for the HSA group, whereas the LSA group's RTs differed between conditions. Third, HSA adolescents showed the longest RTs on the most negative trials. These findings suggest that risk-taking in adolescents is modulated by context and reward parameters differentially as a function of social anxiety. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  8. Social Anxiety, Acute Social Stress, and Reward Parameters Interact to Predict Risky Decision-Making among Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richards, Jessica M.; Patel, Nilam; Daniele, Teresa; MacPherson, Laura; Lejuez, C.W.; Ernst, Monique

    2014-01-01

    Risk-taking behavior increases during adolescence, leading to potentially disastrous consequences. Social anxiety emerges in adolescence and may compound risk-taking propensity, particularly during stress and when reward potential is high. However, the manner in which social anxiety, stress, and reward parameters interact to impact adolescent risk-taking is unclear. To clarify this question, a community sample of 35 adolescents (15 to 18 yo), characterized as having high or low social anxiety, participated in a 2-day study, during each of which they were exposed to either a social stress or a control condition, while performing a risky decision-making task. The task manipulated, orthogonally, reward magnitude and probability across trials. Three findings emerged. First, reward magnitude had a greater impact on the rate of risky decisions in high social anxiety (HSA) than low social anxiety (LSA) adolescents. Second, reaction times (RTs) were similar during the social stress and the control conditions for the HSA group, whereas the LSA group’s RTs differed between conditions. Third, HSA adolescents showed the longest RTs on the most negative trials. These findings suggest that risk-taking in adolescents is modulated by context and reward parameters differentially as a function of social anxiety. PMID:25465884

  9. Social anxiety, submissiveness, and shame in men and women: a moderated mediation analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmerman, Jacob; Morrison, Amanda S; Heimberg, Richard G

    2015-03-01

    Research suggests a positive relationship between social anxiety and shame; however, few studies have examined this relationship or potential mechanisms. Common behaviours of persons with social anxiety disorder (SAD), such as submissive behaviours, may be more consistent with societal expectations of women than men and therefore more likely to be associated with shame in socially anxious men than women. We examined the hypothesis that submissive behaviours would mediate the relationship between social anxiety and shame in men, but not in women, with SAD. Moderated mediation was examined in a cross-sectional dataset. Gender was modeled to moderate the paths from social anxiety to submissive behaviours and from submissive behaviours to shame. We also examined an alternative model of the relationships among these variables and the potential contributory role of depression. Men (n = 48) and women (n = 40) with SAD completed the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, Submissive Behaviour Scale, Internalized Shame Scale, and Beck Depression Inventory. Analyses supported the hypothesized model. The relationship between submissive behaviours and shame was greater in men than women with SAD; the relationship between social anxiety and submissive behaviours was not. Controlling for depression, moderation remained evident although diminished. Results for the comparison model did not support gender moderation. Submissive behaviours mediated the relationship between social anxiety and shame in men, but not women, with SAD. These findings provide preliminary evidence for a model of shame in SAD and may help to further elucidate specific features of SAD that differ between men and women. Although researchers have argued that the display of submissive behaviours might allow the socially anxious individual to limit or prevent attacks on the self, our results suggest that there are greater costs, with regard to feelings of shame, associated with such behaviours for men. In men with SAD

  10. Symptoms of social anxiety, depression, and stress in parents of children with social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halldorsson, Brynjar; Draisey, Jenny; Cooper, Peter; Creswell, Cathy

    2018-06-01

    It has been suggested that elevated maternal social anxiety may play a disorder-specific role in maintaining childhood social anxiety disorder (SAD), but few studies have examined whether mothers of children with SAD are more socially anxious than mothers of children with other anxiety disorders (ANX). This study set out to examine whether symptoms of social anxiety were more severe amongst mothers of 7-12 year old children presenting for treatment with SAD (n = 260) compared to those presenting with ANX (n = 138). In addition, we examined whether there were differences between these two groups in terms of maternal and paternal general anxiety, depression, and stress. Parents of 7-12 year old children referred for treatment of SAD or ANX completed self-report questionnaire measures of emotional symptoms. Compared to mothers of children with ANX, mothers of children with SAD reported significantly higher levels of social anxiety, general anxiety, and depression. In addition, fathers of children with SAD reported significantly higher levels of anxiety, stress, and depression than fathers of children with ANX. This study is one of the few existing studies that have examined mothers' and fathers' psychopathology across different childhood anxiety disorders. Compared to parents of children with ANX, parents of children with SAD may have poorer mental health which may inhibit optimum child treatment outcomes for children with SAD. Thus, targeting parental psychopathology may be particularly important in the treatment of childhood SAD. Consideration of parental psychopathology may be particularly important in the treatment of childhood social anxiety disorder. Mothers of children with social anxiety disorder are more socially anxious than mothers of children with other anxiety disorders Fathers of children with social anxiety disorder are more anxious and depressed than fathers of children with other anxiety disorders Participants were predominantly of high

  11. Social Anxiety and Social Support in Romantic Relationships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porter, Eliora; Chambless, Dianne L

    2017-05-01

    Little is known about the quality of socially anxious individuals' romantic relationships. In the present study, we examine associations between social anxiety and social support in such relationships. In Study 1, we collected self-report data on social anxiety symptoms and received, provided, and perceived social support from 343 undergraduates and their romantic partners. One year later couples were contacted to determine whether they were still in this relationship. Results indicated that men's social anxiety at Time 1 predicted higher rates of breakup at Time 2. Men's and women's perceived support, as well as men's provided support, were also significantly predictive of breakup. Social anxiety did not interact with any of the support variables to predict breakup. In Study 2, a subset of undergraduate couples with a partner high (n=27) or low (n=27) in social anxiety completed two 10-minute, lab-based, video-recorded social support tasks. Both partners rated their received or provided social support following the interaction, and trained observers also coded for support behaviors. Results showed that socially anxious individuals received less support from their partners during the interaction according to participant but not observer report. High and lower social anxiety couples did not differ in terms of the target's provision of support. Taken together, results suggest that social anxiety is associated with difficulties even in the context of established romantic relationships. Clinical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  12. PSYCHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF SOCIAL ANXIETY AND SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER (SAD) IN ADOLESCENTS

    OpenAIRE

    Samoylova, Vera; Sagalakova, Olga

    2017-01-01

    Abstract: The cognitive model of social anxiety disorder is considered. Cognitive factors and linguistic features of the disorder are distinguished. The interconnections of such indicators as the quality of sleep, social behavior in everyday social situations, behavioral indices of social skills in social and performing tasks and physiological reactivity in adolescents are considered. It is shown that an accumulation of symptoms of social anxiety in the family leads to a disadaptive way of re...

  13. Social Anxiety in University Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subasi, Guzin

    2005-01-01

    Social anxiety occurs when people feel doubtful about their particular impressions, real or imaginary, on others. Social anxiety, as denoted by its name, is a situation that arises in social settings as an outcome of interpersonal relationships. What lies in the basis of social anxiety is the fear of being evaluated by others as inadequate. Social…

  14. Anxiety trajectories in response to a speech task in social anxiety disorder: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial of CBT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morrison, Amanda S.; Brozovich, Faith A.; Lee, Ihno A.; Jazaieri, Hooria; Goldin, Philippe R.; Heimberg, Richard G.; Gross, James J.

    2016-01-01

    The subjective experience of anxiety plays a central role in cognitive behavioral models of social anxiety disorder (SAD). However, much remains to be learned about the temporal dynamics of anxiety elicited by feared social situations. The aims of the current study were: 1) to compare anxiety trajectories during a speech task in individuals with SAD (n = 135) versus healthy controls (HCs; n = 47), and 2) to compare the effects of CBT on anxiety trajectories with a waitlist control condition. SAD was associated with higher levels of anxiety and greater increases in anticipatory anxiety compared to HCs, but not differential change in anxiety from pre- to post-speech. CBT was associated with decreases in anxiety from pre- to post-speech but not with changes in absolute levels of anticipatory anxiety or rates of change in anxiety during anticipation. The findings suggest that anticipatory experiences should be further incorporated into exposures. PMID:26760456

  15. Social anxiety and self-protective communication style in close relationships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuming, Samantha; Rapee, Ronald M

    2010-02-01

    People with higher social anxiety tend to reveal less information about themselves in interactions with strangers, and this appears to be part of a self-protective strategy adopted in situations in which the risk of negative evaluation is judged to be particularly high. This research examined whether a similar style of communication may be adopted by people with higher social anxiety in their close relationships, and whether it may be associated with decrements in the quality (support, depth, conflict) of these relationships. Over 300 people from the community completed a series of online questionnaires measuring social anxiety and depression, and disclosure in and quality of their close friendships and romantic relationships. After controlling for levels of depression, social anxiety was associated with a paucity of disclosure in both romantic relationships and close friendships in females, but not males. There was an indirect association between higher social anxiety and lower relationship quality (lower support, with a trend towards greater conflict) via lower self-disclosure in women's romantic relationships, but not their close friendships. Addressing disclosure in the context of close relationships may assist socially anxious women to develop more fulfilling and harmonious close relationships. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Friends or foes: social anxiety, peer affiliation, and drinking in middle school.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Kristen G; Tomlinson, Kristin; Robinson, Joanna M; Brown, Sandra A

    2011-01-01

    The relation between social anxiety and alcohol consumption suggests aspects of both risk and protection, but most research has focused on late adolescents and emerging adults. We investigated the synergistic impact of social anxiety, a need for affiliation with others, and perceived peer alcohol use on drinking in a sample of more than 1,500 early adolescents from southern California (48% girls). Via school-wide surveys, middle school students completed the Social Anxiety Scale for Children-Revised, a modified version of the Interpersonal Orientation Scale, as well as measures of perceived peer drinking and self-reported lifetime and current drinking. For socially anxious youths, high levels of perceived peer use in conjunction with high levels of affiliation need was associated with greater alcohol use on average and more frequent episodic drinking. Specific to heavy episodic drinking, the interaction of social anxiety and perceived peer drinking seemed to affect girls and boys differentially. Sex differences emerged for the moderation of social anxiety's influence on drinking initiation by perceived peer influence. These findings suggest that alcohol-related risks associated with social anxiety might be gender specific and more important in earlier stages of alcohol use than previously believed.

  17. The affective tie that binds: Examining the contribution of positive emotions and anxiety to relationship formation in social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Charles T; Pearlstein, Sarah L; Stein, Murray B

    2017-06-01

    Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) have difficulty forming social relationships. The prevailing clinical perspective is that negative emotions such as anxiety inhibit one's capacity to develop satisfying social connections. However, empirical findings from social psychology and affective neuroscience suggest that positive emotional experiences are fundamental to establishing new social bonds. To reconcile these perspectives, we collected repeated measurements of anxiety, positive emotions (pleasantness), and connectedness over the course of a controlled relationship formation encounter in 56 participants diagnosed with SAD (64% female; M age =23.3, SD=4.7). Participants experienced both increases in positive emotions and decreases in anxiety throughout the interaction. Change in positive emotions was the most robust predictor of subsequent increases in connectedness, as well as a greater desire to engage one's partner in future social activities, above and beyond reductions in anxiety (medium to large sized effects). Those findings suggest that anxiety-based models alone may not fully explain difficulties in relationship formation in SAD, and underscore the potential value of considering positive emotional experiences in conceptual and treatment models of SAD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Ketamine for Social Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Crossover Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Jerome H; Landeros-Weisenberger, Angeli; Coughlin, Catherine; Mulqueen, Jilian; Johnson, Jessica A; Gabriel, Daniel; Reed, Margot O; Jakubovski, Ewgeni; Bloch, Michael H

    2018-01-01

    Many patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD) experience inadequate symptom relief from available treatments. Ketamine is a potent N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist with a potentially novel mechanism of action for the treatment of anxiety disorders. Therefore, we conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial in 18 adults with DSM-5 SAD and compared the effects between intravenous ketamine (0.5 mg/kg over 40 min) and placebo (normal saline) on social phobia symptoms. Ketamine and placebo infusions were administered in a random order with a 28-day washout period between infusions. Ratings of anxiety were assessed 3-h post-infusion and followed for 14 days. We used linear mixed models to assess the impact of ketamine and placebo on anxiety symptoms. Outcomes were blinded ratings on the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) and self-reported anxiety on a visual analog scale (VAS-Anxiety). We also used the Wilcoxon signed-rank test to compare the proportion of treatment responders. Based on prior studies, we defined response as a greater than 35% LSAS reduction and 50% VAS-Anxiety reduction. We found ketamine resulted in a significantly greater reduction in anxiety relative to placebo on the LSAS (Time × Treatment: F 9,115 =2.6, p=0.01) but not the VAS-Anxiety (Time × Treatment: F 10,141 =0.4, p=0.95). Participants were significantly more likely to exhibit a treatment response after ketamine infusion relative to placebo in the first 2 weeks following infusion measured on the LSAS (33.33% response ketamine vs 0% response placebo, Wilcoxon signed-rank test z=2.24, p=0.025) and VAS (88.89% response ketamine vs 52.94% response placebo, Wilcoxon signed-rank test z=2.12, p=0.034). In conclusion, this proof-of-concept trial provides initial evidence that ketamine may be effective in reducing anxiety.

  19. Discomfort and avoidance of touch: new insights on the emotional deficits of social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kashdan, Todd B; Doorley, James; Stiksma, Melissa C; Hertenstein, Matthew J

    2017-12-01

    Physical touch is central to the emotional intimacy that separates romantic relationships from other social contexts. In this study of 256 adults (128 heterosexual couples, mean relationship length = 20.5 months), we examined whether individual differences in social anxiety influenced comfort with and avoidance of physical touch. Because of prior work on sex difference in touch use, touch comfort, and social anxiety symptoms and impairment, we explored sex-specific findings. We found evidence that women with greater social anxiety were less comfortable with touch and more avoidant of touch in same-sex friendships. Additionally, a woman's social anxiety had a bigger effect on a man's comfort with touch and avoidance of touch in the romantic relationship than a man's social anxiety had on the woman's endorsement of touch-related problems. These effects were uninfluenced by the length of romantic relationships. Touch is a neglected emotional experience that offers new insights into the difficulties of individuals suffering from social anxiety problems, and their romantic partners.

  20. Social anxiety and vulnerability for problematic drinking in college students: the moderating role of post-event processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potter, Carrie M; Galbraith, Todd; Jensen, Dane; Morrison, Amanda S; Heimberg, Richard G

    2016-09-01

    Socially anxious college students are at increased risk for engaging in problematic drinking (i.e. heavy or risky drinking) behaviors that are associated with the development of an alcohol use disorder. The present study examined whether post-event processing (PEP), repeatedly thinking about and evaluating one's performance in a past social situation, strengthens the association between social anxiety and vulnerability to problematic drinking among college students. Eighty-three college drinkers with high or low social anxiety participated in a social interaction task and were exposed to a manipulation that either promoted or inhibited PEP about the social interaction. Among participants randomized to the PEP promotion condition, those with high social anxiety exhibited a greater urge to use alcohol after the social interaction and greater motivation to drink to cope with depressive symptoms over the week following the manipulation than did those with low social anxiety. These findings suggest that targeting PEP in college drinking intervention programs may improve the efficacy of such programs for socially anxious students.

  1. Anxiety trajectories in response to a speech task in social anxiety disorder: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial of CBT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morrison, Amanda S; Brozovich, Faith A; Lee, Ihno A; Jazaieri, Hooria; Goldin, Philippe R; Heimberg, Richard G; Gross, James J

    2016-03-01

    The subjective experience of anxiety plays a central role in cognitive behavioral models of social anxiety disorder (SAD). However, much remains to be learned about the temporal dynamics of anxiety elicited by feared social situations. The aims of the current study were: (1) to compare anxiety trajectories during a speech task in individuals with SAD (n=135) versus healthy controls (HCs; n=47), and (2) to compare the effects of CBT on anxiety trajectories with a waitlist control condition. SAD was associated with higher levels of anxiety and greater increases in anticipatory anxiety compared to HCs, but not differential change in anxiety from pre- to post-speech. CBT was associated with decreases in anxiety from pre- to post-speech but not with changes in absolute levels of anticipatory anxiety or rates of change in anxiety during anticipation. The findings suggest that anticipatory experiences should be further incorporated into exposures. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Social Anxiety among Chinese People

    OpenAIRE

    Fan, Qianqian; Chang, Weining C.

    2015-01-01

    The experience of social anxiety has largely been investigated among Western populations; much less is known about social anxiety in other cultures. Unlike the Western culture, the Chinese emphasize interdependence and harmony with social others. In addition, it is unclear if Western constructed instruments adequately capture culturally conditioned conceptualizations and manifestations of social anxiety that might be specific to the Chinese. The present study employed a sequence of qualitativ...

  3. Social Networking Sites, Depression, and Anxiety: A Systematic Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kern, Margaret L; Rickard, Nikki S

    2016-01-01

    Background Social networking sites (SNSs) have become a pervasive part of modern culture, which may also affect mental health. Objective The aim of this systematic review was to identify and summarize research examining depression and anxiety in the context of SNSs. It also aimed to identify studies that complement the assessment of mental illness with measures of well-being and examine moderators and mediators that add to the complexity of this environment. Methods A multidatabase search was performed. Papers published between January 2005 and June 2016 relevant to mental illness (depression and anxiety only) were extracted and reviewed. Results Positive interactions, social support, and social connectedness on SNSs were consistently related to lower levels of depression and anxiety, whereas negative interaction and social comparisons on SNSs were related to higher levels of depression and anxiety. SNS use related to less loneliness and greater self-esteem and life satisfaction. Findings were mixed for frequency of SNS use and number of SNS friends. Different patterns in the way individuals with depression and individuals with social anxiety engage with SNSs are beginning to emerge. Conclusions The systematic review revealed many mixed findings between depression, anxiety, and SNS use. Methodology has predominantly focused on self-report cross-sectional approaches; future research will benefit from leveraging real-time SNS data over time. The evidence suggests that SNS use correlates with mental illness and well-being; however, whether this effect is beneficial or detrimental depends at least partly on the quality of social factors in the SNS environment. Understanding these relationships will lead to better utilization of SNSs in their potential to positively influence mental health. PMID:27881357

  4. Social Anxiety and Friendship Quality over Time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodebaugh, Thomas L; Lim, Michelle H; Shumaker, Erik A; Levinson, Cheri A; Thompson, Tess

    2015-01-01

    High social anxiety in adults is associated with self-report of impaired friendship quality, but not necessarily with impairment reported by friends. Further, prospective prediction of social anxiety and friendship quality over time has not been tested among adults. We therefore examined friendship quality and social anxiety prospectively in 126 young adults (67 primary participants and 59 friends, aged 17-22 years); the primary participants were screened to be extreme groups to increase power and relevance to clinical samples (i.e., they were recruited based on having very high or very low social interaction anxiety). The prospective relationships between friendship quality and social anxiety were then tested using an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model. Friendship quality prospectively predicted social anxiety over time within each individual in the friendship, such that higher friendship quality at Time 1 predicted lower social anxiety approximately 6 months later at Time 2. Social anxiety did not predict friendship quality. Although the results support the view that social anxiety and friendship quality have an important causal relationship, the results run counter to the assumption that high social anxiety causes poor friendship quality. Interventions to increase friendship quality merit further consideration.

  5. Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... enjoyment of life. Social anxiety disorder can cause: Low self-esteem Trouble being assertive Negative self-talk Hypersensitivity to criticism Poor social skills Isolation and difficult social relationships Low academic and employment achievement Substance abuse, such as ...

  6. Socialization of Social Anxiety in Adolescent Crowds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Zalk, Nejra; Van Zalk, Maarten Herman Walter; Kerr, Margaret

    2011-01-01

    In this study, we looked at whether social anxiety is socialized, or influenced by peers' social anxiety, more in some peer crowds than others. Adolescents in crowds with eye-catching appearances such as Goths and Punks (here termed "Radical"), were compared with three comparison groups. Using data from 796 adolescents (353 girls and 443 boys; M…

  7. Once hurt, twice shy: Social pain contributes to social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fung, Klint; Alden, Lynn E

    2017-03-01

    Social rejection has been consistently linked to the development of social anxiety. However, mechanisms underlying the relation have been largely unexplored, which presents an obstacle to fully understanding the origins of social anxiety and to the development of effective prevention and treatment strategies. Two studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that the emotion of social pain following rejection promotes the development of social anxiety in subsequent situations. In Study 1, undergraduate participants were exposed to 2 social situations (Cyberball) 2 days apart. Participants who were rejected in the first situation reported higher social anxiety before and during the second situation relative to those who were included. This effect was fully mediated by initial social pain intensity. In Study 2, all participants were initially rejected. Using double-blinded drug administration, participants were randomly assigned to ingest acetaminophen to alleviate the social pain from rejection, or a sugar placebo. As predicted, the acetaminophen group reported lower social anxiety before and during the second situation. Approximately half of the effect was mediated by reduction in social pain. Notably, the immediate effect of acetaminophen was specific to social pain rather than social anxiety. Results were discussed in the context of literature on the etiology of social anxiety and social pain. Future directions were suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  8. Social Anxiety and Loneliness in Adults Who Solicit Minors Online.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schulz, Anja; Bergen, Emilia; Schuhmann, Petya; Hoyer, Jürgen

    2017-09-01

    This study examined the association of social anxiety, loneliness, and problematic Internet use (PIU) with the online solicitation of minors. Within a convenience sample of adult Internet users from Germany, Finland, and Sweden ( N = 2,828), we compared the responses of participants who had not interacted sexually with strangers online ( n = 2,049) with participants who sexually interacted with unknown adults online ( n = 642), and both groups with adults who sexually solicited unknown minors online ( n = 137). Online sexual interaction with adults was associated with higher levels of social anxiety, loneliness, and PIU compared with not sexually interacting with strangers online. Sexually soliciting minors online was associated with higher levels of social anxiety, loneliness, and PIU compared with sexually interacting with adults and not sexually interacting with strangers at all. Interestingly, compared with those with adult contacts, loneliness was specifically pronounced for participants who solicited children, whereas social anxiety and PIU were pronounced for participants soliciting adolescents. These findings suggest that social anxiety, loneliness, and PIU may be among the motivators for using the Internet to solicit individuals of different age groups for sexual purposes. These factors emerged as specifically relevant for adults who sexually solicited minors and who reported greater impairments compared with adults who sexually interacted with adults. These characteristics may thus be important to consider for assessment and treatment procedures for individuals soliciting minors online.

  9. Early Inherited Risk for Anxiety Moderates the Association between Fathers’ Child-Centered Parenting and Early Social Inhibition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooker, Rebecca J.; Alto, Kathleen M.; Marceau, Kristine; Najjar, Reema; Leve, Leslie D.; Ganiban, Jody M.; Shaw, Daniel S.; Reiss, David; Neiderhiser, Jenae M.

    2016-01-01

    Studies of the role of the early environment in shaping children’s risk for anxiety problems have produced mixed results. It is possible that inconsistencies in previous findings result from a lack of consideration of a putative role for inherited influences moderators on the impact of early experiences. Early inherited influences not only contribute to vulnerabilities for anxiety problems throughout the lifespan, but can also modulate the ways that the early environment impacts child outcomes. In the current study, we tested the effects of child-centered parenting behaviors on putative anxiety risk in young children who differed in levels of inherited vulnerability. We tested this using a parent-offspring adoption design and a sample in which risk for anxiety problems and parenting behaviors were assessed in both mothers and fathers. Inherited influences on anxiety problems were assessed as anxiety symptoms in biological parents. Child-centered parenting was observed in adoptive mothers and fathers when children were 9 months old. Social inhibition, an early temperament marker of anxiety risk, was observed at child ages 9 and 18 months. Inherited influences on anxiety problems moderated the link between paternal child-centered parenting during infancy and social inhibition in toddlerhood. For children whose birth parents reported high levels of anxiety symptoms, greater child-centered parenting in adoptive fathers was related to greater social inhibition 9 months later. For children whose birth parents reported low levels of anxiety symptoms, greater child-centered parenting in adoptive fathers was related to less social inhibition across the same period. PMID:27572913

  10. Early inherited risk for anxiety moderates the association between fathers' child-centered parenting and early social inhibition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brooker, R J; Alto, K M; Marceau, K; Najjar, R; Leve, L D; Ganiban, J M; Shaw, D S; Reiss, D; Neiderhiser, J M

    2016-12-01

    Studies of the role of the early environment in shaping children's risk for anxiety problems have produced mixed results. It is possible that inconsistencies in previous findings result from a lack of consideration of a putative role for inherited influences moderators on the impact of early experiences. Early inherited influences not only contribute to vulnerabilities for anxiety problems throughout the lifespan, but can also modulate the ways that the early environment impacts child outcomes. In the current study, we tested the effects of child-centered parenting behaviors on putative anxiety risk in young children who differed in levels of inherited vulnerability. We tested this using a parent-offspring adoption design and a sample in which risk for anxiety problems and parenting behaviors were assessed in both mothers and fathers. Inherited influences on anxiety problems were assessed as anxiety symptoms in biological parents. Child-centered parenting was observed in adoptive mothers and fathers when children were 9 months old. Social inhibition, an early temperament marker of anxiety risk, was observed at child ages 9 and 18 months. Inherited influences on anxiety problems moderated the link between paternal child-centered parenting during infancy and social inhibition in toddlerhood. For children whose birth parents reported high levels of anxiety symptoms, greater child-centered parenting in adoptive fathers was related to greater social inhibition 9 months later. For children whose birth parents reported low levels of anxiety symptoms, greater child-centered parenting in adoptive fathers was related to less social inhibition across the same period.

  11. Social Networking Sites, Depression, and Anxiety: A Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seabrook, Elizabeth M; Kern, Margaret L; Rickard, Nikki S

    2016-11-23

    Social networking sites (SNSs) have become a pervasive part of modern culture, which may also affect mental health. The aim of this systematic review was to identify and summarize research examining depression and anxiety in the context of SNSs. It also aimed to identify studies that complement the assessment of mental illness with measures of well-being and examine moderators and mediators that add to the complexity of this environment. A multidatabase search was performed. Papers published between January 2005 and June 2016 relevant to mental illness (depression and anxiety only) were extracted and reviewed. Positive interactions, social support, and social connectedness on SNSs were consistently related to lower levels of depression and anxiety, whereas negative interaction and social comparisons on SNSs were related to higher levels of depression and anxiety. SNS use related to less loneliness and greater self-esteem and life satisfaction. Findings were mixed for frequency of SNS use and number of SNS friends. Different patterns in the way individuals with depression and individuals with social anxiety engage with SNSs are beginning to emerge. The systematic review revealed many mixed findings between depression, anxiety, and SNS use. Methodology has predominantly focused on self-report cross-sectional approaches; future research will benefit from leveraging real-time SNS data over time. The evidence suggests that SNS use correlates with mental illness and well-being; however, whether this effect is beneficial or detrimental depends at least partly on the quality of social factors in the SNS environment. Understanding these relationships will lead to better utilization of SNSs in their potential to positively influence mental health. ©Elizabeth M Seabrook, Margaret L Kern, Nikki S Rickard. Originally published in JMIR Mental Health (http://mental.jmir.org), 23.11.2016.

  12. Randomized Controlled Trial: Multimodal Anxiety and Social Skill Intervention for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

    OpenAIRE

    White, Susan W.; Ollendick, Thomas; Albano, Anne Marie; Oswald, Donald; Johnson, Cynthia; Southam-Gerow, Michael A.; Kim, Inyoung; Scahill, Lawrence

    2013-01-01

    Anxiety is common among adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and may amplify the core social disability, thus necessitating combined treatment approaches. This pilot, randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluated the feasibility and preliminary outcomes of the Multimodal Anxiety and Social Skills Intervention (MASSI) program in a sample of 30 adolescents with ASD and anxiety symptoms of moderate or greater severity. The treatment was acceptable to families, subject adherence was hig...

  13. The Role of Cognitive Factors in Childhood Social Anxiety: Social Threat Thoughts and Social Skills Perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Niekerk, Rianne E; Klein, Anke M; Allart-van Dam, Esther; Hudson, Jennifer L; Rinck, Mike; Hutschemaekers, Giel J M; Becker, Eni S

    2017-01-01

    Models of cognitive processing in anxiety disorders state that socially anxious children display several distorted cognitive processes that maintain their anxiety. The present study investigated the role of social threat thoughts and social skills perception in relation to childhood trait and state social anxiety. In total, 141 children varying in their levels of social anxiety performed a short speech task in front of a camera and filled out self-reports about their trait social anxiety, state anxiety, social skills perception and social threat thoughts. Results showed that social threat thoughts mediated the relationship between trait social anxiety and state anxiety after the speech task, even when controlling for baseline state anxiety. Furthermore, we found that children with higher trait anxiety and more social threat thoughts had a lower perception of their social skills, but did not display a social skills deficit. These results provide evidence for the applicability of the cognitive social anxiety model to children.

  14. Social anxiety and eating disorder comorbidity: The role of negative social evaluation fears

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levinson, Cheri A.; Rodebaugh, Thomas L.

    2011-01-01

    Social anxiety and eating disorders are highly comorbid. However, it is unknown how specific domains of social anxiety relate to disordered eating. We provide data on these relationships and investigate social appearance anxiety and fear of negative evaluation as potential vulnerabilities linking social anxiety with eating disorders. Specifically, we examined five domains of social anxiety: Social interaction anxiety, fear of scrutiny, fear of positive evaluation, fear of negative evaluation, and social appearance anxiety. Results indicated that social appearance anxiety predicted body dissatisfaction, bulimia symptoms, shape concern, weight concern, and eating concern over and above fear of scrutiny, social interaction anxiety, and fear of positive evaluation. Fear of negative evaluation uniquely predicted drive for thinness and restraint. Structural equation modeling supported a model in which social appearance anxiety and fear of negative evaluation are vulnerabilities for both social anxiety and eating disorder symptoms. Interventions that target these negative social evaluation fears may help prevent development of eating disorders. PMID:22177392

  15. The Temporal Sequence of Social Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms following Interpersonal Stressors during Adolescence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamilton, Jessica L.; Potter, Carrie M.; Olino, Thomas M.; Abramson, Lyn Y.; Heimberg, Richard G.; Alloy, Lauren B.

    2015-01-01

    Social anxiety and depressive symptoms dramatically increase and frequently co-occur during adolescence. Although research indicates that general interpersonal stressors, peer victimization, and familial emotional maltreatment predict symptoms of social anxiety and depression, it remains unclear how these stressors contribute to the sequential development of these internalizing symptoms. Thus, the present study examined the sequential development of social anxiety and depressive symptoms following the occurrence of interpersonal stressors, peer victimization, and familial emotional maltreatment. Participants included 410 early adolescents (53% female; 51% African American; Mean age =12.84 years) who completed measures of social anxiety and depressive symptoms at three time points (Times 1–3), as well as measures of general interpersonal stressors, peer victimization, and emotional maltreatment at Time 2. Path analyses revealed that interpersonal stressors, peer victimization, and emotional maltreatment predicted both depressive and social anxiety symptoms concurrently. However, depressive symptoms significantly mediated the pathway from interpersonal stressors, peer victimization, and familial emotional maltreatment to subsequent levels of social anxiety symptoms. In contrast, social anxiety did not mediate the relationship between these stressors and subsequent depressive symptoms. There was no evidence of sex or racial differences in these mediational pathways. Findings suggest that interpersonal stressors, including the particularly detrimental stressors of peer victimization and familial emotional maltreatment, may predict both depressive and social anxiety symptoms; however, adolescents who have more immediate depressogenic reactions may be at greater risk for later development of symptoms of social anxiety. PMID:26142495

  16. The Temporal Sequence of Social Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms Following Interpersonal Stressors During Adolescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamilton, Jessica L; Potter, Carrie M; Olino, Thomas M; Abramson, Lyn Y; Heimberg, Richard G; Alloy, Lauren B

    2016-04-01

    Social anxiety and depressive symptoms dramatically increase and frequently co-occur during adolescence. Although research indicates that general interpersonal stressors, peer victimization, and familial emotional maltreatment predict symptoms of social anxiety and depression, it remains unclear how these stressors contribute to the sequential development of these internalizing symptoms. Thus, the present study examined the sequential development of social anxiety and depressive symptoms following the occurrence of interpersonal stressors, peer victimization, and familial emotional maltreatment. Participants included 410 early adolescents (53% female; 51% African American; Mean age =12.84 years) who completed measures of social anxiety and depressive symptoms at three time points (Times 1-3), as well as measures of general interpersonal stressors, peer victimization, and emotional maltreatment at Time 2. Path analyses revealed that interpersonal stressors, peer victimization, and emotional maltreatment predicted both depressive and social anxiety symptoms concurrently. However, depressive symptoms significantly mediated the pathway from interpersonal stressors, peer victimization, and familial emotional maltreatment to subsequent levels of social anxiety symptoms. In contrast, social anxiety did not mediate the relationship between these stressors and subsequent depressive symptoms. There was no evidence of sex or racial differences in these mediational pathways. Findings suggest that interpersonal stressors, including the particularly detrimental stressors of peer victimization and familial emotional maltreatment, may predict both depressive and social anxiety symptoms; however, adolescents who have more immediate depressogenic reactions may be at greater risk for later development of symptoms of social anxiety.

  17. Reinforcement Sensitivity and Social Anxiety in Combat Veterans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kimbrel, Nathan A.; Meyer, Eric C.; DeBeer, Bryann B.; Mitchell, John T.; Kimbrel, Azure D.; Nelson-Gray, Rosemery O.; Morissette, Sandra B.

    2017-01-01

    Objective The present study tested the hypothesis that low behavioral approach system (BAS) sensitivity is associated with social anxiety in combat veterans. Method Self-report measures of reinforcement sensitivity, combat exposure, social interaction anxiety, and social observation anxiety were administered to 197 Iraq/Afghanistan combat veterans. Results As expected, combat exposure, behavioral inhibition system (BIS) sensitivity, and fight-flight-freeze system (FFFS) sensitivity were positively associated with both social interaction anxiety and social observation anxiety. In contrast, BAS sensitivity was negatively associated with social interaction anxiety only. An analysis of the BAS subscales revealed that the Reward Responsiveness subscale was the only BAS subscale associated with social interaction anxiety. BAS-Reward Responsiveness was also associated with social observation anxiety. Conclusion The findings from the present research provide further evidence that low BAS sensitivity may be associated with social anxiety over and above the effects of BIS and FFFS sensitivity. PMID:28966424

  18. Social Anxiety in Children with Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cowden, Peter A.

    2010-01-01

    Humans experience social anxiety to different degrees and in different areas. In school settings, this can be a barrier to learning. The school is a social place and to experience anxiety around peers can be challenging, especially if the student also has a learning disability. Social anxiety problems are often associated with learning…

  19. Social anxiety and social norms in individualistic and collectivistic countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schreier, Sina-Simone; Heinrichs, Nina; Alden, Lynn; Rapee, Ronald M; Hofmann, Stefan G; Chen, Junwen; Oh, Kyung Ja; Bögels, Susan

    2010-12-01

    Social anxiety is assumed to be related to cultural norms across countries. Heinrichs et al. [2006: Behav Res Ther 44:1187-1197] compared individualistic and collectivistic countries and found higher social anxiety and more positive attitudes toward socially avoidant behaviors in collectivistic rather than in individualistic countries. However, the authors failed to include Latin American countries in the collectivistic group. To provide support for these earlier results within an extended sample of collectivistic countries, 478 undergraduate students from individualistic countries were compared with 388 undergraduate students from collectivistic countries (including East Asian and Latin American) via self-report of social anxiety and social vignettes assessing social norms. As expected, the results of Heinrichs et al. [2006: Behav Res Ther 44:1187-1197] were replicated for the individualistic and Asian countries, but not for Latin American countries. Latin American countries displayed the lowest social anxiety levels, whereas the collectivistic East Asian group displayed the highest. These findings indicate that while culture-mediated social norms affect social anxiety and might help to shed light on the etiology of social anxiety disorder, the dimension of individualism-collectivism may not fully capture the relevant norms. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  20. Social anxiety and social norms in individualistic and collectivistic countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schreier, Sina-Simone; Heinrichs, Nina; Alden, Lynn; Rapee, Ronald M.; Hofmann, Stefan G.; Chen, Junwen; Ja Oh, Kyung; Bögels, Susan

    2010-01-01

    Background Social anxiety is assumed to be related to cultural norms across countries. Heinrichs and colleagues [1] compared individualistic and collectivistic countries and found higher social anxiety and more positive attitudes toward socially avoidant behaviors in collectivistic than in individualistic countries. However, the authors failed to include Latin American countries in the collectivistic group. Methods To provide support for these earlier results within an extended sample of collectivistic countries, 478 undergraduate students from individualistic countries were compared with 388 undergraduate students from collectivistic countries (including East Asian and Latin American) via self report of social anxiety and social vignettes assessing social norms. Results As expected, the results of Heinrichs and colleagues [1] were replicated for the individualistic and Asian countries but not for Latin American countries. Latin American countries displayed the lowest social anxiety levels, whereas the collectivistic East Asian group displayed the highest. Conclusions These findings indicate that while culture-mediated social norms affect social anxiety and might help to shed light on the etiology of social anxiety disorder, the dimension of individualism-collectivism may not fully capture the relevant norms. PMID:21049538

  1. Interpersonal Subtypes Within Social Anxiety: The Identification of Distinct Social Features.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, Danielle; Anderson, Timothy

    2017-10-05

    Although social anxiety disorder is defined by anxiety-related symptoms, little research has focused on the interpersonal features of social anxiety. Prior studies (Cain, Pincus, & Grosse Holtforth, 2010; Kachin, Newman, & Pincus, 2001) identified distinct subgroups of socially anxious individuals' interpersonal circumplex problems that were blends of agency and communion, and yet inconsistencies remain. We predicted 2 distinct interpersonal subtypes would exist for individuals with high social anxiety, and that these social anxiety subtypes would differ on empathetic concern, paranoia, received peer victimization, perspective taking, and emotional suppression. From a sample of 175 undergraduate participants, 51 participants with high social anxiety were selected as above a clinical cutoff on the social phobia scale. Cluster analyses identified 2 interpersonal subtypes of socially anxious individuals: low hostility-high submissiveness (Cluster 1) and high hostility-high submissiveness (Cluster 2). Cluster 1 reported higher levels of empathetic concern, lower paranoia, less peer victimization, and lower emotional suppression compared to Cluster 2. There were no differences between subtypes on perspective taking or cognitive reappraisal. Findings are consistent with an interpersonal conceptualization of social anxiety, and provide evidence of distinct social features between these subtypes. Findings have implications for the etiology, classification, and treatment of social anxiety.

  2. Selective mutism: more than social anxiety?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeganeh, Robin; Beidel, Deborah C; Turner, Samuel M

    2006-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between selective mutism (SM), social phobia (SP), oppositionality, and parenting styles. Twenty-one children with SP, 21 children with SM and SP, and 21 normal children ages 7-15, and the mother of each child, participated in an assessment of psychopathological factors potentially related to SM. Children with SM did not endorse higher levels of social anxiety than did children with SP, although clinicians gave higher severity ratings to those who had both disorders. In addition, although a dimensional measure of oppositionality (Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory) did not reveal group differences, there were significantly more diagnoses of oppositional defiant disorder among children with SM (29%) in comparison to children with SP alone (5%). With respect to parenting styles, there were no significant differences among parents of children with SM and the other groups, except that children with SP reported significantly less warmth/acceptance from parents than normal children. These data replicate previous findings that children with SM do not report greater social anxiety than other children with a SP diagnosis. Furthermore, they suggest that oppositional behaviors may be part of the clinical presentation of a subset of children with SM.

  3. Emotional reasoning and anxiety sensitivity: associations with social anxiety disorder in childhood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alkozei, Anna; Cooper, Peter J; Creswell, Cathy

    2014-01-01

    Two specific cognitive constructs that have been implicated in the development and maintenance of anxiety symptoms are anxiety sensitivity and emotional reasoning, both of which relate to the experience and meaning of physical symptoms of arousal or anxiety. The interpretation of physical symptoms has been particularly implicated in theories of social anxiety disorder, where internal physical symptoms are hypothesized to influence the individual's appraisals of the self as a social object. The current study compared 75 children on measures of anxiety sensitivity and emotional reasoning: 25 with social anxiety disorder, 25 with other anxiety disorders, and 25 nonanxious children (aged 7-12 years). Children with social anxiety disorder reported higher levels of anxiety sensitivity and were more likely than both other groups to view ambiguous situations as anxiety provoking, whether physical information was present or not. There were no group differences in the extent to which physical information altered children's interpretation of hypothetical scenarios. This study is the first to investigate emotional reasoning in clinically anxious children and therefore replication is needed. In addition, those in both anxious groups commonly had comorbid conditions and, consequently, specific conclusions about social anxiety disorder need to be treated with caution. The findings highlight cognitive characteristics that may be particularly pertinent in the context of social anxiety disorder in childhood and which may be potential targets for treatment. Furthermore, the findings suggest that strategies to modify these particular cognitive constructs may not be necessary in treatments of some other childhood anxiety disorders. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Emotional reasoning and anxiety sensitivity: Associations with social anxiety disorder in childhood☆

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alkozei, Anna; Cooper, Peter J.; Creswell, Cathy

    2014-01-01

    Background Two specific cognitive constructs that have been implicated in the development and maintenance of anxiety symptoms are anxiety sensitivity and emotional reasoning, both of which relate to the experience and meaning of physical symptoms of arousal or anxiety. The interpretation of physical symptoms has been particularly implicated in theories of social anxiety disorder, where internal physical symptoms are hypothesized to influence the individual's appraisals of the self as a social object. Method The current study compared 75 children on measures of anxiety sensitivity and emotional reasoning: 25 with social anxiety disorder, 25 with other anxiety disorders, and 25 nonanxious children (aged 7–12 years). Results Children with social anxiety disorder reported higher levels of anxiety sensitivity and were more likely than both other groups to view ambiguous situations as anxiety provoking, whether physical information was present or not. There were no group differences in the extent to which physical information altered children's interpretation of hypothetical scenarios. Limitations This study is the first to investigate emotional reasoning in clinically anxious children and therefore replication is needed. In addition, those in both anxious groups commonly had comorbid conditions and, consequently, specific conclusions about social anxiety disorder need to be treated with caution. Conclusion The findings highlight cognitive characteristics that may be particularly pertinent in the context of social anxiety disorder in childhood and which may be potential targets for treatment. Furthermore, the findings suggest that strategies to modify these particular cognitive constructs may not be necessary in treatments of some other childhood anxiety disorders. PMID:24120086

  5. Greater general startle reflex is associated with greater anxiety levels: a correlational study on 111 young women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eleonora ePoli

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Startle eyeblink reflex is a valid non-invasive tool for studying attention, emotion and psychiatric disorders. In the absence of any experimental manipulation, the general (or baseline startle reflex shows a high inter-individual variability, which is often considered task-irrelevant and therefore normalized across participants. Unlike the above view, we hypothesized that greater general startle magnitude is related to participants’ higher anxiety level. 111 healthy young women, after completing the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, were randomly administered 10 acoustic white noise probes (50 ms, 100 dBA acoustic level while integrated EMG from left and right orbicularis oculi was recorded. Results showed that participants with greater state anxiety levels exhibited larger startle reflex magnitude from the left eye (r109=0.23, p<0.05. Furthermore, individuals who perceived the acoustic probe as more aversive reported the largest anxiety scores (r109=0.28, p<0.05 and had the largest eyeblinks, especially in the left eye (r109 = 0.34, p<0.001. Results suggest that general startle may represent a valid tool for studying the neural excitability underlying anxiety and emotional dysfunction in neurological and mental disorders.

  6. Social Anxiety Disorder: More Than Just Shyness

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    ... social anxiety disorder treated? Finding Help Reprints Share Social Anxiety Disorder: More Than Just Shyness Download PDF ... overcome your symptoms. What is it like having social anxiety disorder? “In school, I was always afraid ...

  7. Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A): Measuring Social Anxiety among Finnish Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ranta, Klaus; Junttila, Niina; Laakkonen, Eero; Uhmavaara, Anni; La Greca, Annette M.; Niemi, Paivi M.

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate symptoms of social anxiety and the psychometric properties of the "Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents" (SAS-A) among Finnish adolescents, 13-16 years of age. Study 1 (n = 867) examined the distribution of SAS-A scores according to gender and age, and the internal consistency and factor structure…

  8. Assessment of social anxiety in first episode psychosis using the Liebowitz Social Anxiety scale as a self-report measure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romm, K L; Rossberg, J I; Berg, A O; Hansen, C F; Andreassen, O A; Melle, I

    2011-03-01

    Social anxiety is a common problem in psychotic disorders. The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, Self-Rating version (LSAS-SR) is a widely used instrument to capture different aspects of social anxiety, but its psychometric properties have not been tested in this patient group. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the psychometric properties of the LSAS-SR in patients with first episode psychosis, to investigate whether it differentiated between active and passive social withdrawal and to test which clinical factors contributed to current level of social anxiety. A total of 144 first episode psychosis patients from the ongoing Thematically Organized Psychosis (TOP) study were included at the time of first treatment. Diagnoses were set according to the Structured Clinical Interview (SCID-1) for DSM-IV. A factor analysis was carried out and the relationship of social anxiety to psychotic and general symptomatology measured by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was evaluated. Possible contributors to social anxiety were analyzed using multiple hierarchic regression analysis. The factor analysis identified three subscales: public performance, social interaction and observation. All three subscales showed satisfactory psychometric properties, acceptable convergent and discriminate properties, and confirmed previous findings in social anxiety samples. Self-esteem explained a significant amount of the variance in social anxiety, even after adjusting for the effects of delusions, suspiciousness and depression. The study shows that the LSAS-SR can be used in this patient group, that social anxiety is strongly related to both behavioral social avoidance and to self-esteem. The results support the use of this measure in assessment of social anxiety in both clinical settings and in research. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  9. An examination of psychopathology and daily impairment in adolescents with social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mesa, Franklin; Beidel, Deborah C; Bunnell, Brian E

    2014-01-01

    Although social anxiety disorder (SAD) is most often diagnosed during adolescence, few investigations have examined the clinical presentation and daily functional impairment of this disorder exclusively in adolescents. Prior studies have demonstrated that some clinical features of SAD in adolescents are unique relative to younger children with the condition. Furthermore, quality of sleep, a robust predictor of anxiety problems and daily stress, has not been examined in socially anxious adolescents. In this investigation, social behavior and sleep were closely examined in adolescents with SAD (n = 16) and normal control adolescents (NC; n = 14). Participants completed a self-report measure and an actigraphy assessment of sleep. Social functioning was assessed via a brief speech and a social interaction task, during which heart rate and skin conductance were measured. Additionally, participants completed a daily social activity journal for 1 week. No differences were observed in objective or subjective quality of sleep. Adolescents with SAD reported greater distress during the analogue social tasks relative to NC adolescents. During the speech task, adolescents with SAD exhibited a trend toward greater speech latency and spoke significantly less than NC adolescents. Additionally, SAD participants manifested greater skin conductance during the speech task. During the social interaction, adolescents with SAD required significantly more confederate prompts to stimulate interaction. Finally, adolescents with SAD reported more frequent anxiety-provoking situations in their daily lives, including answering questions in class, assertive communication, and interacting with a group. The findings suggest that, although adolescents with SAD may not exhibit daily impaired sleep, the group does experience specific behavioral and physiological difficulties in social contexts regularly. Social skills training may be a critical component in therapeutic approaches for this group.

  10. Laughter perception in social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ritter, Jan; Brück, Carolin; Jacob, Heike; Wildgruber, Dirk; Kreifelts, Benjamin

    2015-01-01

    Laughter is a powerful signal of social acceptance or rejection while the fear of being embarrassed and humiliated is central in social anxiety (SA). This type of anxiety is associated with cognitive biases indicating increased sensitivity to social threat as well as with deficits in emotion regulation. Both are thought to be implicated in the maintenance of social anxiety. Using laughter as a novel stimulus, we investigated cognitive biases and their modulation through emotion regulation and cue ambiguity in individuals with varying degrees of SA (N = 60). A combination of a negative laughter interpretation bias and an attention bias away from joyful/social inclusive laughter in SA was observed. Both biases were not attributable to effects of general anxiety and were closely correlated with the concept of gelotophobia, the fear of being laughed at. Thus, our study demonstrates altered laughter perception in SA. Furthermore, it highlights the usefulness of laughter as a highly prevalent social signal for future research on the interrelations of interpretation and attention biases in SA and their modulation through emotion regulation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Latent structure of the social anxiety scale and relations between social anxiety and irrational beliefs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tovilović Snežana

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The research which was realized belongs to one of three research fields within framework of rational-emotional-behavioral therapy (REBT - to the theory of emotional disorders. It was undertaken with the aim to establish presence and nature of relations between social anxiety, treated as dimension and the construct of irrational beliefs from REBT theory. The research was carried out on the sample of 261 students of Novi Sad University, both genders, age 18 to 26. First of all, the latent structure of newly constructed Scale of Social Anxiety (SA of the author Tovilović S. was tested. SA scale was proved to be of satisfying reliability (α =0.92. Principal-component factor analysis was conducted under gathered data. Four factors of social anxiety, which explain 44,09% of total variance of the items of SA scale, were named: social-evaluation anxiety, inhibition in social-uncertain situations, low self-respect and hypersensitivity on rejection. The other test that was used is Scale of General Attitudes and Beliefs of the author Marić Z. Reliability of the sub-scale of irrational beliefs that was got on our sample is α =0.91 yet the subscale of rational beliefs is α =0.70. Canonical correlational analysis was conducted under manifest variables of both scales. Three pairs of statistically significant canonical factors were got, with correlations within the span between Rc=0.78 and Rc=0.64. We discussed nature of correlation between social anxiety and irrational beliefs in the light of REBT model of social phobia, REBT theory of emotional disorder, researches and model of social anxiety in wider, cognitive-behavioral framework.

  12. Neuroendocrine models of social anxiety disorder

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Honk, Jack; Bos, Peter A.; Terburg, David; Heany, Sarah; Stein, Dan J.

    2015-01-01

    Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a highly prevalent and disabling disorder with key behavioral traits of social fearfulness, social avoidance, and submissiveness. Here we argue that hormonal systems play a key role in mediating social anxiety, and so may be important in SAD. Hormonal alterations,

  13. Gaze-Contingent Music Reward Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazarov, Amit; Pine, Daniel S; Bar-Haim, Yair

    2017-07-01

    Patients with social anxiety disorder exhibit increased attentional dwelling on social threats, providing a viable target for therapeutics. This randomized controlled trial examined the efficacy of a novel gaze-contingent music reward therapy for social anxiety disorder designed to reduce attention dwelling on threats. Forty patients with social anxiety disorder were randomly assigned to eight sessions of either gaze-contingent music reward therapy, designed to divert patients' gaze toward neutral stimuli rather than threat stimuli, or to a control condition. Clinician and self-report measures of social anxiety were acquired pretreatment, posttreatment, and at 3-month follow-up. Dwell time on socially threatening faces was assessed during the training sessions and at pre- and posttreatment. Gaze-contingent music reward therapy yielded greater reductions of symptoms of social anxiety disorder than the control condition on both clinician-rated and self-reported measures. Therapeutic effects were maintained at follow-up. Gaze-contingent music reward therapy, but not the control condition, also reduced dwell time on threat, which partially mediated clinical effects. Finally, gaze-contingent music reward therapy, but not the control condition, also altered dwell time on socially threatening faces not used in training, reflecting near-transfer training generalization. This is the first randomized controlled trial to examine a gaze-contingent intervention in social anxiety disorder. The results demonstrate target engagement and clinical effects. This study sets the stage for larger randomized controlled trials and testing in other emotional disorders.

  14. A Comparison of Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory Measures: Unique Associations With Social Interaction Anxiety and Social Observation Anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kramer, Sam L; Rodriguez, Benjamin F

    2018-07-01

    Evidence suggests that the behavior inhibition system (BIS) and fight-flight-freeze system play a role in the individual differences seen in social anxiety disorder; however, findings concerning the role of the behavior approach system (BAS) have been mixed. To date, the role of revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) subsystems underlying social anxiety has been measured with scales designed for the original RST. This study examined how the BIS, BAS, and fight, flight, freeze components of the fight-flight-freeze system uniquely relate to social interaction anxiety and social observation anxiety using both a measure specifically designed for the revised RST and a commonly used original RST measure. Comparison of regression analyses with the Jackson-5 and the commonly used BIS/BAS Scales revealed important differences in the relationships between RST subsystems and social anxiety depending on how RST was assessed. Limitations and future directions for revised RST measurement are discussed.

  15. Autonomic arousal in childhood anxiety disorders: Associations with state anxiety and social anxiety disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alkozei, Anna; Creswell, Cathy; Cooper, Peter J.; Allen, John J.B.

    2015-01-01

    Background Psychophysiological theories suggest that individuals with anxiety disorders may evidence inflexibility in their autonomic activity at rest and when responding to stressors. In addition, theories of social anxiety disorder, in particular, highlight the importance of physical symptoms. Research on autonomic activity in childhood (social) anxiety disorders, however, is scarce and has produced inconsistent findings, possibly because of methodological limitations. Method The present study aimed to account for limitations of previous studies and measured respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and heart rate (HR) using Actiheart heart rate monitors and software (Version 4) during rest and in response to a social and a non-social stressor in 60 anxious (30 socially anxious and 30 ‘other’ anxious), and 30 nonanxious sex-and age-matched 7–12 year olds. In addition, the effect of state anxiety during the tasks was explored. Results No group differences at rest or in response to stress were found. Importantly, however, with increases in state anxiety, all children, regardless of their anxiety diagnoses showed less autonomic responding (i.e., less change in HR and RSA from baseline in response to task) and took longer to recover once the stressor had passed. Limitations This study focused primarily on parasympathetic arousal and lacked measures of sympathetic arousal. Conclusion The findings suggest that childhood anxiety disorders may not be characterized by inflexible autonomic responding, and that previous findings to the contrary may have been the result of differences in subjective anxiety between anxious and nonanxious groups during the tasks, rather than a function of chronic autonomic dysregulation. PMID:25590763

  16. Brief motivational intervention for college drinking: the synergistic impact of social anxiety and perceived drinking norms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terlecki, Meredith A; Buckner, Julia D; Larimer, Mary E; Copeland, Amy L

    2012-12-01

    Despite the efficacy of Brief Alcohol Screening and Intervention for College Students (BASICS), students with higher social anxiety appear vulnerable to poorer outcomes. A possible explanation for these outcomes is that corrective normative feedback (an active component of BASICS) may be less effective for socially anxious students if their beliefs about others' drinking are less malleable because of intense fear of negative evaluation for deviating from perceived drinking norms. This study evaluated whether socially anxious students demonstrated less change in perceived norms during BASICS. We also examined whether change in norm endorsement moderated the relation between social anxiety and BASICS outcomes. Undergraduates (n = 52) who underwent BASICS completed measures of drinking, social anxiety, and perceived norms at baseline and 4 weeks post-BASICS. Higher social anxiety was related to less change in norm endorsement after receiving BASICS. Change in perceived norms during treatment moderated the relation between social anxiety and follow-up drinking. Among students with smaller change in norm endorsement after BASICS, higher social anxiety was related to heavier follow-up drinking. Among students with greater changes to norm endorsement during BASICS, the effect of social anxiety was nonsignificant. Results suggest that corrective perceived norms interventions may be less effective among socially anxious students, contributing to continued heavy drinking. Development of social anxiety-specific BASICS components warrants attention. 2013 APA, all rights reserved

  17. Measuring Social Anxiety in 11 Countries Development and Validation of the Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Adults

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Caballo, V.E.; Salazar, I.C.; Irurtia, M.J.; Arias, B.; Hofmann, S.G.

    2010-01-01

    This paper reports on two studies conducted to develop and validate a new self-report measure of social phobia/anxiety - the Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Adults (SAQ-A) (Cuestionario de ansiedad social para adultos, CASO-A). A diary-item recording procedure was used to generate the initial pool

  18. An examination of psychopathology and daily impairment in adolescents with social anxiety disorder.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Franklin Mesa

    Full Text Available Although social anxiety disorder (SAD is most often diagnosed during adolescence, few investigations have examined the clinical presentation and daily functional impairment of this disorder exclusively in adolescents. Prior studies have demonstrated that some clinical features of SAD in adolescents are unique relative to younger children with the condition. Furthermore, quality of sleep, a robust predictor of anxiety problems and daily stress, has not been examined in socially anxious adolescents. In this investigation, social behavior and sleep were closely examined in adolescents with SAD (n = 16 and normal control adolescents (NC; n = 14. Participants completed a self-report measure and an actigraphy assessment of sleep. Social functioning was assessed via a brief speech and a social interaction task, during which heart rate and skin conductance were measured. Additionally, participants completed a daily social activity journal for 1 week. No differences were observed in objective or subjective quality of sleep. Adolescents with SAD reported greater distress during the analogue social tasks relative to NC adolescents. During the speech task, adolescents with SAD exhibited a trend toward greater speech latency and spoke significantly less than NC adolescents. Additionally, SAD participants manifested greater skin conductance during the speech task. During the social interaction, adolescents with SAD required significantly more confederate prompts to stimulate interaction. Finally, adolescents with SAD reported more frequent anxiety-provoking situations in their daily lives, including answering questions in class, assertive communication, and interacting with a group. The findings suggest that, although adolescents with SAD may not exhibit daily impaired sleep, the group does experience specific behavioral and physiological difficulties in social contexts regularly. Social skills training may be a critical component in therapeutic approaches

  19. Illusory correlation and social anxiety.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Jong, P.J.; Boegels, S.; Kindt, M.; Merckelbach, H.

    1998-01-01

    An illusory correlation (IC) experiment examined the presence of a phobia-relevant covariation bias in the context of social anxiety. 60 female college students (28 with low and 32 with high social anxiety) were shown a series of slides comprising pictures of angry, happy, and neutral faces which

  20. Not self-focused attention but negative beliefs affect poor social performance in social anxiety : An investigation of pathways in the social anxiety-social rejection relationship

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Voncken, Marisol J.; Dijk, Corine; de Jong, Peter J.; Roelofs, Jeffrey

    2010-01-01

    Patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD) not only fear negative evaluation but are indeed less likeable than people without SAD. Previous research shows social performance to mediate this social anxiety-social rejection relationship. This study studied two pathways hypothesized to lead to poor

  1. Not self-focused attention but negative beliefs affect poor social performance in social anxiety: an investigation of pathways in the social anxiety - social rejection relationship

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Voncken, M.J.; Dijk, C.; de Jong, P.J.; Roelofs, J.

    2010-01-01

    Patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD) not only fear negative evaluation but are indeed less likeable than people without SAD. Previous research shows social performance to mediate this social anxiety-social rejection relationship. This study studied two pathways hypothesized to lead to poor

  2. fMRI Study of Social Anxiety during Social Ostracism with and without Emotional Support.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoshiko Nishiyama

    Full Text Available Social anxiety is characterized by an excessive fear of being embarrassed in social interactions or social performance situations. Emotional support can help to decrease or diminish social distress. Such support may play an important role at different points of social interaction. However, it is unclear how the beneficial effects of social support are represented in the brains of socially anxious individuals. To explore this, we used the same paradigm previously used to examine the effects of emotional support on social pain caused by exclusion. Undergraduates (n = 46 showing a wide range of social anxiety scores underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI while participating in a Cyberball game. Participants were initially included and later excluded from the game. In the latter half of the session in which participants were excluded, they were provided with supportive messages. In line with our previous work, we found that social exclusion led to increased anterior cingulate cortex (ACC activity, whereas emotional support led to increased left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC activity. Despite validation of the paradigm, social anxiety was not associated with increased ACC activity during social exclusion, or during perceived emotional support. Instead, fear of negative evaluation as assessed by the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation (BFNE scale showed positive associations with left DLPFC activation while receiving emotional support, compared to while being socially excluded. The more socially anxious an individual was, the greater was the left DLPFC activity increased during receipt of messages. This suggests that highly socially anxious people still have the ability to perceive social support, but that they are nevertheless susceptible to negative evaluation by others.

  3. fMRI Study of Social Anxiety during Social Ostracism with and without Emotional Support.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nishiyama, Yoshiko; Okamoto, Yasumasa; Kunisato, Yoshihiko; Okada, Go; Yoshimura, Shinpei; Kanai, Yoshihiro; Yamamura, Takanao; Yoshino, Atsuo; Jinnin, Ran; Takagaki, Koki; Onoda, Keiichi; Yamawaki, Shigeto

    2015-01-01

    Social anxiety is characterized by an excessive fear of being embarrassed in social interactions or social performance situations. Emotional support can help to decrease or diminish social distress. Such support may play an important role at different points of social interaction. However, it is unclear how the beneficial effects of social support are represented in the brains of socially anxious individuals. To explore this, we used the same paradigm previously used to examine the effects of emotional support on social pain caused by exclusion. Undergraduates (n = 46) showing a wide range of social anxiety scores underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while participating in a Cyberball game. Participants were initially included and later excluded from the game. In the latter half of the session in which participants were excluded, they were provided with supportive messages. In line with our previous work, we found that social exclusion led to increased anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) activity, whereas emotional support led to increased left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activity. Despite validation of the paradigm, social anxiety was not associated with increased ACC activity during social exclusion, or during perceived emotional support. Instead, fear of negative evaluation as assessed by the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation (BFNE) scale showed positive associations with left DLPFC activation while receiving emotional support, compared to while being socially excluded. The more socially anxious an individual was, the greater was the left DLPFC activity increased during receipt of messages. This suggests that highly socially anxious people still have the ability to perceive social support, but that they are nevertheless susceptible to negative evaluation by others.

  4. Reduced recruitment of orbitofrontal cortex to human social chemosensory cues in social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Wen; Hou, Ping; Zhou, Yuxiang; Chen, Denise

    2011-04-01

    Social anxiety refers to the prevalent and debilitating experience of fear and anxiety of being scrutinized in social situations. It originates from both learned (e.g. adverse social conditioning) and innate (e.g. shyness) factors. Research on social anxiety has traditionally focused on negative emotions induced by visual and auditory social cues in socially anxious clinical populations, and posits a dysfunctional orbitofrontal-amygdala circuit as a primary etiological mechanism. Yet as a trait, social anxiety is independent of one's specific emotional state. Here we probe the neural substrate of intrinsic social anxiety by employing a unique type of social stimuli, airborne human social chemosensory cues that are inherently social, ubiquitously present, and yet operating below verbal awareness. We show that the adopted social chemosensory cues were not perceived to be human-related, did not differentially bias self-report of anxiety or autonomic nervous system responses, yet individuals with elevated social anxiety demonstrated a reduced recruitment of the orbitofrontal cortex to social chemosensory cues. No reciprocal activity in the amygdala was observed. Our findings point to an intrinsic neural substrate underlying social anxiety that is not associated with prior adverse social conditioning, thereby providing the first neural evidence for the inherent social aspect of this enigmatic phenomenon. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Impairments in goal-directed actions predict treatment response to cognitive-behavioral therapy in social anxiety disorder.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gail A Alvares

    Full Text Available Social anxiety disorder is characterized by excessive fear and habitual avoidance of social situations. Decision-making models suggest that patients with anxiety disorders may fail to exhibit goal-directed control over actions. We therefore investigated whether such biases may also be associated with social anxiety and to examine the relationship between such behavior with outcomes from cognitive-behavioral therapy. Patients diagnosed with social anxiety and controls completed an instrumental learning task in which two actions were performed to earn food outcomes. After outcome devaluation, where one outcome was consumed to satiety, participants were re-tested in extinction. Results indicated that, as expected, controls were goal-directed, selectively reducing responding on the action that previously delivered the devalued outcome. Patients with social anxiety, however, exhibited no difference in responding on either action. This loss of a devaluation effect was associated with greater symptom severity and poorer response to therapy. These findings indicate that variations in goal-directed control in social anxiety may represent both a behavioral endophenotype and may be used to predict individuals who will respond to learning-based therapies.

  6. Individual differences in social anxiety affect the salience of errors in social contexts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barker, Tyson V; Troller-Renfree, Sonya; Pine, Daniel S; Fox, Nathan A

    2015-12-01

    The error-related negativity (ERN) is an event-related potential that occurs approximately 50 ms after an erroneous response. The magnitude of the ERN is influenced by contextual factors, such as when errors are made during social evaluation. The ERN is also influenced by individual differences in anxiety, and it is elevated among anxious individuals. However, little research has examined how individual differences in anxiety interact with contextual factors to impact the ERN. Social anxiety involves fear and apprehension of social evaluation. In the present study, we explored how individual differences in social anxiety interact with social contexts to modulate the ERN. The ERN was measured in 43 young adults characterized as being either high or low in social anxiety, while they completed a flanker task in two contexts: alone and during social evaluation. The results revealed a significant interaction between social anxiety and context, such that the ERN was enhanced in a social relative to a nonsocial context only among highly socially anxious individuals. Furthermore, the degree of such enhancement significantly correlated with individual differences in social anxiety. These findings demonstrate that social anxiety is characterized by enhanced neural activity to errors in social-evaluative contexts.

  7. The relation between public speaking anxiety and social anxiety: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blöte, Anke W; Kint, Marcia J W; Miers, Anne C; Westenberg, P Michiel

    2009-04-01

    This article reviewed the literature on public speaking anxiety in the context of social phobia subtyping. In total, 18 empirical studies on subtype issues related to public speaking anxiety were analyzed. Results of the reviewed studies are discussed in relation to their research method, that is, whether it focused on qualitative or quantitative aspects of subtype differences and whether it used a clinical or community sample. Evidence supported the premise that public speaking anxiety is a distinct subtype, qualitatively and quantitatively different from other subtypes of social phobia. The significance of this finding for social phobia studies using speech tasks to assess participants' state anxiety and behavioral performance is discussed.

  8. Randomized Controlled Trial: Multimodal Anxiety and Social Skill Intervention for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Susan W.; Ollendick, Thomas; Albano, Anne Marie; Oswald, Donald; Johnson, Cynthia; Southam-Gerow, Michael A.; Kim, Inyoung; Scahill, Lawrence

    2012-01-01

    Anxiety is common among adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and may amplify the core social disability, thus necessitating combined treatment approaches. This pilot, randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluated the feasibility and preliminary outcomes of the Multimodal Anxiety and Social Skills Intervention (MASSI) program in a sample of 30 adolescents with ASD and anxiety symptoms of moderate or greater severity. The treatment was acceptable to families, subject adherence was high, and therapist fidelity was high. A 16% improvement in ASD social impairment (within-group effect size = 1.18) was observed on a parent-reported scale. Although anxiety symptoms declined by 26%, the change was not statistically significant. These findings suggest MASSI is a feasible treatment program and further evaluation is warranted. PMID:22735897

  9. Social Anxiety Disorder and Mood Disorders Comorbidity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zerrin Binbay

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Social Anxiety Disorder is a common disorder leading functional impairment. The comorbidity between mood disorders with social anxiety disorder is relatively common. This comorbidity impacts the clinical severity, resistance and functionality of patients. The systematic evaluation of the comorbidity in both patient groups should not be ignored and be carefully conducted. In general, social anxiety disorder starts at an earlier age than mood disorders and is reported to be predictor for subsequent major depression. The absence of comorbidity in patients with social anxiety disorder is a predictor of good response to treatment. In bipolar disorder patients with comorbid social anxiety disorder, there is an increased level of general psychopathology. Besides, they have poor outcome and increased risk of suicide. In this article, comorbidity between these two disorders has been evaluated in detail.

  10. Social Anxiety-Linked Attention Bias to Threat Is Indirectly Related to Post-Event Processing Via Subjective Emotional Reactivity to Social Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Çek, Demet; Sánchez, Alvaro; Timpano, Kiara R

    2016-05-01

    Attention bias to threat (e.g., disgust faces) is a cognitive vulnerability factor for social anxiety occurring in early stages of information processing. Few studies have investigated the relationship between social anxiety and attention biases, in conjunction with emotional and cognitive responses to a social stressor. Elucidating these links would shed light on maintenance factors of social anxiety and could help identify malleable treatment targets. This study examined the associations between social anxiety level, attention bias to disgust (AB-disgust), subjective emotional and physiological reactivity to a social stressor, and subsequent post-event processing (PEP). We tested a mediational model where social anxiety level indirectly predicted subsequent PEP via its association with AB-disgust and immediate subjective emotional reactivity to social stress. Fifty-five undergraduates (45% female) completed a passive viewing task. Eye movements were tracked during the presentation of social stimuli (e.g., disgust faces) and used to calculate AB-disgust. Next, participants gave an impromptu speech in front of a video camera and watched a neutral video, followed by the completion of a PEP measure. Although there was no association between AB-disgust and physiological reactivity to the stressor, AB-disgust was significantly associated with greater subjective emotional reactivity from baseline to the speech. Analyses supported a partial mediation model where AB-disgust and subjective emotional reactivity to a social stressor partially accounted for the link between social anxiety levels and PEP. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  11. Stereotype confirmation concerns predict dropout from cognitive behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Suzanne; Price, Matthew; Mehta, Natasha; Anderson, Page L

    2014-08-19

    There are high attrition rates observed in efficacy studies for social anxiety disorder, and research has not identified consistent nor theoretically meaningful predictors of dropout. Pre-treatment symptom severity and demographic factors, such as age and gender, are sometimes predictive of dropout. The current study examines a theoretically meaningful predictor of attrition based on experiences associated with social group membership rather than differences between social group categories--fear of confirming stereotypes. This is a secondary data analysis of a randomized controlled trial comparing two cognitive behavioral treatments for social anxiety disorder: virtual reality exposure therapy and exposure group therapy. Participants (N = 74) with a primary diagnosis of social anxiety disorder who were eligible to participate in the parent study and who self-identified as either "African American" (n = 31) or "Caucasian" (n = 43) completed standardized self-report measures of stereotype confirmation concerns (SCC) and social anxiety symptoms as part of a pre-treatment assessment battery. Hierarchical logistic regression showed that greater stereotype confirmation concerns were associated with higher dropout from therapy--race, age, gender, and pre-treatment symptom severity were not. Group treatment also was associated with higher dropout. These findings urge further research on theoretically meaningful predictors of attrition and highlight the importance of addressing cultural variables, such as the experience of stereotype confirmation concerns, during treatment of social anxiety to minimize dropout from therapy.

  12. Social anxiety in three Western societies.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dam-Baggen, R.M.J. van; Kraaimaat, F.W.; Elal, G.

    2003-01-01

    The present study investigates whether empirical data support the notion that people in Western societies do not differ with regard to social anxiety. Social anxiety in Dutch students (N = 425) was compared with that experienced by students in the United States (N = 440) and Turkey (N = 349). Social

  13. Direct and indirect associations between social anxiety and nicotine dependence and cessation problems: multiple mediator analyses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckner, Julia D; Farris, Samantha G; Schmidt, Norman B; Zvolensky, Michael J

    2014-06-01

    Little empirical work has evaluated why socially anxious smokers are especially vulnerable to more severe nicotine dependence and cessation failure. Presumably, these smokers rely on cigarettes to help them manage their chronically elevated negative affect elicited by a wide array of social contexts. The current study examined the direct and indirect effects of social anxiety cross-sectionally in regard to a range of smoking processes among 466 treatment-seeking smokers. Negative affect and negative affect reduction motives were examined as mediators of the relations of social anxiety with nicotine dependence and cessation problems. Social anxiety was directly and robustly associated with perceived barriers to smoking cessation and problems experienced during past quit attempts. Social anxiety was also associated with greater nicotine dependence and smoking inflexibility indirectly through negative affect and negative affect smoking motives. Negative affect and smoking to reduce negative affect mediated these relations. These findings document the important role of negative affect and negative affect reduction motives in the relationships of social anxiety with nicotine dependence and cessation problems.

  14. Social anxiety and social norms in individualistic and collectivistic countries

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schreier, S.S.; Heinrichs, N.; Alden, L.; Rapee, R.M.; Hofmann, S.G.; Chen, J.; Oh, K.Y.; Bogels, S.M.

    2010-01-01

    Background: Social anxiety is assumed to be related to cultural norms across countries. Heinrichs et al. [2006: Behav Res Ther 44:1187-1197] compared individualistic and collectivistic countries and found higher social anxiety and more positive attitudes toward socially avoidant behaviors in

  15. Feeling safe but appearing anxious: Differential effects of alcohol on anxiety and social performance in individuals with social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevens, Stephan; Cooper, Ruth; Bantin, Trisha; Hermann, Christiane; Gerlach, Alexander L

    2017-07-01

    Social anxiety disorder (SAD) and alcohol use disorders (AUD) co-occur frequently and there is preliminary evidence that alcohol might reduce social anxiety. It is, however, unclear which mechanisms contribute to the anxiety reducing effect, particularly regarding key aspects of social anxiety such as deficits in social performance. We compared self-rated and physiological measures of anxiety as well as self- and observer-rated social performance in a sample of 62 individuals with SAD and 60 nonanxious control participants during a speech task after receiving either alcohol, an alcohol-free placebo drink or orange juice. SAD patients reported more anxiety during the speech task than did control participants. Furthermore, SAD patients underestimated their performance in comparison to observer ratings. Alcohol reduced self-report anxiety only in SAD patients, while observers rated all participants as less competent when intoxicated. Although individuals with SAD experience a reduction in anxiety when drinking alcohol, simultaneous decreases in social performance might contribute to negative reactions from others and consequently increase the risk of further alcohol use to cope with these negative reactions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Social interaction anxiety and the discounting of positive interpersonal events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vassilopoulos, Stephanos P; Banerjee, Robin

    2010-10-01

    Recent research has indicated that individuals with social interaction anxiety make biased interpretations of positive social interactions, with greater general apprehension in response to such events and more negative predictions about the future. There has also been some preliminary evidence for a second facet of interpretation bias, namely a failure to accept others' positive reactions at face value, but this has so far not been adequately studied. The present study developed a new measure of this "discounting" dimension and utilized a nonclinical sample of undergraduate students to provide an initial analysis of the scale. Results provide early support for the psychometric properties of our scale, and indicate that discounting mediates the relationship between social interaction anxiety and low positive affect, over and above the previously studied aspect of positive event interpretation bias. The implications for treatment interventions and further research are discussed.

  17. Severity of anxiety in mental health versus addiction treatment settings when social anxiety and substance abuse are comorbid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Book, Sarah W; Thomas, Suzanne E; Smith, Joshua P; Miller, Peter M

    2012-10-01

    There is increasing interest in the co-occurrence of social anxiety and addiction. Each investigation has a specific vantage point, e.g., the effect social anxiety has in a population with addiction or that of addiction in a population with social anxiety, which could create unique findings. Among comorbid individuals, is social anxiety more severe in people seeking treatment for anxiety, as compared to those seeking treatment for addiction? This report compares social anxiety severity between subjects in two studies--one involving socially anxious individuals (n=38) seeking treatment for addictions; the other (n=41) subjects with social anxiety and an alcohol use disorder, seeking treatment for social anxiety. Baseline severity scores on the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale for social anxiety were compared between the groups. No significant differences were found. For both groups, social anxiety was largely in the severe range. The results suggest that clinicians should attend to social anxiety symptom severity in patients with co-occurring social anxiety and addiction, regardless of the condition for which treatment is sought. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Perception matters for clinical perfectionism and social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levinson, Cheri A; Rodebaugh, Thomas L; Shumaker, Erik A; Menatti, Andrew R; Weeks, Justin W; White, Emily K; Heimberg, Richard G; Warren, Cortney S; Blanco, Carlos; Schneier, Franklin; Liebowitz, Michael R

    2015-01-01

    Despite research documenting a relationship between social anxiety and perfectionism, very little research has examined the relationship between social anxiety and clinical perfectionism, defined as the combination of high personal standards and high maladaptive perfectionistic evaluative concern. In the current studies we examined whether clinical perfectionism predicted social anxiety in a large sample of undergraduates (N=602), in a clinical sample of participants diagnosed with social anxiety disorder (SAD; N=180), and by using a variance decomposition model of self- and informant-report of perfectionism (N=134). Using self-report, we found that an interaction of personal standards and evaluative concern predicted both social interaction anxiety and fear of scrutiny, but not in the theorized direction. Specifically, we found that self-report of low standards and high evaluative concern was associated with the highest levels of social anxiety, suggesting that when individuals with SAD hold low expectations for themselves combined with high concerns about evaluation, social anxiety symptoms may increase. Alternatively, when an informants' perspective was considered, and more consistent with the original theory, we found that the interaction of informant-only report of personal standards and shared-report (between both primary participant and informant) of concern over mistakes was associated with self-reported social anxiety, such that high concern over mistakes and high personal standards predicted the highest levels of social anxiety. Theoretical, clinical, and measurement implications for clinical perfectionism are discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. [Effect of speech estimation on social anxiety].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shirotsuki, Kentaro; Sasagawa, Satoko; Nomura, Shinobu

    2009-02-01

    This study investigates the effect of speech estimation on social anxiety to further understanding of this characteristic of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). In the first study, we developed the Speech Estimation Scale (SES) to assess negative estimation before giving a speech which has been reported to be the most fearful social situation in SAD. Undergraduate students (n = 306) completed a set of questionnaires, which consisted of the Short Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (SFNE), the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS), the Social Phobia Scale (SPS), and the SES. Exploratory factor analysis showed an adequate one-factor structure with eight items. Further analysis indicated that the SES had good reliability and validity. In the second study, undergraduate students (n = 315) completed the SFNE, SIAS, SPS, SES, and the Self-reported Depression Scale (SDS). The results of path analysis showed that fear of negative evaluation from others (FNE) predicted social anxiety, and speech estimation mediated the relationship between FNE and social anxiety. These results suggest that speech estimation might maintain SAD symptoms, and could be used as a specific target for cognitive intervention in SAD.

  20. The relationship between social support and anxiety among caregivers of children in HIV-endemic South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casale, Marisa; Wild, Lauren; Cluver, Lucie; Kuo, Caroline

    2014-01-01

    Caring for children can be a source of joy and fulfilment, but also a source of stress, especially for caregivers living with illness and/or coping with difficult socio-economic conditions. Risks for poor caregiver mental health are especially salient in many parts of southern Africa affected by a generalised HIV-epidemic, high rates of physical illness, difficult livelihood conditions and an increasing number of orphaned and vulnerable children in need of care. Given limited availability and low uptake of formal mental health services in South Africa, the potential protective role of informal community or "social" resources for caregiver populations requires greater attention. To our knowledge, this is the first study to quantitatively assess the relationship between social support and symptomatic anxiety among caregivers of children living in HIV-endemic southern African communities. The data are from household survey interviews with 2477 adult primary caregivers of children aged 10-17 years living in two (urban and rural) resource-deprived HIV-endemic South African communities. Hierarchical logistic regression analysis with interaction terms was conducted to assess whether HIV and other illness were significant stressors for caregiver anxiety, whether social support had main or stress-buffering protective effects on anxiety and whether gender moderated the association between social support and anxiety. Our findings showed significant main effects of social support on caregiver anxiety, but no evidence of stress-buffering effects of support or of gender moderating the support-anxiety relationship. This suggests that social support is a general mental health resource for both male and female caregivers of children in these HIV-endemic communities, regardless of whether they are facing specific stressors related to HIV or other illness. Our results highlight the importance of paying greater attention to the social environment when designing and implementing

  1. Social anxiety and post-event processing among African-American individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckner, Julia D; Dean, Kimberlye E

    2017-03-01

    Social anxiety is among the most prevalent psychiatric conditions, yet little attention has been paid to whether putative cognitive vulnerability factors related to social anxiety in predominantly White samples are related to social anxiety among historically underrepresented groups. We tested whether one such vulnerability factor, post-event processing (PEP; detailed review of social event that can increase state social anxiety) was related to social anxiety among African-American (AA; n = 127) persons, who comprise one of the largest underrepresented racial groups in the U.S. Secondarily, we tested whether AA participants differed from non-Hispanic White participants (n = 127) on PEP and social anxiety and whether race moderated the relation between PEP and social anxiety. Data were collected online among undergraduates. PEP was positively correlated with social anxiety among AA participants, even after controlling for depression and income, pr = .30, p = .001. AA and White participants did not differ on social anxiety or PEP, β = -1.57, 95% CI: -5.11, 1.96. The relation of PEP to social anxiety did not vary as a function of race, β = 0.00, 95% CI: -0.02, 0.02. PEP may be an important cognitive vulnerability factor related to social anxiety among AA persons suffering from social anxiety.

  2. Socially Anxious Smokers Experience Greater Negative Affect and Withdrawal during Self-Quit Attempts

    OpenAIRE

    Buckner, Julia D.; Langdon, Kirsten J.; Jeffries, Emily R.; Zvolensky, Michael J.

    2016-01-01

    Despite evidence of a strong and consistent relation between smoking and elevated social anxiety, strikingly little empirical work has identified mechanisms underlying the smoking-social anxiety link. Persons with elevated social anxiety may rely on smoking to cope with more severe nicotine withdrawal and post-quit negative mood states; yet, no known studies have investigated the relation of social anxiety to withdrawal severity. The current study examined the relation of social anxiety to po...

  3. Theory of mind impairments in social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hezel, Dianne M; McNally, Richard J

    2014-07-01

    Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a common psychiatric disorder characterized by a persistent, excessive fear and avoidance of social and performance situations. Research on cognitive biases indicates individuals with SAD may lack an accurate view of how they are perceived by others, especially in social situations when they allocate important attentional resources to monitoring their own actions as well as external threat. In the present study, we explored whether socially anxious individuals also have impairments in theory of mind (ToM), or the ability to comprehend others' mental states, including emotions, beliefs, and intentions. Forty socially anxious and 40 non-socially-anxious comparison participants completed two ToM tasks: the Reading the Mind in the Eyes and the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition. Participants with SAD performed worse on ToM tasks than did non-socially-anxious participants. Relative to comparison participants, those with SAD were more likely to attribute more intense emotions and greater meaning to what others were thinking and feeling. These group differences were not due to interpretation bias. The ToM impairments in people with SAD are in the opposite direction of those in people with autism spectrum conditions whose inferences about the mental states of other people are absent or very limited. This association between SAD and ToM may have important implications for our understanding of both the maintenance and treatment of social anxiety disorder. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  4. Self-verification and social anxiety: preference for negative social feedback and low social self-esteem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valentiner, David P; Skowronski, John J; McGrath, Patrick B; Smith, Sarah A; Renner, Kerry A

    2011-10-01

    A self-verification model of social anxiety views negative social self-esteem as a core feature of social anxiety. This core feature is proposed to be maintained through self-verification processes, such as by leading individuals with negative social self-esteem to prefer negative social feedback. This model is tested in two studies. In Study 1, questionnaires were administered to a college sample (N = 317). In Study 2, questionnaires were administered to anxiety disordered patients (N = 62) before and after treatment. Study 1 developed measures of preference for negative social feedback and social self-esteem, and provided evidence of their incremental validity in a college sample. Study 2 found that these two variables are not strongly related to fears of evaluation, are relatively unaffected by a treatment that targets such fears, and predict residual social anxiety following treatment. Overall, these studies provide preliminary evidence for a self-verification model of social anxiety.

  5. Neural correlates of anticipation and processing of performance feedback in social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heitmann, Carina Y; Peterburs, Jutta; Mothes-Lasch, Martin; Hallfarth, Marlit C; Böhme, Stephanie; Miltner, Wolfgang H R; Straube, Thomas

    2014-12-01

    Fear of negative evaluation, such as negative social performance feedback, is the core symptom of social anxiety. The present study investigated the neural correlates of anticipation and perception of social performance feedback in social anxiety. High (HSA) and low (LSA) socially anxious individuals were asked to give a speech on a personally relevant topic and received standardized but appropriate expert performance feedback in a succeeding experimental session in which neural activity was measured during anticipation and presentation of negative and positive performance feedback concerning the speech performance, or a neutral feedback-unrelated control condition. HSA compared to LSA subjects reported greater anxiety during anticipation of negative feedback. Functional magnetic resonance imaging results showed deactivation of medial prefrontal brain areas during anticipation of negative feedback relative to the control and the positive condition, and medial prefrontal and insular hyperactivation during presentation of negative as well as positive feedback in HSA compared to LSA subjects. The results indicate distinct processes underlying feedback processing during anticipation and presentation of feedback in HSA as compared to LSA individuals. In line with the role of the medial prefrontal cortex in self-referential information processing and the insula in interoception, social anxiety seems to be associated with lower self-monitoring during feedback anticipation, and an increased self-focus and interoception during feedback presentation, regardless of feedback valence. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Social Anxiety and Post-Event Processing: The Impact of Race

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckner, Julia D.; Dean, Kimberlye E.

    2016-01-01

    Background Social anxiety is among the most prevalent psychiatric conditions, yet little attention has been paid to whether putative cognitive vulnerability factors related to social anxiety in predominantly White samples are related to social anxiety among historically underrepresented groups. Design We tested whether one such vulnerability factor, post-event processing (PEP; detailed review of social event that can increase state social anxiety) was related to social anxiety among African American (AA; n=127) persons, who comprise one of the largest underrepresented racial groups in the U.S. Secondarily, we tested whether AA participants differed from non-Hispanic White participants (n=127) on PEP and social anxiety and whether race moderated the relation between PEP and social anxiety. Method Data were collected online among undergraduates. Results PEP was positively correlated with social anxiety among AA participants, even after controlling for depression and income, pr=.30, p=.001. AA and White participants did not differ on social anxiety or PEP, β=−1.57, 95% C.I.: −5.11, 1.96. The relation of PEP to social anxiety did not vary as a function of race, β=0.00, 95% C.I.: −0.02, 0.02. Conclusions PEP may be an important cognitive vulnerability factor related to social anxiety among AA persons suffering from social anxiety. PMID:27576610

  7. Validation of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and the Social Phobia Scale across the Anxiety Disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Elissa J.; And Others

    1997-01-01

    The psychometric adequacy of the Social Interaction Scale and the Social Phobia Scale (both by R. P. Mattick and J. C. Clark, 1989) was studied with 165 patients with anxiety disorders and 21 people without anxiety. Results support the usefulness of the scales for screening and treatment design and evaluation. (SLD)

  8. Culture of honour theory and social anxiety: Cross-regional and sex differences in relationships among honour-concerns, social anxiety and reactive aggression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howell, Ashley N; Buckner, Julia D; Weeks, Justin W

    2015-01-01

    Consistent with the "flight or fight" model of anxiety, social anxiety may incite withdrawal or attack; yet, it is unclear why some socially anxious individuals are vulnerable to aggress. It may be that culture impacts tendencies to "fight" or "flee" from social threat. Honour cultures, including the American South, permit or even promote aggression in response to honour-threats. Thus, social anxiety in the South may be more associated with aggression than in non-honour cultures. In the current sample, region moderated the relation between social anxiety and aggression; social anxiety related positively to reactive (but not proactive) aggression among Southerners (n = 285), but not Midwesterners (n = 258). Participant sex further moderated the relationship, such that it was significant only for Southern women. Also, for Southerners, prototypically masculine honour-concerns mediated the relationship between social anxiety and reactive aggression. Cultural factors may play key roles in aggressive behaviour among some socially anxious individuals.

  9. Interaction of CD38 Variant and Chronic Interpersonal Stress Prospectively Predicts Social Anxiety and Depression Symptoms Over Six Years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabak, Benjamin A.; Vrshek-Schallhorn, Suzanne; Zinbarg, Richard E.; Prenoveau, Jason M.; Mineka, Susan; Redei, Eva E.; Adam, Emma K.; Craske, Michelle G.

    2015-01-01

    Variation in the CD38 gene, which regulates secretion of the neuropeptide oxytocin, has been associated with several social phenotypes. Specifically, rs3796863 A allele carriers have demonstrated increased social sensitivity. In 400 older adolescents, we used trait-state-occasion modeling to investigate how rs3796863 genotype, baseline ratings of chronic interpersonal stress, and their gene-environment (GxE) interaction predicted trait social anxiety and depression symptoms over six years. We found significant GxE effects for CD38 A-carrier genotypes and chronic interpersonal stress at baseline predicting greater social anxiety and depression symptoms. A significant GxE effect of smaller magnitude was also found for C/C genotype and chronic interpersonal stress predicting greater depression; however, this effect was small compared to the main effect of chronic interpersonal stress. Thus, in the context of chronic interpersonal stress, heightened social sensitivity associated with the rs3796863 A allele may prospectively predict risk for social anxiety and (to a lesser extent) depression. PMID:26958455

  10. [Distorted cognition of bodily sensations in subtypes of social anxiety].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanai, Yoshihiro; Sasaki, Shoko; Iwanaga, Makoto; Seiwa, Hidetoshi

    2010-02-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between subtypes of social anxiety and distorted cognition of bodily sensations. The package of questionnaires including the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) was administered to 582 undergraduate students. To identify subtypes of social anxiety, cluster analysis was conducted using scores of the SPS and SIAS. Five clusters were identified and labeled as follows: Generalized type characterized by intense anxiety in most social situations, Non-anxious type characterized by low anxiety levels in social situations, Averaged type whose anxiety levels are averaged, Interaction anxiety type who feels anxiety mainly in social interaction situations, and Performance anxiety type who feels anxiety mainly in performance situations. Results of an ANOVA indicated that individuals with interaction type fear the negative evaluation from others regarding their bodily sensations whereas individuals with performance type overestimate the visibility of their bodily sensations to others. Differences in salient aspects of cognitive distortion among social anxiety subtypes may show necessity to select intervention techniques in consideration of subtypes.

  11. Psychological factors of social anxiety in Russian adolescents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiana S. Pavlova

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Background. Social anxiety is one of the most common and disturbing conditions of childhood and adolescence. It is defined as an excessive fear of embarrassment or humiliation in social performance situations. Recent studies have identified a number of psychological factors that could explain the maintenance of the condition. Objective. The objective of this study was to investigate psychological factors of social anxiety in adolescents with a multifactor psychosocial model. Design: The study population comprised 183 Russian-speaking adolescents from Moscow secondary schools, ranging in age from 12 to 16 years. Self-report measures were used to access social anxiety, symptoms of depression, gender role identification, perfectionism, hostility, family emotional communications, and social support. Results. The results indicate that social anxiety was positively correlated with symptoms of depression and suicidal thoughts. No quantitative differences in social anxiety between girls and boys were found, while masculinity and undifferentiated gender identification had a strong association with social anxiety. A positive correlation was found between “concern over mistakes” (fear of making a mistake and being negatively compared with peers and “overdoing” (spending too much time doing homework and too little or none communicating with peers, using the Child Perfectionism Questionnaire (CPQ subscales and Social Anxiety and Distress Scale (SADS total score. Positive correlations were found between social anxiety and suppression of emotions and outward well-being subscales, as well in as the Family Emotional Communication (FEC total score. It is not common to discuss emotions and feelings; it is difficult to share negative experiences; and it is important for the families of socially anxious adolescents to put up a good front. Analysis revealed significant negative correlations between the SADS total score (as well its subscales and the Social

  12. Social anxiety disorder and stuttering: current status and future directions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iverach, Lisa; Rapee, Ronald M

    2014-06-01

    Anxiety is one of the most widely observed and extensively studied psychological concomitants of stuttering. Research conducted prior to the turn of the century produced evidence of heightened anxiety in people who stutter, yet findings were inconsistent and ambiguous. Failure to detect a clear and systematic relationship between anxiety and stuttering was attributed to methodological flaws, including use of small sample sizes and unidimensional measures of anxiety. More recent research, however, has generated far less equivocal findings when using social anxiety questionnaires and psychiatric diagnostic assessments in larger samples of people who stutter. In particular, a growing body of research has demonstrated an alarmingly high rate of social anxiety disorder among adults who stutter. Social anxiety disorder is a prevalent and chronic anxiety disorder characterised by significant fear of humiliation, embarrassment, and negative evaluation in social or performance-based situations. In light of the debilitating nature of social anxiety disorder, and the impact of stuttering on quality of life and personal functioning, collaboration between speech pathologists and psychologists is required to develop and implement comprehensive assessment and treatment programmes for social anxiety among people who stutter. This comprehensive approach has the potential to improve quality of life and engagement in everyday activities for people who stutter. Determining the prevalence of social anxiety disorder among children and adolescents who stutter is a critical line of future research. Further studies are also required to confirm the efficacy of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy in treating social anxiety disorder in stuttering. The reader will be able to: (a) describe the nature and course of social anxiety disorder; (b) outline previous research regarding anxiety and stuttering, including features of social anxiety disorder; (c) summarise research findings regarding the

  13. Social Anxiety and Adolescents' Friendships: The Role of Social Withdrawal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biggs, Bridget K.; Vernberg, Eric M.; Wu, Yelena P.

    2012-01-01

    Research indicates social anxiety is associated with lower friendship quality, but little is known about the underlying mechanisms. This 2-month longitudinal study examined social withdrawal as a mediator of the social anxiety-friendship quality link in a sample of 214 adolescents (M[subscript age] = 13.1 years, SD = 0.73) that included an…

  14. University students' understanding of social anxiety disorder.

    OpenAIRE

    Miyake, Yoshie; Okamoto, Yuri; Jinnin, Ran; Yashiki, Hisako; Uchino, Teiji; Isobe, Noriko; Takata, Jun; Kojima, Nanae; Nihonmatsu, Misato; Yokosaki, Yasuyuki; Hiyama, Toru; Yoshihara, Masaharu

    2014-01-01

    Social anxiety disorder is an important cause of psychosocial morbidity in adolescents and young adults. Problems in adolescents and young adults with social anxiety disorder would be a topic in recent years in campus mental health. We examined the opinion of social anxiety disorder on university students. We found that many students felt anxiety in various social scenes, and some students were worried about their anxiety. Most of the students understood the importance of mental treatment for...

  15. Social Anxiety Disorders and Alcohol Abuse

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... social anxiety disorder Follow Us Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Advertisement Find A Therapist Search our directory of ADAA mental health professional members who specialize in anxiety, depression and co-occurring disorders. Understand the Facts Anxiety ...

  16. Examining the Panic Attack Specifier in Social Anxiety Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allan, Nicholas P; Oglesby, Mary E; Short, Nicole A; Schmidt, Norman B

    2016-04-01

    Panic attacks (PAs) are characterized by overwhelming surges of fear and discomfort and are one of the most frequently occurring symptoms in psychiatric populations. The most recent version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (i.e. DSM-5) allows for a panic attack (PA) specifier for all disorders, including social anxiety disorder (SAD). However, there is little research examining differences between individuals diagnosed with SAD with the PA specifier versus individuals diagnosed with SAD without the PA specifier. The current study examined social anxiety, mood, anxiety, and anxiety sensitivity social concerns, a risk factor for social anxiety in SAD-diagnosed individuals without (N = 52) and with (N = 14) the PA specifier. The groups differed only in somatic symptoms of anxiety. Result of the current study provides preliminary evidence that the presence of the PA specifier in social anxiety does not result in elevated levels of comorbidity or a more severe presentation of social anxiety.

  17. Social Anxiety and Aggression in Behaviorally Disordered Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez, Ketty P.; And Others

    1996-01-01

    Thirty-nine boys in classes for students with behavioral disturbances were given questionnaires on trait anxiety, social anxiety, empathy, depression, and self-esteem, while teachers rated their aggression. Results showed that anxiety and empathy scores were not correlated with aggression, while social anxiety was positively correlated with trait…

  18. Common and distinct neural features of social and non-social reward processing in autism and social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richey, John A; Rittenberg, Alison; Hughes, Lauren; Damiano, Cara R; Sabatino, Antoinette; Miller, Stephanie; Hanna, Eleanor; Bodfish, James W; Dichter, Gabriel S

    2014-03-01

    Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) are both characterized by social dysfunction, but no study to date has compared neural responses to social rewards in ASDs and SAD. Neural responses during social and non-social reward anticipation and outcomes were examined in individuals with ASD (n = 16), SAD (n = 15) and a control group (n = 19) via functional magnetic resonance imaging. Analyses modeling all three groups revealed increased nucleus accumbens (NAc) activation in SAD relative to ASD during monetary reward anticipation, whereas both the SAD and ASD group demonstrated decreased bilateral NAc activation relative to the control group during social reward anticipation. During reward outcomes, the SAD group did not differ significantly from the other two groups in ventromedial prefrontal cortex activation to either reward type. Analyses comparing only the ASD and SAD groups revealed greater bilateral amygdala activation to social rewards in SAD relative to ASD during both anticipation and outcome phases, and the magnitude of left amygdala hyperactivation in the SAD group during social reward anticipation was significantly correlated with the severity of trait anxiety symptoms. Results suggest reward network dysfunction to both monetary and social rewards in SAD and ASD during reward anticipation and outcomes, but that NAc hypoactivation during monetary reward anticipation differentiates ASD from SAD.

  19. The social ties that bind: social anxiety and academic achievement across the university years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brook, Christina A; Willoughby, Teena

    2015-05-01

    Given that engagement and integration in university/college are considered key to successful academic achievement, the identifying features of social anxiety, including fear of negative evaluation and distress and avoidance of new or all social situations, may be particularly disadvantageous in the social and evaluative contexts that are integral to university/college life. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the direct effects of social anxiety on academic achievement, as well as investigate an indirect mechanism through which social anxiety might impact on academic achievement, namely, the formation of new social ties in university. The participants were 942 (71.7 % female; M = 19 years at Time 1) students enrolled in a mid-sized university in Southern Ontario, Canada. Students completed annual assessments of social anxiety, social ties, and academic achievement for three consecutive years. The results from an autoregressive cross-lag path analysis indicated that social anxiety had a significant and negative direct relationship with academic achievement. Moreover, the negative indirect effect of social anxiety on academic achievement through social ties was significant, as was the opposing direction of effects (i.e., the indirect effect of academic achievement on social anxiety through social ties). These findings highlight the critical role that social ties appear to play in successful academic outcomes and in alleviating the effects of social anxiety during university/college.

  20. Social anxiety in children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Avakyan, Tamara V.

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Results of research on social anxiety in orphaned children are presented in this article. The goal of this study was to identify the relationship between depressive states, anxiety states, characteristics of the situation at school, and fear of social evaluation in orphaned children. The differences in these parameters between orphaned children and children living with their families were also studied. The sample consisted of 123 teenagers. The main group comprised 57 orphans from an orphanage near the Moscow region, aged 10 to 16 years old. The control group comprised 66 students from a general school, aged 10 to 15 years old, and all living with their families. Differences were found in the parameters studied. The orphans were characterized by higher levels of social and general anxiety. On the one hand, they strove for the attention and approval of adults, but, on the other hand, they were more worried than their peers who lived with their families about the impression they made on others. They were afraid of receiving a negative evaluation.

  1. Social Anxiety and Social Adaptation among Adolescents at Three Age Levels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peleg, Ora

    2012-01-01

    The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between social anxiety and social adaptation among adolescents. This is the first study to research these parameters among three age groups: early, middle and late adolescence. On the whole, a negative relation was found between social anxiety and social adaptation. Specifically, for adolescents…

  2. A mixed methods survey of social anxiety, anxiety, depression and wig use in alopecia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montgomery, Kerry; White, Caroline; Thompson, Andrew

    2017-05-04

    This study aimed to examine levels of social anxiety, anxiety and depression reported by people with alopecia as a result of a dermatological condition and associations with wig use. The study also sought to report on experiences of wearing wigs in social situations and the relationship with social confidence. A cross-sectional survey was sent by email to the Alopecia UK charity mailing list and advertised on social media. Inclusion criteria were a diagnosis of alopecia, aged 13 or above and sufficient English to complete the survey. Exclusion criteria included experiencing hair loss as a result of chemotherapy treatment or psychological disorder. Participants (n=338) were predominantly female (97.3%), Caucasian (93.5%) and aged between 35 and 54 years (49.4%) with a diagnosis of alopecia areata (82.6%). The Social Phobia Inventory measured symptoms of social anxiety, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used to measure symptoms of anxiety and depression. Survey questions were designed to measure the use of wigs. Open-ended questions enabled participants to comment on their experiences of wearing wigs. Clinically significant levels of social anxiety (47.5%), anxiety (35.5%) and depression (29%) were reported. Participants who reported worries about not wearing a wig reported significantly higher levels of depression: t(103)=3.40, p≤0.001; anxiety: t(109)=4.80, p≤0.001; and social anxiety: t(294)=3.89, p≤0.001. Wearing wigs was reported as increasing social confidence; however, the concealment it afforded was also reported as both reducing fear of negative evaluation and maintaining anxiety. Overall, 46% of participants reported that wearing a wig had a positive impact on their everyday life with negative experiences related to fears of the wig being noticed. Psychological interventions alongside wig provision would be beneficial for people living with alopecia. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the

  3. Psychometric properties of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and separation criterion between Spanish youths with and without subtypes of social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zubeidat, Ihab; Salinas, José María; Sierra, Juan Carlos; Fernández-Parra, Antonio

    2007-01-01

    In this study, we analyzed the reliability and validity of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) and propose a separation criterion between youths with specific and generalized social anxiety and youths without social anxiety. A sample of 1012 Spanish youths attending school completed the SIAS, the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale, the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, the Youth Self-Report for Ages 11-18 and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent. The factor analysis suggests the existence of three factors in the SIAS, the first two of which explain most of the variance of the construct assessed. Internal consistency is adequate in the first two factors. The SIAS features an adequate theoretical validity with the scores of different variables related to social interaction. Analysis of the criterion scores yields three groups pertaining to three clearly differentiated clusters. In the third cluster, two of social anxiety groups - specific and generalized - have been identified by means of a quantitative separation criterion.

  4. Social functioning in patients with depressive and anxiety disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saris, I M J; Aghajani, M; van der Werff, S J A; van der Wee, N J A; Penninx, B W J H

    2017-10-01

    Adaptive social functioning is severely impeded in depressive and anxiety disorders, even after remission. However, a comprehensive overview is still lacking. Using data from the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (NESDA), behavioural (network size, social activities, social support) and affective (loneliness, affiliation, perceived social disability) indicators of social functioning were analyzed in patients with anxiety (N = 540), depressive (N = 393), comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders ('comorbid', N = 748), remitted participants (N = 621), and healthy control subjects (N = 650). Analyses revealed an increasing trend of social dysfunction among patient groups, in patients with comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders, showing the most severe impairments, followed by depressed and anxious patients (P's social functioning indicators). Affective indicators showed the largest effect sizes (Cohen's d range from 0.13 to 1.76). We also found impairments in social functioning among remitted patients. Furthermore, perceived social disability among patients was predictive of still having a depressive and/or anxiety diagnosis 2 years later (P social functioning are impaired in patients with anxiety or depressive disorders and most in patients with comorbid disorders. After remission of affective psychopathology, residual impairments tend to remain, while social dysfunction in patients seems predictive of future psychopathology. © 2017The Authors. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Reactivity to Social Stress in Subclinical Social Anxiety: Emotional Experience, Cognitive Appraisals, Behavior, and Physiology

    OpenAIRE

    Crişan, Liviu G.; Vulturar, Romana; Miclea, Mircea; Miu, Andrei C.

    2016-01-01

    Recent research indicates that subclinical social anxiety is associated with dysfunctions at multiple psychological and biological levels, in a manner that seems reminiscent of social anxiety disorder (SAD). This study aimed to describe multidimensional responses to laboratory-induced social stress in an analog sample selected for social anxiety symptoms. State anxiety, cognitive biases related to negative social evaluation, speech anxiety behaviors, and cortisol reactivity were assessed in t...

  6. Testing the Bivalent Fear of Evaluation Model of Social Anxiety: The Relationship between Fear of Positive Evaluation, Social Anxiety, and Perfectionism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yap, Keong; Gibbs, Amy L; Francis, Andrew J P; Schuster, Sharynn E

    2016-01-01

    The Bivalent Fear of Evaluation (BFOE) model of social anxiety proposes that fear of negative evaluation (FNE) and fear of positive evaluation (FPE) play distinct roles in social anxiety. Research is however lacking in terms of how FPE is related to perfectionism and how these constructs interact to predict social anxiety. Participants were 382 individuals from the general community and included an oversampling of individuals with social anxiety. Measures of FPE, FNE, perfectionism, and social anxiety were administered. Results were mostly consistent with the predictions made by the BFOE model and showed that accounting for confounding variables, FPE correlated negatively with high standards but positively with maladaptive perfectionism. FNE was also positively correlated with maladaptive perfectionism, but there was no significant relationship between FNE and high standards. Also consistent with BFOE model, both FNE and FPE significantly moderated the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and social anxiety with the relationship strengthened at high levels of FPE and FNE. These findings provide additional support for the BFOE model and implications are discussed.

  7. Marijuana-related problems and social anxiety: the role of marijuana behaviors in social situations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckner, Julia D; Heimberg, Richard G; Matthews, Russell A; Silgado, Jose

    2012-03-01

    Individuals with elevated social anxiety appear particularly vulnerable to marijuana-related problems. In fact, individuals with social anxiety may be more likely to experience marijuana-related impairment than individuals with other types of anxiety. It is therefore important to determine whether constructs particularly relevant to socially anxious individuals play a role in the expression of marijuana-related problems in this vulnerable population. Given that both social avoidance and using marijuana to cope with negative affect broadly have been found to play a role in marijuana-related problems, the current study utilized a new measure designed to simultaneously assess social avoidance and using marijuana to cope in situations previously identified as anxiety-provoking among those with elevated social anxiety. The Marijuana Use to Cope with Social Anxiety Scale (MCSAS) assessed behaviors regarding 24 social situations: marijuana use to cope in social situations (MCSAS-Cope) and avoidance of social situations if marijuana was unavailable. In Study 1, we found preliminary support for the convergent and discriminant validity and internal consistency of the MCSAS scales. In Study 2, we examined if MCSAS scores were related to marijuana problems among those with (n = 44) and without (n = 44) clinically elevated social anxiety. Individuals with clinically meaningful social anxiety were more likely to use marijuana to cope in social situations and to avoid social situations if marijuana was unavailable. Of importance, MCSAS-Cope uniquely mediated the relationship between social anxiety group status and marijuana-related problems. Results highlight the importance of contextual factors in assessing marijuana-related behaviors among high-risk populations. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.

  8. Development of the two forms of social anxiety in adolescence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melita Puklek Levpušček

    2004-09-01

    Full Text Available In the last decade studies of social anxiety have focused on research of social anxiety in childhood and adolescence. They showed that social anxiety was related to negative self-perceptions and lower social adaptation. The research question not yet answered considers the developmental trend of social anxiety in various periods of adolescence. In the study we proposed that at least social anxiety in its cognitive form (i.e., worries and fear of negative social evaluation would decrease from early to late adolescence. We were also interested in personal characteristics that predict prolongation of social anxiety in late adolescence. The initial sample consisted of 325 early, middle and late adolescents to whom measures of social anxiety, self-consciousness and self-perceptions were administered. Two well-known aspects of social anxiety were measured: fear of negative social evaluation and social tension and inhibition. Early and middle adolescents were retested two years later at their transition to middle and late adolescence, respectively. Results from the first and the second assessment indicated that late adolescence is a time when the cognitive form of social anxiety in both adolescent males and females decreased. Social tension and inhibition showed a decrease only in adolescent females. Adolescent females reported more fear of negative social evaluation than males. Lower appraisal of one's own global and social competence and prolonged self-preoccupations were identified as characteristics of socially anxious late adolescents.

  9. Reactivity to Social Stress in Subclinical Social Anxiety: Emotional Experience, Cognitive Appraisals, Behavior, and Physiology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crişan, Liviu G.; Vulturar, Romana; Miclea, Mircea; Miu, Andrei C.

    2016-01-01

    Recent research indicates that subclinical social anxiety is associated with dysfunctions at multiple psychological and biological levels, in a manner that seems reminiscent of social anxiety disorder (SAD). This study aimed to describe multidimensional responses to laboratory-induced social stress in an analog sample selected for social anxiety symptoms. State anxiety, cognitive biases related to negative social evaluation, speech anxiety behaviors, and cortisol reactivity were assessed in the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Results showed that social anxiety symptoms were associated with increased state anxiety, biased appraisals related to the probability and cost of negative social evaluations, behavioral changes in facial expression that were consistent with speech anxiety, and lower cortisol reactivity. In addition, multiple interrelations between responses in the TSST were found, with positive associations between subjective experience, cognitive appraisals, and observable behavior, as well as negative associations between each of the former two types of response and cortisol reactivity. These results show that in response to social stressors, subclinical social anxiety is associated with significant changes in emotional experience, cognitive appraisals, behaviors, and physiology that could parallel those previously found in SAD samples. PMID:26858658

  10. Relationships Between Social Anxiety and Smoking-Specific Experiential Avoidance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, Noreen L; Heffner, Jaimee L; McClure, Jennifer B; Bricker, Jonathan B

    2017-01-01

    Although social anxiety is associated with higher prevalence of smoking and lower cessation rates, little is known about the underlying mechanisms of these relationships. Research suggests that socially anxious smokers have higher levels of smoking-specific experiential avoidance and are inclined to smoke to avoid internal smoking cues. However, it is unknown which types of internal smoking cues they avoid. Thus, this study aimed to address this gap in the literature. Participants (N = 450) were adult smokers from a group-based trial for smoking cessation. Bivariate correlations and hierarchical linear regression models examined relationships between baseline levels of social anxiety and acceptance of internal smoking cues-physical sensations, emotions, and cognitions. Social anxiety was associated with lower levels of acceptance of thoughts, sensations, and emotions that cue smoking. After controlling for levels of nicotine dependence, depression, generalized anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder, social anxiety still explained unique variability in overall acceptance of internal smoking cues and in acceptance of physical sensations and emotions that serve as smoking cues. Social anxiety no longer explained unique variability in acceptance of thoughts that trigger smoking. Smokers with high levels of social anxiety are less accepting of internal smoking cues. For physical and emotional cues, this effect was independent of level of dependence and mental health comorbidity. Results help explain why smokers with social anxiety are less likely to quit and can inform the development of targeted cessation treatments for smokers with social anxiety.

  11. Fermented foods, neuroticism, and social anxiety: An interaction model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hilimire, Matthew R; DeVylder, Jordan E; Forestell, Catherine A

    2015-08-15

    Animal models and clinical trials in humans suggest that probiotics can have an anxiolytic effect. However, no studies have examined the relationship between probiotics and social anxiety. Here we employ a cross-sectional approach to determine whether consumption of fermented foods likely to contain probiotics interacts with neuroticism to predict social anxiety symptoms. A sample of young adults (N=710, 445 female) completed self-report measures of fermented food consumption, neuroticism, and social anxiety. An interaction model, controlling for demographics, general consumption of healthful foods, and exercise frequency, showed that exercise frequency, neuroticism, and fermented food consumption significantly and independently predicted social anxiety. Moreover, fermented food consumption also interacted with neuroticism in predicting social anxiety. Specifically, for those high in neuroticism, higher frequency of fermented food consumption was associated with fewer symptoms of social anxiety. Taken together with previous studies, the results suggest that fermented foods that contain probiotics may have a protective effect against social anxiety symptoms for those at higher genetic risk, as indexed by trait neuroticism. While additional research is necessary to determine the direction of causality, these results suggest that consumption of fermented foods that contain probiotics may serve as a low-risk intervention for reducing social anxiety. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Postinjury anxiety and social support among collegiate athletes: a comparison between orthopaedic injuries and concussions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Covassin, Tracey; Crutcher, Bryan; Bleecker, Alisha; Heiden, Erin O; Dailey, Alexander; Yang, Jingzhen

    2014-01-01

    When an athlete is injured, the primary focus of the sports medicine team is to treat the physical effects of the injury. However, many injured athletes experience negative psychological responses, including anxiety, regarding their injury. To compare the anxiety and social support of athletes with concussions and a matched group of athletes with orthopaedic injuries. Cross-sectional study. Athletic training room. A total of 525 injuries among athletes from 2 Big Ten universities were observed. Of these, 63 concussion injuries were matched with 63 orthopaedic injuries for the athlete's sex, sport, and time loss due to injury. Clinical measures included the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (which measures both state and trait anxiety) and the modified 6-item Social Support Questionnaire. The group with concussions relied on their family for social support 89% of the time, followed by friends (78%), teammates (65%), athletic trainers (48%), coaches (47%), and physicians (35%). The group with orthopaedic injuries relied on their family for social support 87% of the time, followed by friends (84%), teammates (65%), athletic trainers (57%), coaches (51%), and physicians (36%). We found no differences for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (t = -1.38, P = .193) between the concussed and orthopaedic-injury groups. Social Support Questionnaire scores were significant predictors for postinjury state anxiety. Specifically, increased scores were associated with decreased postinjury state anxiety (β = -4.21, P = .0001). Both the concussed athletes and those with orthopaedic injuries experienced similar state and trait anxiety and relied on similar sources of social support postinjury. However, athletes with orthopaedic injuries reported greater satisfaction with support from all sources compared with concussed athletes. In contrast, concussed athletes showed more significant predictor models of social support on state anxiety at return to play.

  13. Prevalence of and associations between body dysmorphic concerns, obsessive beliefs and social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barahmand, Usha; Shahbazi, Zeynab

    2015-03-01

    Physical attractiveness has been of concern in different cultures and at different times. Physical attractiveness can influence one's thoughts and actions, and concerns regarding body image can be destructive, giving rise to psychological problems. The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence of body dysmorphic concerns, related sex differences and comorbidity with social anxiety and obsessive beliefs. Using a stratified and cluster sampling procedure, 1,200 males and females were randomly selected. Self-report measures on body image, social anxiety and obsessive beliefs were distributed of which 843 completed questionnaires (54.9% males and 45.1% females) were returned (return rate of 70.25%). Therefore, data pertaining to 463 males and 380 females ranging in age from 17 to 20 years with a mean age of 18.12 years (SD = 1.06) were analyzed. Findings suggest a prevalence rate of 19.1% for body dysmorphic disorder, 23.6% for social anxiety and 8.8% for obsessive beliefs. Both social anxiety and obsessive beliefs were found to be comorbid with body dysmorphic concerns. The percentage of individuals reporting comorbid social anxiety (12.9%) was greater than that of those reporting comorbid obsessive beliefs (6.4%). Males with body dysmorphic concerns reported more obsessive beliefs (8.2% versus 4.1%), while their female counterparts reported more social anxiety (23.4% versus 4.2%). In males, body image concerns appear to be more cognitive in quality, while in females, body image concerns seem more emotional in tone. As the measures used do not yield formal diagnoses, findings should be viewed with caution. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  14. Effects of the medial or basolateral amygdala upon social anxiety and social recognition in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yu; Zhao, Shanshan; Liu, Xu; Fu, Qunying

    2014-01-01

    Though social anxiety and social recognition have been studied extensively, the roles of the medial or basolateral amygdala in the control of social anxiety and social recognition remain to be determined. This study investigated the effects of excitotoxic bilateral medial or basolateral amygdala lesions upon social anxiety and social recognition in-mice. Animals at 9 weeks of age were given bilateral medial or basolateral amygdala lesions via infusion of N-methyl- D-aspartate and then were used for behavioral tests: anxiety-related tests (including open-field test, light-dark test, and elevated-plus maze test), social behavior test in a novel environment, social recognition test, and flavor recognition test. Medial or basolateral amygdala-lesioned mice showed lower levels of anxiety and increased social behaviors in a novel environment. Destruction of the medial or basolateral amygdala neurons impaired social recognition but not flavor recognition. The medial or basolateral amygdala is involved in the control of anxiety-related behavior (social anxiety and social behaviors) in mice. Moreover, both the medial and the basolateral amygdala are essential for social recognition but not flavor recognition in mice.

  15. Severity of anxiety in mental health versus addiction treatment settings when social anxiety and substance abuse are comorbid

    OpenAIRE

    Book, Sarah W.; Thomas, Suzanne E.; Smith, Joshua P.; Miller, Peter M.

    2012-01-01

    There is increasing interest in the co-occurrence of social anxiety and addiction. Each investigation has a specific vantage point, e.g. the effect social anxiety has in a population with addiction or that of addiction in a population with social anxiety, which could create unique findings. Among comorbid individuals, is social anxiety more severe in people seeking treatment for anxiety, as compared to those seeking treatment for addiction? This report compares social anxiety severity between...

  16. Measuring online interpretations and attributions of social situations: Links with adolescent social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haller, Simone P W; Raeder, Sophie M; Scerif, Gaia; Cohen Kadosh, Kathrin; Lau, Jennifer Y F

    2016-03-01

    We evaluated the utility of a novel, picture-based tool to measure how adolescents interpret and attribute cause to social exchanges and whether biases in these processes relate to social anxiety. Briefly presented ambiguous visual social scenes, each containing a photograph of the adolescent as the protagonist, were followed by three possible interpretations (positive, negative, neutral/unrelated) and two possible causal attributions (internal, external) to which participants responded. Ninety-five adolescents aged 14 to 17 recruited from mainstream schools, with varying levels of social anxiety rated the likelihood of positive, negative and unrelated interpretations before selecting the single interpretation they deemed as most likely. This was followed by a question prompting them to decide between an internal or external causal attribution for the interpreted event. Across scenarios, adolescents with higher levels of social anxiety rated negative interpretations as more likely and positive interpretations as less likely compared to lower socially anxious adolescents. Higher socially anxious adolescents were also more likely to select internal attributions to negative and less likely to select internal attributions for positive events than adolescents with lower levels of social anxiety. Adolescents with higher social anxiety display cognitive biases in interpretation and attribution. This tool is suitable for measuring cognitive biases of complex visual-social cues in youth populations with social anxiety and simulates the demands of daily social experiences more closely. As we did not measure depressive symptoms, we cannot be sure that biases linked to social anxiety are not due to concurrent low mood. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  17. Social functioning in youth with anxiety disorders: association with anxiety severity and outcomes from cognitive-behavioral therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Settipani, Cara A; Kendall, Philip C

    2013-02-01

    Social functioning was assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist and Teacher Report Form for children with anxiety disorders who participated in a randomized clinical trial (N = 161, aged 7-14). Significant relationships were found between severity of children's principal anxiety disorder and most measures of social functioning, such that poorer social functioning was associated with more severe anxiety. Among youth who received cognitive-behavioral therapy (n = 111), significant associations were found between parent-reported social competence and both absence of principal anxiety disorder and lower anxiety severity at posttreatment and 1-year follow-up, controlling for the severity of the child's principal anxiety disorder at pretreatment. Findings support a relationship between anxiety severity and social difficulties, and suggest the importance of social competence for a favorable treatment response.

  18. Cigarette craving and stressful social interactions: The roles of state and trait social anxiety and smoking to cope.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, Noreen L; DeMarree, Kenneth G; Cohen, Lee M

    2018-04-01

    Previous research indicates that social anxiety (SA) is a risk factor for the maintenance and relapse of smoking behaviors. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying this relationship. The current study tested the effects of state and trait levels of SA as well as smoking to cope with symptoms of SA on craving during a social stressor task in abstinent conditions. Participants (n = 60) were daily smokers, aged 18-30. Participants attended two sessions: a baseline session and a second session, wherein they engaged in a social stressor task while deprived from nicotine for 24 h. Subjective ratings of cigarette craving and state levels of SA were assessed six times throughout the task. Data were analyzed via multilevel modeling. Both trait SA and some forms of smoking to cope with symptoms of SA were more likely to predict increased craving during times of high, relative to low, social stress. Further, individuals with higher state SA, greater smoking to cope behaviors, and those who experience greater relief of social distress by smoking experienced greater craving throughout the task. These effects remained after controlling for nicotine dependence, withdrawal symptoms, depression, and other symptoms of anxiety and stress. Smoking to cope with symptoms of SA did not moderate the relationship between state SA and craving. Smokers high in SA (state and trait) and smoking to cope with symptoms of SA may be at risk for continued smoking and relapse because of the intensity of cravings they experience during stressful social situations. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Allelic Variation of Risk for Anxiety Symptoms Moderates the Relation Between Adolescent Safety Behaviors and Social Anxiety Symptoms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Sarah A.; Weeks, Justin W.; Dougherty, Lea R.; Lipton, Melanie F.; Daruwala, Samantha E.; Kline, Kathryn

    2015-01-01

    Social anxiety often develops in adolescence, and precedes the onset of depression and substance use disorders. The link between social anxiety and use of behaviors to minimize distress in social situations (i.e., safety behaviors) is strong and for some patients, this link poses difficulty for engaging in, and benefiting from, exposure-based treatment. Yet, little is known about whether individual differences may moderate links between social anxiety and safety behaviors, namely variations in genetic alleles germane to anxiety. We examined the relation between adolescent social anxiety and expressions of safety behaviors, and whether allelic variation for anxiety moderates this relation. Adolescents (n=75; ages 14–17) were recruited from two larger studies investigating measurement of family relationships or adolescent social anxiety. Adolescents completed self-report measures about social anxiety symptoms and use of safety behaviors. They also provided saliva samples to assess allelic variations for anxiety from two genetic polymorphisms (BDNF rs6265; TAQ1A rs1800497). Controlling for adolescent age and gender, we observed a significant interaction between social anxiety symptoms and allelic variation (β=0.37, t=2.41, p=.02). Specifically, adolescents carrying allelic variations for anxiety evidenced a statistically significant and relatively strong positive relation between social anxiety symptoms and safety behaviors (β=0.73), whereas adolescents not carrying allelic variation evidenced a statistically non-significant and relatively weak relation (β=0.22). These findings have important implications for treating adolescent social anxiety, in that we identified an individual difference variable that can be used to identify people who evidence a particularly strong link between use of safety behaviors and expressing social anxiety. PMID:26692635

  20. Self-Reported Acceptance of Social Anxiety Symptoms: Development and Validation of the Social Anxiety-Acceptance and Action Questionnaire

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacKenzie, Meagan B.; Kocovski, Nancy L.

    2010-01-01

    Mindfulness and acceptance-based interventions have been used in social anxiety treatments with initial success. Further research requires the psychometrically sound measurement of mechanisms of change associated with these treatments. This research was conducted to develop and evaluate such a measure, the Social Anxiety-Acceptance and Action…

  1. Effectiveness of “Task Concentration Training” in Reducing the Anxiety Symptoms in Individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Golmohammadi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Aims: As a common disorder, the social anxiety disorder is characterized by the persistent fear of social situations and severe physical and mental reactions. Its prevalence and effect being noticed, different psychotherapy methods were raised to reduce or annihilate it. The aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of task-concentration training technics on the social anxiety symptom reduction in persons with social anxiety. Materials & Methods: In the controlled pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study, 20 students with social anxiety disorder were studied in Shahed University in 2014-15 academic year. The subjects, selected via stepwise cluster sampling method, were randomly divided into two groups including control and experimental (task concentration training groups. Data was collected using the social anxiety questionnaire and the structured clinical interview. Five one-hour task-concentration treatment sessions were conducted in experimental group. Data was analyzed by SPSS 16 software using independent T test. Findings: The mean scores of social anxiety and its sub-scales were not significantly different in experimental and control groups at the pretest stage (p>0.05. Nevertheless, the pretest-posttest differences of the scores of social anxiety and its subscales including avoidance, fear, and physiologic discomfort between the groups were significant (p<0.05. Conclusion: The task-concentration training techniques reduce the social anxiety symptoms in persons with social anxiety disorders.

  2. Parental social anxiety disorder prospectively predicts toddlers' fear/avoidance in a social referencing paradigm

    OpenAIRE

    Aktar, E.; Majdandžić, M.; De, Vente W.; Bögels, S.M.

    2014-01-01

    Background: Anxiety runs in families. Observational learning of anxious behavior from parents with anxiety disorders plays an important role in the intergenerational transmission of anxiety. We investigated the link between parental anxiety (parental lifetime anxiety disorders and expressed parental anxiety) and toddler fear/avoidance during social referencing (SR) situations. Method: Toddlers (N = 117) participated with both parents (with lifetime social anxiety disorder, other nonsocial anx...

  3. Factors associated with social anxiety disorder in a group

    Science.gov (United States)

    Özşahin, Akatlı Kürşad; Altıntaş, Ebru

    2018-04-30

    Background/aim: Mental disorders may accompany obesity. This study aims to evaluate the association between social anxiety disorder (SAD) and obesity and the risk factors for SAD in obese female patients. Materials and methods: A total of 114 obese patients and 110 healthy controls were included. The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI I-II), and Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) were administered to assess anxiety, depression, and social anxiety levels. Scale scores were analyzed statistically. Results: The rate of SAD in obese female patients was found to be 8.8%. Anxiety, depression, and social anxiety levels were significantly higher in the obesity group compared to the control group (P < 0.05). According to linear regression analyses, a significant association between LSAS anxiety level and age, prior surgery, social support, history of being teased, BDI, and BAI was found. Conclusion: The present study shows that many factors are related to obesity and SAD in obese female patients. The clinical implications of these findings should be considered. Interventions for these factors may help prevent SAD in obese female patients.

  4. Girls' and Mothers' Social Anxiety, Social Skills, and Loneliness: Associations after Accounting for Depressive Symptoms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stednitz, Jayme N.; Epkins, Catherine C.

    2006-01-01

    This study examined, in 102 mother-daughter dyads, whether (a) girls' social skills and loneliness are related to girls' social anxiety, after adjusting for girls' depressive symptoms, and (b) mothers' social functioning (social anxiety, social skills, and loneliness) is related to girls' social anxiety, after accounting for girls' social…

  5. Project Stride: An Equine-Assisted Intervention to Reduce Symptoms of Social Anxiety in Young Women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alfonso, Sarah V; Alfonso, Lauren A; Llabre, Maria M; Fernandez, M Isabel

    2015-01-01

    Although there is evidence supporting the use of equine-assisted activities to treat mental disorders, its efficacy in reducing signs and symptoms of social anxiety in young women has not been examined. We developed and pilot tested Project Stride, a brief, six-session intervention combining equine-assisted activities and cognitive-behavioral strategies to reduce symptoms of social anxiety. A total of 12 women, 18-29 years of age, were randomly assigned to Project Stride or a no-treatment control. Participants completed the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale at baseline, immediate-post, and 6 weeks after treatment. Project Stride was highly acceptable and feasible. Compared to control participants, those in Project Stride had significantly greater reductions in social anxiety scores from baseline to immediate-post [decrease of 24.8 points; t (9) = 3.40, P = .008)] and from baseline to follow-up [decrease of 31.8 points; t (9) = 4.12, P = .003)]. These findings support conducting a full-scale efficacy trial of Project Stride. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Unexpected Acceptance? Patients with Social Anxiety Disorder Manifest their Social Expectancy in ERPs During Social Feedback Processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Jianqin; Gu, Ruolei; Bi, Xuejing; Zhu, Xiangru; Wu, Haiyan

    2015-01-01

    Previous studies on social anxiety have demonstrated negative-expectancy bias in social contexts. In this study, we used a paradigm that employed self-relevant positive or negative social feedback, in order to test whether this negative expectancy manifests in event-related potentials (ERPs) during social evaluation among socially anxious individuals. Behavioral data revealed that individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) showed more negative expectancy of peer acceptance both in the experiment and in daily life than did the healthy control participants. Regarding ERP results, we found a overally larger P2 for positive social feedback and also a group main effect, such that the P2 was smaller in SAD group. SAD participants demonstrated a larger feedback-related negativity (FRN) to positive feedback than to negative feedback. In addition, SAD participants showed a more positive ΔFRN (ΔFRN = negative – positive). Furthermore, acceptance expectancy in daily life correlated negatively with ΔFRN amplitude, while the Interaction Anxiousness Scale (IAS) score correlated positively with the ΔFRN amplitude. Finally, the acceptance expectancy in daily life fully mediated the relationship between the IAS and ΔFRN. These results indicated that both groups could differentiate between positive and negative social feedback in the early stage of social feedback processing (reflected on the P2). However, the SAD group exhibited a larger FRN to positive social feedback than to negative social feedback, demonstrating their dysfunction in the late stage of social feedback processing. In our opinion, such dysfunction is due to their greater negative social feedback expectancy. PMID:26635659

  7. Unexpected Acceptance? Patients with Social Anxiety Disorder Manifest their Social Expectancy in ERPs During Social Feedback Processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Jianqin; Gu, Ruolei; Bi, Xuejing; Zhu, Xiangru; Wu, Haiyan

    2015-01-01

    Previous studies on social anxiety have demonstrated negative-expectancy bias in social contexts. In this study, we used a paradigm that employed self-relevant positive or negative social feedback, in order to test whether this negative expectancy manifests in event-related potentials (ERPs) during social evaluation among socially anxious individuals. Behavioral data revealed that individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) showed more negative expectancy of peer acceptance both in the experiment and in daily life than did the healthy control participants. Regarding ERP results, we found a overally larger P2 for positive social feedback and also a group main effect, such that the P2 was smaller in SAD group. SAD participants demonstrated a larger feedback-related negativity (FRN) to positive feedback than to negative feedback. In addition, SAD participants showed a more positive ΔFRN (ΔFRN = negative - positive). Furthermore, acceptance expectancy in daily life correlated negatively with ΔFRN amplitude, while the Interaction Anxiousness Scale (IAS) score correlated positively with the ΔFRN amplitude. Finally, the acceptance expectancy in daily life fully mediated the relationship between the IAS and ΔFRN. These results indicated that both groups could differentiate between positive and negative social feedback in the early stage of social feedback processing (reflected on the P2). However, the SAD group exhibited a larger FRN to positive social feedback than to negative social feedback, demonstrating their dysfunction in the late stage of social feedback processing. In our opinion, such dysfunction is due to their greater negative social feedback expectancy.

  8. Unexpected acceptance? Patients with social anxiety disorder manifest their social expectancy in ERPs during social feedback processing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianqin eCao

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Previous studies on social anxiety have demonstrated negative-expectancy bias in social contexts. In this study, we used a paradigm that employed self-relevant positive or negative social feedback, in order to test whether this negative expectancy manifests in event-related potentials (ERPs during social evaluation among socially anxious individuals. Behavioral data revealed that individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD showed more negative expectancy of peer acceptance both in the experiment and in daily life than did the healthy control (HC participants. Regarding ERP results, we found a overally larger P2 for positive social feedback and also a group main effect, such that the P2 was smaller in SAD group. SAD participants demonstrated a larger FRN to positive feedback than to negative feedback. In addition, SAD participants showed a more positive △FRN (△FRN = negative - positive. Furthermore, acceptance expectancy in daily life correlated negatively with △FRN amplitude, while the Interaction Anxiousness Scale (IAS score correlated positively with the △FRN amplitude. Finally, the acceptance expectancy in daily life fully mediated the relationship between the IAS and △FRN. These results indicated that both groups could differentiate between positive and negative social feedback in the early stage of social feedback processing (reflected on the P2. However, the SAD group exhibited a larger FRN to positive social feedback than to negative social feedback, demonstrating their dysfunction in the late stage of social feedback processing. In our opinion, such dysfunction is due to their greater negative social feedback expectancy.

  9. Chronic social instability increases anxiety-like behavior and ethanol preference in male Long Evans rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roeckner, Alyssa R; Bowling, Alexandra; Butler, Tracy R

    2017-05-01

    Chronic stress during adolescence is related to increased prevalence of anxiety disorders and alcohol use disorders in humans. This phenotype has been consistently recapitulated in animal models with male subjects, but models using female subjects are fewer. The aim of these studies was to test the hypothesis that chronic social instability (CSI) during adolescence engenders increased anxiety-like behavior, increased corticosterone, and greater ethanol intake and/or preference than control groups in male and female rats. A chronic social instability (CSI) procedure was conducted in separate cohorts of female and male adolescent Long Evans rats. CSI included daily social isolation for 1h, and then pair housing with a novel cage mate for 23h until the next 1h isolation period from PND 30-46. Control groups included social stability (SS), chronic isolation (ISO), and acute social instability (aSI). At PND 49-50, anxiety-like behavior was assessed on the elevated plus maze, and on PND 51 tails bloods were obtained for determination of corticosterone (CORT) levels. This was followed by 4weeks of ethanol drinking in a home cage intermittent access ethanol drinking paradigm (PND 55-81 for males, PND 57-83 for females). Planned contrast testing showed that the male CSI group had greater anxiety-like behavior compared controls, but group differences were not apparent for CORT. CSI males had significantly higher levels of ethanol preference during drinking weeks 2-3 compared to all other groups and compared to SS and ISO groups in week 4. For the female cohort, we did not observe consistent group differences in anxiety-like behavior, CORT levels were unexpectedly lower in the ISO group only compared to the other groups, and group differences were not apparent for ethanol intake/preference. In conclusion, chronic stress during adolescence in the form of social instability increases anxiety-like behavior and ethanol preference in male rats, consistent with other models of

  10. A functionalist perspective on social anxiety and avoidant personality disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lafreniere, Peter

    2009-01-01

    A developmental-evolutionary perspective is used to synthesize basic research from the neurosciences, ethology, genetics, and developmental psychology into a unified framework for understanding the nature and origins of social anxiety and avoidant personality disorder. Evidence is presented that social anxiety disorder (social phobia) and avoidant personality disorder may be alternate conceptualizations of the same disorder because they have virtually the same symptoms and genetic basis, and respond to the same pharmacologic and psychotherapeutic interventions. A functionalist perspective on social anxiety is formulated to (a) explain the origins of normative states of anxiety, (b) outline developmental pathways in the transition from normative anxiety to social anxiety and avoidant personality disorders, and (c) account for the processes leading to gender-differentiated patterns of anxiety-related disorders after puberty.

  11. Autistic Traits and Symptoms of Social Anxiety are Differentially Related to Attention to Others' Eyes in Social Anxiety Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kleberg, Johan Lundin; Högström, Jens; Nord, Martina; Bölte, Sven; Serlachius, Eva; Falck-Ytter, Terje

    2017-12-01

    Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) have partly overlapping symptoms. Gaze avoidance has been linked to both SAD and ASD, but little is known about differences in social attention between the two conditions. We studied eye movements in a group of treatment-seeking adolescents with SAD (N = 25), assessing SAD and ASD dimensionally. The results indicated a double dissociation between two measures of social attention and the two symptom dimensions. Controlling for social anxiety, elevated autistic traits were associated with delayed orienting to eyes presented among distractors. In contrast, elevated social anxiety levels were associated with faster orienting away from the eyes, when controlling for autistic traits. This distinction deepens our understanding of ASD and SAD.

  12. Social anxiety experiences and responses of university students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Behiye Akacan

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to examine the responses of university students in social anxiety situations in order to create a psychological counselling program with a structured group based on Cognitive Behavioural and Existential Approaches. These responses involve the behaviour and thoughts of the university students in situations where they experience or anticipate social anxiety. The semi-structured interview form developed by the researchers was used in the study during the face-to-face interviews with fifty-one 4th year students from the Guidance and Psychological Counselling (GPC and Pre-School Teaching (PST departments. The scope of the interview form includes the situations where 1 students experience social anxiety in the school setting and their thoughts and behaviours regarding these situations, 2 the situations where they anticipate social anxiety in their future profession, and 3 the situations where they experience social anxiety in their daily lives. Our aim was to collect data from these areas. The data collected were analysed through content analysis. The findings of the study revealed that the thoughts regarding the social anxiety situations of the final year students studying in Guidance and Psychological Counselling and Pre-School Teaching departments are generally negative and their behaviour usually presents as desertion or avoidance.

  13. How people evaluate others with social anxiety disorder: A comparison to depression and general mental illness stigma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Kristin N; Jeon, Andrew B; Blenner, Jordan A; Wiener, Richard L; Hope, Debra A

    2015-03-01

    Despite the availability of effective interventions, most individuals with social anxiety disorder do not seek treatment. Given their fear of negative evaluation, socially anxious individuals might be especially susceptible to stigma concerns, a recognized barrier for mental health treatment. However, very little is known about the stigma specific to social anxiety disorder. In a design similar to Feldman and Crandall (2007), university undergraduate students read vignettes about target individuals with a generic mental illness label, major depressive disorder, and social anxiety disorder. Subjects rated each of 3 people in the vignettes on social distance and 17 dimensions including dangerousness, heritability and prevalence of the disorder, and gender ratio. Results indicated that being male and not having experience with mental health treatment was associated with somewhat greater preferred social distance. Multiple regression analyses revealed that being embarrassed by the disorder and dangerousness predicted social distance across all 3 vignettes. The vignette for social anxiety disorder had the most complex model and included work impairment, more common among women, and more avoidable. These results have implications for understanding the specific aspects of the stigma associated with social anxiety disorder. Public service messages to reduce stigma should focus on more accurate information about dangerousness and mental illness, given this is an established aspect of mental illness stigma. More nuanced messages about social anxiety might be best incorporated into the treatment referral process and as part of treatment. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  14. Beyond Behaviour: Is Social Anxiety Low in Williams Syndrome?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dodd, Helen F.; Schniering, Carolyn A.; Porter, Melanie A.

    2009-01-01

    Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) exhibit striking social behaviour that may be indicative of abnormally low social anxiety. The present research aimed to determine whether social anxiety is unusually low in WS and to replicate previous findings of increased generalised anxiety in WS using both parent and self report. Fifteen individuals…

  15. Social phobia, anxiety, oppositional behavior, social skills, and self-concept in children with specific selective mutism, generalized selective mutism, and community controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cunningham, Charles E; McHolm, Angela E; Boyle, Michael H

    2006-08-01

    We compared social phobia, anxiety, oppositional behavior, social skills, and self-concept in three groups: (1) 28 children with specific mutism (who did not speak to teachers but were more likely to speak to parents and peers at home and school); (2) 30 children with generalized mutism (whose speaking was restricted primarily to their homes); and (3) 52 community controls. Children with generalized mutism evidenced higher anxiety at school, and more separation anxiety, OCD, and depressive symptoms at home. Parents and teachers reported that the social phobia and anxiety scores of children in both the specific and generalized mutism subgroups were higher than controls. Children in both the specific and generalized mutism groups evidenced greater deficits in verbal and nonverbal social skills at home and school than controls. Teachers and parents did not report differences in nonverbal measures of social cooperation and conflict resolution and we found no evidence that selective mutism was linked to an increase in externalizing problems such as oppositional behavior or ADHD. Although children with specific mutism speak in a wider range of situations and appear less anxious to their teachers than children with generalized mutism, significant socially phobic behavior and social skills deficits are present in both groups.

  16. Gaze perception in social anxiety and social anxiety disorder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lars eSchulze

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Clinical observations suggest abnormal gaze perception to be an important indicator of social anxiety disorder (SAD. Experimental research has yet paid relatively little attention to the study of gaze perception in SAD. In this article we first discuss gaze perception in healthy human beings before reviewing self-referential and threat-related biases of gaze perception in clinical and non-clinical socially anxious samples. Relative to controls, socially anxious individuals exhibit an enhanced self-directed perception of gaze directions and demonstrate a pronounced fear of direct eye contact, though findings are less consistent regarding the avoidance of mutual gaze in SAD. Prospects for future research and clinical implications are discussed.

  17. Continual training of attentional bias in social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Songwei; Tan, Jieqing; Qian, Mingyi; Liu, Xinghua

    2008-08-01

    Using the dot-probe paradigm, it has been shown that high social anxiety is associated with an attentional bias toward negative information. In the present study, individuals with high social anxiety were divided into two groups randomly. One group was the attentional bias training group (Group T), and the other was the control group (Group C). For Group T, 7 days' continuous training of attentional bias was conducted using the dot-probe paradigm to make socially anxious individuals focus more on positive face pictures. The results showed that the training was effective in changing attentional bias in Group T. Scores of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) in Group T were reduced compared to Group C, while the scores of Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and scores of Negative Evaluation Scale (FNE) showed no difference between the two groups, which suggested a limited reduction of social anxiety.

  18. Cognitive behavioural group treatment for social anxiety in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kingsep, Patrick; Nathan, Paula; Castle, David

    2003-09-01

    Anxiety symptoms reported by individuals with schizophrenia have been traditionally seen as symptoms associated with the principal disorder and therefore not requiring special attention. The primary aim of this paper is to therapeutically target social anxiety symptoms in individuals with schizophrenia in order to determine the effectiveness of the cognitive behavioural group treatment model as an intervention for social anxiety in this participant group. Thirty-three individuals with schizophrenia and co-morbid social anxiety were allocated to a group-based cognitive behaviour (CBGT) intervention or waitlist control (WLC). Baseline, completion and follow-up ratings consist of measures of social anxiety: the Brief Social Phobia Scale (BSPS), Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation scale (BFNE) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS); measures of general psychopathology: the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS) and Global Severity Index (GSI) from the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI); and the Quality of Life, Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (QLESQ). Pre- and post-treatment measures were subjected to statistical evaluation. All outcome measures displayed statistical improvement in the intervention group compared with no change in the control group. These treatment gains were maintained at follow-up. CBGT for social anxiety in schizophrenia was demonstrated to be effective as an adjunctive treatment for this population.

  19. Gender Dysphoria and Social Anxiety: An Exploratory Study in Spain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergero-Miguel, Trinidad; García-Encinas, María A; Villena-Jimena, Amelia; Pérez-Costillas, Lucía; Sánchez-Álvarez, Nicolás; de Diego-Otero, Yolanda; Guzman-Parra, Jose

    2016-08-01

    Social anxiety in gender dysphoria is still under investigation. To determine the prevalence and associated factors of social anxiety in a sample of individuals with gender dysphoria. A cross-sectional design was used in a clinical sample attending a public gender identity unit in Spain. The sample consisted of 210 individuals (48% trans female and 52% trans male). Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) for diagnosis of social anxiety disorder, Structured Clinical Interview, Exposure to Violence Questionnaire (EVQ), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), and Functional Social Support Questionnaire (Duke-UNC-11). Of the total sample, 31.4% had social anxiety disorder. Social anxiety disorder was highly correlated with age (r = -0.181; CI = 0.061-0.264; P = .009) and depression (r = 0.345; CI = 0.213-0.468; P social anxiety disorder. This study highlights the necessity of implementing actions to prevent and treat social anxiety in this high-risk population. Copyright © 2016 International Society for Sexual Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Internet addiction is associated with social anxiety in young adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weinstein, Aviv; Dorani, Dikla; Elhadif, Rotem; Bukovza, Yehely; Yarmulnik, Anastasya; Dannon, Pinhas

    2015-02-01

    Problematic Internet use or excessive Internet use is characterized by excessive or poorly controlled preoccupations, urges, or behaviors regarding computer use, and Internet access that leads to impairment or distress. Cross-sectional studies on samples of patients reported high comorbidity of Internet addiction with psychiatric disorders, especially affective disorders (including depression), anxiety disorders (generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. We have investigated the association between Internet addiction and social anxiety in 2 samples of 120 university students (60 males and 60 females in each sample). We found a correlation between Internet addiction and social anxiety in the 2 samples (r=0.411, Paddiction. Thirdly, we did not find a preference for social networks among participants with high levels of social anxiety. The results of the study support previous evidence for co-occurrence of Internet addiction and social anxiety, but further studies need to clarify this association.

  1. Criticism in the Romantic Relationships of Individuals With Social Anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porter, Eliora; Chambless, Dianne L; Keefe, John R

    2017-07-01

    Social anxiety is associated with difficulties in intimate relationships. Because fear of negative evaluation is a cardinal feature of social anxiety disorder, perceived criticism and upset due to criticism from partners may play a significant role in socially anxious individuals' intimate relationships. In the present study, we examine associations between social anxiety and perceived, observed, and expressed criticism in interactions with romantic partners. In Study 1, we collected self-report data from 343 undergraduates and their romantic partners on social anxiety symptoms, perceived and expressed criticism, and upset due to criticism. One year later couples reported whether they were still in this relationship. Results showed that social anxiety was associated with being more critical of one's partner, and among women, being more upset by criticism from a partner. Social anxiety was not related to perceived criticism, nor did criticism variables predict relationship status at Time 2. In Study 2, undergraduate couples with a partner high (n = 26) or low (n = 26) in social anxiety completed a 10-minute, video-recorded problem-solving task. Both partners rated their perceived and expressed criticism and upset due to criticism following the interaction, and observers coded interactions for criticism. Results indicated that social anxiety was not significantly related to any of the criticism variables, but post hoc analyses cast doubts upon the external validity of the problem-solving task. Results are discussed in light of known difficulties with intimacy among individuals with social anxiety. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  2. The Relationships between Social Class, Listening Test Anxiety and Test Scores

    OpenAIRE

    Omid Talebi Rezaabadi

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated the relationships between the social anxiety, social class and listening-test anxiety of students learning English as a foreign language. The aims of the study were to examine the relationship between listening-test anxiety and listening-test performance. The data were collected using an adapted Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale and a newly developed Foreign Language Social Anxiety Scale. The potential correlation between social anxiety and listening-test perfor...

  3. Gender Differences in and the Relationships Between Social Anxiety and Problematic Internet Use: Canonical Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baloğlu, Mustafa; Özteke Kozan, Hatice İrem; Kesici, Şahin

    2018-01-24

    The cognitive-behavioral model of problematic Internet use (PIU) proposes that psychological well-being is associated with specific thoughts and behaviors on the Internet. Hence, there is growing concern that PIU is associated with psychological impairments. Given the proposal of gender schema theory and social role theory, men and women are predisposed to experience social anxiety and engage in Internet use differently. Thus, an investigation of gender differences in these areas is warranted. According to the cognitive-behavioral model of PIU, social anxiety is associated with specific cognitions and behaviors on the Internet. Thus, an investigation of the association between social anxiety and PIU is essential. In addition, research that takes into account the multidimensional nature of social anxiety and PIU is lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to explore multivariate gender differences in and the relationships between social anxiety and PIU. Participants included 505 college students, of whom 241 (47.7%) were women and 264 (52.3%) were men. Participants' ages ranged from 18 to 22 years, with a mean age of 20.34 (SD=1.16). The Social Anxiety Scale and Problematic Internet Use Scale were used in data collection. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and canonical correlation analysis were used. Mean differences between men and women were not statistically significant in social anxiety (λ=.02, F3,501=2.47, P=.06). In all three PIU dimensions, men scored higher than women, and MANOVA shows that multivariate difference was statistically significant (λ=.94, F3,501=10.69, Psocial anxiety levels between men and women. We found that men showed more difficulties than women in terms of running away from personal problems (ie, social benefit), used the Internet more excessively, and experienced more interpersonal problems with significant others due to Internet use. We conclude that men are under a greater risk of social impairments due to PIU. Our overall

  4. Post-event processing in social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dannahy, Laura; Stopa, Lusia

    2007-06-01

    Clark and Wells' [1995. A cognitive model of social phobia. In: R. Heimberg, M. Liebowitz, D.A. Hope, & F.R. Schneier (Eds.) Social phobia: Diagnosis, assessment and treatment (pp. 69-93). New York: Guildford Press.] cognitive model of social phobia proposes that following a social event, individuals with social phobia will engage in post-event processing, during which they conduct a detailed review of the event. This study investigated the relationship between self-appraisals of performance and post-event processing in individuals high and low in social anxiety. Participants appraised their performance immediately after a conversation with an unknown individual and prior to an anticipated second conversation task 1 week later. The frequency and valence of post-event processing during the week following the conversation was also assessed. The study also explored differences in the metacognitive processes of high and low socially anxious participants. The high socially anxious group experienced more anxiety, predicted worse performance, underestimated their actual performance, and engaged in more post-event processing than low socially anxious participants. The degree of negative post-event processing was linked to the extent of social anxiety and negative appraisals of performance, both immediately after the conversation task and 1 week later. Differences were also observed in some metacognitive processes. The results are discussed in relation to current theory and previous research.

  5. Socially anxious smokers experience greater negative affect and withdrawal during self-quit attempts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckner, Julia D; Langdon, Kirsten J; Jeffries, Emily R; Zvolensky, Michael J

    2016-04-01

    Despite evidence of a strong and consistent relation between smoking and elevated social anxiety, strikingly little empirical work has identified mechanisms underlying the smoking-social anxiety link. Persons with elevated social anxiety may rely on smoking to cope with more severe nicotine withdrawal and post-quit negative mood states; yet, no known studies have investigated the relation of social anxiety to withdrawal severity. The current study examined the relation of social anxiety to post-quit nicotine withdrawal severity among 51 (33.3% female, Mage = 34.6) community-recruited smokers during the first two weeks following an unaided (i.e., no treatment) cessation attempt. Ecological momentary assessment was used to collect multiple daily ratings of withdrawal and negative mood states. Baseline social anxiety was related to increases in negative affect during the monitoring period and remained significantly related to post-quit withdrawal after controlling for negative affect, gender, lapses, and substance use. Persons with elevated social anxiety experience more severe post-quit withdrawal symptoms and increases in negative affect during a cessation attempt and may therefore benefit from intervention and treatment strategies geared toward helping them learn to cope with withdrawal and negative affect to improve cessation rates among these vulnerable smokers.

  6. Familial Accumulation of Social Anxiety Symptoms and Maladaptive Emotion Regulation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julia Asbrand

    Full Text Available Social anxiety is thought to be strongly related to maladaptive emotion regulation (ER. As social anxiety symptoms accumulate in families, we hypothesize that maladaptive ER is also more prevalent in families with anxious children. Thus, we analyze differences in emotion regulation of both child and mother in relation to social anxiety, as well as both their ER strategies in dealing with anxiety. Further, a positive relation between child and maternal ER strategies is assumed.Children (aged 9 to 13 years with social, anxiety disorder (SAD; n = 25 and healthy controls (HC, n = 26 as well as their mothers completed several measures of social anxiety and trait ER strategies towards anxiety. As ER of children is still in development, age is considered as covariate.SAD children and their mothers reported more maladaptive ER strategies than HC dyads. Maternal maladaptive ER was related negatively to child adaptive ER which was further moderated by the child's age.Maladaptive ER strategies seem to contribute to the exacerbation of social anxiety in both mother and child. Mothers reporting maladaptive ER may have difficulties supporting their child in coping with social anxiety while simultaneously also experiencing heightened levels of anxiety. Deeper understanding of interactional processes between mothers and children during development can assist the comprehension of factors maintaining SAD. Implications for future research and possible consequences for interventions are discussed.

  7. Familial Accumulation of Social Anxiety Symptoms and Maladaptive Emotion Regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asbrand, Julia; Svaldi, Jennifer; Krämer, Martina; Breuninger, Christoph; Tuschen-Caffier, Brunna

    2016-01-01

    Social anxiety is thought to be strongly related to maladaptive emotion regulation (ER). As social anxiety symptoms accumulate in families, we hypothesize that maladaptive ER is also more prevalent in families with anxious children. Thus, we analyze differences in emotion regulation of both child and mother in relation to social anxiety, as well as both their ER strategies in dealing with anxiety. Further, a positive relation between child and maternal ER strategies is assumed. Children (aged 9 to 13 years) with social, anxiety disorder (SAD; n = 25) and healthy controls (HC, n = 26) as well as their mothers completed several measures of social anxiety and trait ER strategies towards anxiety. As ER of children is still in development, age is considered as covariate. SAD children and their mothers reported more maladaptive ER strategies than HC dyads. Maternal maladaptive ER was related negatively to child adaptive ER which was further moderated by the child's age. Maladaptive ER strategies seem to contribute to the exacerbation of social anxiety in both mother and child. Mothers reporting maladaptive ER may have difficulties supporting their child in coping with social anxiety while simultaneously also experiencing heightened levels of anxiety. Deeper understanding of interactional processes between mothers and children during development can assist the comprehension of factors maintaining SAD. Implications for future research and possible consequences for interventions are discussed.

  8. Assessment of Social Anxiety and Its Correlates among ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Statistical analysis, using Regression Analysis and Four-Way ANOVA, revealed that while some factors predicted social anxiety (such as dating anxiety and fear of negative evaluation); Self esteem, Social maladjustment and assertiveness did not. Also demographic variables did not have any significant effect on social ...

  9. Factors associated with social interaction anxiety among Chinese adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Z W; Lam, L T; Jin, J

    2011-12-01

    To investigate potential risk factors for social anxiety, particularly social interaction anxiety among the Chinese adolescents. A cross-sectional health survey was conducted in Guangzhou city of the Guangdong Province where high school students aged 13 to 18 years were recruited. The sample was selected from all high schools in the city using a 2-stage random cluster sampling technique. Social interaction anxiety was assessed using the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale. Information collected in the survey included: demographics, self-perception on school performance, relationship with teachers and peers, satisfaction with self-image, achievements, and parenting style of the mother. The parent-child relationship, specifically the relationship between respondents and their mothers, was assessed using the mother attachment subscale of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment. Self-esteem was assessed using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The multiple linear regression technique was applied to investigate associations between selected potential risk factors and social interaction anxiety, with adjustments for cluster sampling. Lower family income, lower self-esteem, and hostility were significantly associated with social interaction anxiety among adolescents. Variables identified as risk factors of anxiety disorder in the literature, such as gender, were not associated with social interaction anxiety in this sample. These results were consistent with those of other studies conducted mainly in the United States and Europe. Regarding non-significant results related to gender, they need viewing in the context of parenting styles of Chinese mothers.

  10. Social Anxiety and Cannabis Use: An Analysis from Ecological Momentary Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckner, Julia D.; Crosby, Ross D.; Wonderlich, Stephen A.; Schmidt, Norman B.

    2011-01-01

    Individuals with elevated social anxiety appear especially vulnerable to cannabis-related problems, yet little is known about the antecedents of cannabis-related behaviors among this high-risk population. The present study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine the relations among social anxiety, cannabis craving, state anxiety, situational variables, and cannabis use in the natural environment during ad-lib cannabis use episodes. Participants were 49 current cannabis users. During the two-week EMA period, social anxiety significantly interacted with cannabis craving to predict cannabis use both cross-sectionally and prospectively. Specifically, individuals with higher social anxiety and craving were most likely to use cannabis. There was a significant social anxiety X state anxiety X others’ use interaction such that when others were using cannabis, those with elevations in both trait social anxiety and state anxiety were the most likely to use cannabis. PMID:22246109

  11. Training implicit social anxiety associations: an experimental intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clerkin, Elise M; Teachman, Bethany A

    2010-04-01

    The current study investigates an experimental anxiety reduction intervention among a highly socially anxious sample (N=108; n=36 per Condition; 80 women). Using a conditioning paradigm, our goal was to modify implicit social anxiety associations to directly test the premise from cognitive models that biased cognitive processing may be causally related to anxious responding. Participants were trained to preferentially process non-threatening information through repeated pairings of self-relevant stimuli and faces indicating positive social feedback. As expected, participants in this positive training condition (relative to our two control conditions) displayed less negative implicit associations following training, and were more likely to complete an impromptu speech (though they did not report less anxiety during the speech). These findings offer partial support for cognitive models and indicate that implicit associations are not only correlated with social anxiety, they may be causally related to anxiety reduction as well. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. How smartphone usage correlates with social anxiety and loneliness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Yusong; Li, Ang; Zhu, Tingshao; Liu, Xiaoqian; Liu, Xingyun

    2016-01-01

    Early detection of social anxiety and loneliness might be useful to prevent substantial impairment in personal relationships. Understanding the way people use smartphones can be beneficial for implementing an early detection of social anxiety and loneliness. This paper examines different types of smartphone usage and their relationships with people with different individual levels of social anxiety or loneliness. A total of 127 Android smartphone volunteers participated in this study, all of which have agreed to install an application (MobileSens) on their smartphones, which can record user's smartphone usage behaviors and upload the data into the server. They were instructed to complete an online survey, including the Interaction Anxiousness Scale (IAS) and the University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS). We then separated participants into three groups (high, middle and low) based on their scores of IAS and UCLA-LS, respectively. Finally, we acquired digital records of smartphone usage from MobileSens and examined the differences in 105 types of smartphone usage behaviors between high-score and low-score group of IAS/UCLA-LS. Individuals with different scores on social anxiety or loneliness might use smartphones in different ways. For social anxiety, compared with users in low-score group, users in high-score group had less number of phone calls (incoming and outgoing) (Mann-Whitney U = 282.50∼409.00, p social media (RenRen) (Mann-Whitney >U = 388.50, p social anxiety or loneliness receive less incoming calls and use healthy applications more frequently, but they do not show differences in outgoing-call-related features. Individuals with higher levels of social anxiety also receive less SMSs and use camera apps less frequently, while lonely individuals tend to use system, beautify, browser and social media (RenRen) apps more frequently. This paper finds that there exists certain correlation among smartphone usage and social anxiety and

  13. Social inference and social anxiety: evidence of a fear-congruent self-referential learning bias.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Button, Katherine S; Browning, Michael; Munafò, Marcus R; Lewis, Glyn

    2012-12-01

    Fears of negative evaluation characterise social anxiety, and preferential processing of fear-relevant information is implicated in maintaining symptoms. Little is known, however, about the relationship between social anxiety and the process of inferring negative evaluation. The ability to use social information to learn what others think about one, referred to here as self-referential learning, is fundamental for effective social interaction. The aim of this research was to examine whether social anxiety is associated with self-referential learning. 102 Females with either high (n = 52) or low (n = 50) self-reported social anxiety completed a novel probabilistic social learning task. Using trial and error, the task required participants to learn two self-referential rules, 'I am liked' and 'I am disliked'. Participants across the sample were better at learning the positive rule 'I am liked' than the negative rule 'I am disliked', β = -6.4, 95% CI [-8.0, -4.7], p learning positive self-referential information was strongest in the lowest socially anxious and was abolished in the most symptomatic participants. Relative to the low group, the high anxiety group were better at learning they were disliked and worse at learning they were liked, social anxiety by rule interaction β = 3.6; 95% CI [+0.3, +7.0], p = 0.03. The specificity of the results to self-referential processing requires further research. Healthy individuals show a robust preference for learning that they are liked relative to disliked. This positive self-referential bias is reduced in social anxiety in a way that would be expected to exacerbate anxiety symptoms. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Using Mobile Sensing to Test Clinical Models of Depression, Social Anxiety, State Affect, and Social Isolation Among College Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chow, Philip I; Fua, Karl; Huang, Yu; Bonelli, Wesley; Xiong, Haoyi; Barnes, Laura E; Teachman, Bethany A

    2017-03-03

    Research in psychology demonstrates a strong link between state affect (moment-to-moment experiences of positive or negative emotionality) and trait affect (eg, relatively enduring depression and social anxiety symptoms), and a tendency to withdraw (eg, spending time at home). However, existing work is based almost exclusively on static, self-reported descriptions of emotions and behavior that limit generalizability. Despite adoption of increasingly sophisticated research designs and technology (eg, mobile sensing using a global positioning system [GPS]), little research has integrated these seemingly disparate forms of data to improve understanding of how emotional experiences in everyday life are associated with time spent at home, and whether this is influenced by depression or social anxiety symptoms. We hypothesized that more time spent at home would be associated with more negative and less positive affect. We recruited 72 undergraduate participants from a southeast university in the United States. We assessed depression and social anxiety symptoms using self-report instruments at baseline. An app (Sensus) installed on participants' personal mobile phones repeatedly collected in situ self-reported state affect and GPS location data for up to 2 weeks. Time spent at home was a proxy for social isolation. We tested separate models examining the relations between state affect and time spent at home, with levels of depression and social anxiety as moderators. Models differed only in the temporal links examined. One model focused on associations between changes in affect and time spent at home within short, 4-hour time windows. The other 3 models focused on associations between mean-level affect within a day and time spent at home (1) the same day, (2) the following day, and (3) the previous day. Overall, we obtained many of the expected main effects (although there were some null effects), in which higher social anxiety was associated with more time or greater

  15. Social anxiety in online and real-life interaction and their associated factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yen, Ju-Yu; Yen, Cheng-Fang; Chen, Cheng-Sheng; Wang, Peng-Wei; Chang, Yi-Hsin; Ko, Chih-Hung

    2012-01-01

    Social anxiety was compared between online and real-life interaction in a sample of 2,348 college students. Severity of social anxiety in both real-life and online interaction was tested for associations with depression, Internet addiction, Internet activity type (gaming versus chatting), and scores on Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS)/Behavioral Activation System (BAS) scales. The results showed that social anxiety was lower when interacting online than when interacting offline. Depression, Internet addiction, and high BIS and BAS scores were associated with high social anxiety. The social anxiety decreased more in online interaction among subjects with high social anxiety, depression, BIS, and BAS. This result suggests that the Internet has good potential as an alternative medium for delivering interventions for social anxiety. Further, the effect of BIS on social anxiety is decreased in online interaction. More attention should be paid for BIS when the treatment for social anxiety is delivered online.

  16. Peer conflict avoidance: associations with loneliness, social anxiety, and social avoidance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, H D; LaVoie, J C; Spenceri, M C; Mahoney-Wernli, M A

    2001-02-01

    Failure to resolve peer conflict is associated with children's reports of loneliness, social anxiety, and social avoidance. Although these relationships are well established, researchers have not examined the association between the avoidance of peer conflict and various adjustment characteristics. The current study examined the association between avoidance of conflict and measures of loneliness, social anxiety, and social avoidance for 59 pupils in Grade 4 (31 boys and 28 girls) and 47 in Grade 8 (22 boys and 25 girls). Volunteers indicated that conflict avoidance based on autonomy, e.g., independence issues, and interpersonal issues, e.g., closeness and cohesion, was associated with scores on loneliness for boys and girls, respectively. Conflict avoidance for emotional and physical well-being and fear of punishment was associated with increased reports of loneliness and social anxiety for children in Grade 4.

  17. How smartphone usage correlates with social anxiety and loneliness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yusong Gao

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Early detection of social anxiety and loneliness might be useful to prevent substantial impairment in personal relationships. Understanding the way people use smartphones can be beneficial for implementing an early detection of social anxiety and loneliness. This paper examines different types of smartphone usage and their relationships with people with different individual levels of social anxiety or loneliness. Methods: A total of 127 Android smartphone volunteers participated in this study, all of which have agreed to install an application (MobileSens on their smartphones, which can record user’s smartphone usage behaviors and upload the data into the server. They were instructed to complete an online survey, including the Interaction Anxiousness Scale (IAS and the University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS. We then separated participants into three groups (high, middle and low based on their scores of IAS and UCLA-LS, respectively. Finally, we acquired digital records of smartphone usage from MobileSens and examined the differences in 105 types of smartphone usage behaviors between high-score and low-score group of IAS/UCLA-LS. Results: Individuals with different scores on social anxiety or loneliness might use smartphones in different ways. For social anxiety, compared with users in low-score group, users in high-score group had less number of phone calls (incoming and outgoing (Mann-Whitney U = 282.50∼409.00, p U = 388.50, p < 0.01. Discussion: The results show that individuals with social anxiety or loneliness receive less incoming calls and use healthy applications more frequently, but they do not show differences in outgoing-call-related features. Individuals with higher levels of social anxiety also receive less SMSs and use camera apps less frequently, while lonely individuals tend to use system, beautify, browser and social media (RenRen apps more frequently. Conclusion: This paper finds that

  18. How smartphone usage correlates with social anxiety and loneliness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiaoqian; Liu, Xingyun

    2016-01-01

    Introduction: Early detection of social anxiety and loneliness might be useful to prevent substantial impairment in personal relationships. Understanding the way people use smartphones can be beneficial for implementing an early detection of social anxiety and loneliness. This paper examines different types of smartphone usage and their relationships with people with different individual levels of social anxiety or loneliness. Methods: A total of 127 Android smartphone volunteers participated in this study, all of which have agreed to install an application (MobileSens) on their smartphones, which can record user’s smartphone usage behaviors and upload the data into the server. They were instructed to complete an online survey, including the Interaction Anxiousness Scale (IAS) and the University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS). We then separated participants into three groups (high, middle and low) based on their scores of IAS and UCLA-LS, respectively. Finally, we acquired digital records of smartphone usage from MobileSens and examined the differences in 105 types of smartphone usage behaviors between high-score and low-score group of IAS/UCLA-LS. Results: Individuals with different scores on social anxiety or loneliness might use smartphones in different ways. For social anxiety, compared with users in low-score group, users in high-score group had less number of phone calls (incoming and outgoing) (Mann-Whitney U = 282.50∼409.00, p U = 388.50, p < 0.01). Discussion: The results show that individuals with social anxiety or loneliness receive less incoming calls and use healthy applications more frequently, but they do not show differences in outgoing-call-related features. Individuals with higher levels of social anxiety also receive less SMSs and use camera apps less frequently, while lonely individuals tend to use system, beautify, browser and social media (RenRen) apps more frequently. Conclusion: This paper finds that there exists

  19. The moderating role of attachment anxiety on social network site use intensity and social capital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Haihua; Shi, Junqi; Liu, Yihao; Sheng, Zitong

    2013-02-01

    This study examined the moderating role of attachment anxiety on the relationship between intensity of social network site use and bridging, bonding, and maintained social capital. Data from 322 undergraduate Chinese students were collected. Hierarchical regression analyses showed positive relationships between online intensity of social network site use and the three types of social capital. Moreover, attachment anxiety moderated the effect of intensity of social network site use on social capital. Specifically, for students with lower attachment anxiety, the relationships between intensity of social network site use and bonding and bridging social capital were stronger than those with higher attachment anxiety. The result suggested that social network sites cannot improve highly anxiously attached individuals' social capital effectively; they may need more face-to-face communications.

  20. Increasing in Eating Disorders and Their Role in Social-Physical Anxiety in Active Elderly Men

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M Homayounnia Firoozjah

    2015-09-01

    Result: Results showed a significant and positive relationship between eating disorders and social-physical anxiety (p=0/001. Symptoms of anorexia nervosa and anorexia are strongest variables in the prediction of social anxiety symptoms limbs (p=0/001. Compared with bulimia nervosa, component of anorexia nervosa had a greater role in eating disorders in elderlies. Conclusions: This research suggests that by regularly adjusting their eating habits and physical activity in elderlies, their attitudes toward participation in the community can positively change. So that, by adequate and regular exercise, they could have a positive view of their body.

  1. Specificity of emotion regulation deficits in social anxiety: an internet study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rusch, Silke; Westermann, Stefan; Lincoln, Tania M

    2012-09-01

    There is evidence for an association between social anxiety and emotion regulation difficulties. This study investigates that emotion regulation difficulties are specific to two domains of social anxiety. An explorative study was conducted to examine the associations between emotion regulation facets and social anxiety in the normal population. N= 149 healthy volunteers participated in an internet-based survey. Emotion regulation deficits were measured by the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale which consists of six subscales. Social anxiety was measured by the Social Phobia Scale and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that anxiety of interactive social situations is associated with non-acceptance of negative emotions, impulse control difficulties, and lack of functional emotion regulation strategies over and above the impact of age and general psychopathology. In contrast, anxiety of being observed by others was not specifically associated with emotion regulation strategies. The results support the hypothesis that specific emotion regulation deficits are relevant to specific aspects of social anxiety. Implications for further research and therapy are discussed. © 2011 The British Psychological Society.

  2. [College students social anxiety associated with stress and mental health].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xuefeng; Wang, Zhen; Gao, Jing; Hu, Weipeng

    2007-03-01

    To explore the mediator effects of social anxiety on college students' life stress and mental health. 1430 college students were tested by revised Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Check List (ASLEC), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12) and social anxiety scale chose from Self-Consciousness Scale. 1. Social anxiety was the mediator variable between stress and mental health. 2. Female students were easily suffered from higher losing stress and human relationship stress in comparision with male. 3. Non-only child Students got a higher score in social anxiety and lower GHQ in comparision with only child. It may be helpful to improve the stress management and mental health of college students by testing and intervening their social anxiety perception.

  3. Social Anxiety in Online and Real-Life Interaction and Their Associated Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yen, Ju-Yu; Yen, Cheng-Fang; Chen, Cheng-Sheng; Wang, Peng-Wei; Chang, Yi-Hsin

    2012-01-01

    Abstract Social anxiety was compared between online and real-life interaction in a sample of 2,348 college students. Severity of social anxiety in both real-life and online interaction was tested for associations with depression, Internet addiction, Internet activity type (gaming versus chatting), and scores on Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS)/Behavioral Activation System (BAS) scales. The results showed that social anxiety was lower when interacting online than when interacting offline. Depression, Internet addiction, and high BIS and BAS scores were associated with high social anxiety. The social anxiety decreased more in online interaction among subjects with high social anxiety, depression, BIS, and BAS. This result suggests that the Internet has good potential as an alternative medium for delivering interventions for social anxiety. Further, the effect of BIS on social anxiety is decreased in online interaction. More attention should be paid for BIS when the treatment for social anxiety is delivered online. PMID:22175853

  4. Anger profiles in social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Versella, Mark V; Piccirillo, Marilyn L; Potter, Carrie M; Olino, Thomas M; Heimberg, Richard G

    2016-01-01

    Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) exhibit elevated levels of anger and anger suppression, which are both associated with increased depression, diminished quality of life, and poorer treatment outcomes. However, little is known about how anger experiences differ among individuals with SAD and whether any heterogeneity might relate to negative outcomes. This investigation sought to empirically define anger profiles among 136 treatment-seeking individuals with SAD and to assess their association with distress and impairment. A latent class analysis was conducted utilizing the trait subscales of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 as indicators of class membership. Analysis revealed four distinct anger profiles, with greatest distress and impairment generally demonstrated by individuals with elevated trait anger, a greater tendency to suppress the expression of anger, and diminished ability to adaptively control their anger expression. These results have implications for tailoring more effective interventions for socially anxious individuals. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Social and individual influences on eating in pre-adolescents: The role of friends’ eating behaviours and individual anxiety and depression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Houldcroft

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: Friends are important role models for the formation of social norms and behaviour comparisons, particularly in children. This study examined the similarities between pre-adolescent children’s own eating behaviours with the eating behaviours of those in their friendship group. It also evaluated whether symptoms of anxiety and depression were related to eating behaviours in this age group. Methods: Three hundred and forty three children (mean age 8.75 years completed questionnaires designed to measure dietary restraint, emotional eating and external eating, as well as general and social anxiety, and symptoms of depression. Children also provided details about their friendship groups. Results: Pre-adolescents’ dietary restraint was positively predicted by the dietary restraint of members of their friendship groups, and their individual levels of anxiety and depression. The levels of general anxiety exhibited by pre-adolescents predicted emotional and external eating behaviours. Younger children were significantly more likely to report higher levels of emotional and external eating than older children, and boys were more likely to report more external eating behaviours than girls. Conclusions: These results suggest that greater dieting behaviours in pre-adolescents are related to their friends’ reports of greater dieting behaviours. In contrast, greater levels of eating governed by emotions, and eating in response to external hunger cues, are related to greater symptoms of anxiety in pre-adolescent children. Such findings underline the importance of friends’ social influences on dieting behaviours in this age group and highlight the value of targeting healthy eating and eating disorder prevention interventions at pre-adolescents.

  6. Alexithymia, emotion processing and social anxiety in adults with ADHD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edel, M-A; Rudel, A; Hubert, C; Scheele, D; Brüne, M; Juckel, G; Assion, Hans-Jörg

    2010-09-24

    given sparse research on the issue, this study sought to shed light upon the interactions of alexithymia, emotion processing, and social anxiety in adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 73 German adults with ADHD according to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria participated. We used the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) to assess alexithymia, the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) to assess different features of social anxiety, and we applied the German "Experience of Emotions Scalerdquor; (SEE) to measure emotion processing. 40% of the sample were found to meet the DSM-IV criteria of social anxiety disorder, and about 22% were highly alexithymic according to a TAS-20 total score ≥ 61; however, the mean TAS-20 total score of 50.94 ± 9.3 was not much higher than in community samples. Alexithymic traits emerged to be closely linked to emotion processing problems, particularly 'difficulty accepting own emotions', and to social anxiety features. our findings suggest interactions of alexithymia, emotion processing dysfunction, and social anxiety in adults with ADHD, which may entail the therapeutic implication to thoroughly instruct these patients to identify, accept, communicate, and regulate their emotions to aid reducing interaction anxiety.

  7. Mindfulness and acceptance-based group therapy and traditional cognitive behavioral group therapy for social anxiety disorder: Mechanisms of change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kocovski, Nancy L; Fleming, Jan E; Hawley, Lance L; Ho, Moon-Ho Ringo; Antony, Martin M

    2015-07-01

    The present study investigated mechanisms of change for two group treatments for social anxiety disorder (SAD): cognitive behavioral group therapy (CBGT) and mindfulness and acceptance-based group therapy (MAGT). Participants were treatment completers (n = 37 for MAGT, n = 32 for CBGT) from a randomized clinical trial. Cognitive reappraisal was the hypothesized mechanism of change for CBGT. Mindfulness and acceptance were hypothesized mechanisms of change for MAGT. Latent difference score (LDS) analysis results demonstrate that cognitive reappraisal coupling (in which cognitive reappraisal is negatively associated with the subsequent rate of change in social anxiety) had a greater impact on social anxiety for CBGT than MAGT. The LDS bidirectional mindfulness model (mindfulness predicts subsequent change in social anxiety; social anxiety predicts subsequent change in mindfulness) was supported for both treatments. Results for acceptance were less clear. Cognitive reappraisal may be a more important mechanism of change for CBGT than MAGT, whereas mindfulness may be an important mechanism of change for both treatments. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Gender matters: the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol-related consequences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schry, Amie R; Norberg, Melissa M; Maddox, Brenna B; White, Susan W

    2014-01-01

    Identification of risk factors for alcohol-related consequences is an important public health concern. Both gender and social anxiety have been associated with alcohol-related consequences broadly, but it is unknown whether these variables are differentially related to specific types of alcohol-related consequences for American college students. In the present study, 573 undergraduate students (M(age) = 19.86 years, SD = 1.40; range 18 to 25; 68.9% female) completed an on-line assessment of social anxiety, alcohol use, and four types of alcohol-related consequences (personal, social, physical, and role). Poisson regressions were run to examine social anxiety, gender, and the interaction between social anxiety and gender as predictors of each type of alcohol-related consequences. After controlling for alcohol use, social anxiety was positively associated with all four types of consequences, and females endorsed higher rates of physical, personal, and role consequences. The interaction between social anxiety and gender was statistically significant only for physical consequences, with social anxiety having a stronger effect for males. These findings, which diverge somewhat from those of a prior study with Australian college students, are discussed in the context of a biopsychosocial model of social anxiety and substance use problems. This study highlights the importance of further investigating cultural differences in the relationships among social anxiety, gender, and alcohol-related consequences.

  9. The Cost Effectiveness of Psychological and Pharmacological Interventions for Social Anxiety Disorder: A Model-Based Economic Analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ifigeneia Mavranezouli

    -term comparative benefits and harms of psychological and pharmacological interventions for social anxiety disorder and establish their relative cost effectiveness with greater certainty.

  10. How smartphone usage correlates with social anxiety and loneliness

    OpenAIRE

    Yusong Gao; Ang Li; Tingshao Zhu; Xiaoqian Liu; Xingyun Liu

    2016-01-01

    Introduction: Early detection of social anxiety and loneliness might be useful to prevent substantial impairment in personal relationships. Understanding the way people use smartphones can be beneficial for implementing an early detection of social anxiety and loneliness. This paper examines different types of smartphone usage and their relationships with people with different individual levels of social anxiety or loneliness. Methods: A total of 127 Android smartphone volunteers participated...

  11. Distinctions between separation anxiety and social anxiety in children and adolescents

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ferdinand, Robert F.; Bongers, Ilja L.; van der Ende, Jan; van Gastel, Willemijn; Tick, Nouchka; Utens, Elisabeth; Verhulst, Frank C.

    2006-01-01

    Separation anxiety and social phobia are intertwined to a considerable degree, and high comorbidity rates have been reported. The present study used latent class analysis (LCA) to investigate if classes of children and adolescents with-simultaneously-high rates of separation anxiety and low rates of

  12. Type D personality is associated with social anxiety in the general population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kupper, Nina; Denollet, Johan

    2014-06-01

    Research on the emotional processes associated with Type D personality is important for its further conceptualization. We examined the associations of Type D personality with social and general anxiety symptoms in a large community sample. The aim of the current study was to disentangle the associations of Type D personality and its components with social anxiety and general anxiety in a large sample from the general population. A random sample of 2,475 adults from the general population filled out questionnaires to assess Type D personality (DS-14), social anxiety (SIAS(10), SPS(11), BFNE-II), and general anxiety (HADS-A, GAD-7). Type D individuals were characterized by increased levels of both social and general anxiety. The social inhibition (SI) component of Type D personality was most strongly associated with social interaction anxiety (r = .63), while negative affectivity (NA) was strongly associated with general anxiety (GAD-7: r = .70; HADS-A: r = .66). Within social anxiety, SI was more strongly associated with facets of social interaction anxiety than with social phobia. Multiple regression analysis showed that the synergistic interaction of NA and SI was a predictor of social anxiety (SIAS(10): β = .32, p < .0005; SPS(11): β = .27, p < .0005; BFNE-II: β = .11, p = .007) independent of demographics and the scores on the individual Type D components. This interaction was not a significant predictor of general anxiety. Logistic regression using the dichotomous Type D classification demonstrated a 9.1-fold (95%CI, 7.0-11.8) increased odds of a score in the highest quartile of social interaction anxiety and a 7.6-fold (95%CI, 5.8-9.8) increased odds of high social phobia. Odds ratios for clinically relevant levels of general anxiety were 8.3 (95%CI, 5.5-12.5) for GAD-7 and 6.5 (95%CI, 3.4-12.6) for HADS-A. In the general population, Type D individuals were characterized by both social and general anxiety. The SI component of Type D is strongly associated

  13. Attachment style and oxytocin receptor gene variation interact in influencing social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Notzon, S; Domschke, K; Holitschke, K; Ziegler, C; Arolt, V; Pauli, P; Reif, A; Deckert, J; Zwanzger, P

    2016-01-01

    Social anxiety has been suggested to be promoted by an insecure attachment style. Oxytocin is discussed as a mediator of trust and social bonding as well as a modulator of social anxiety. Applying a gene-environment (G × E) interaction approach, in the present pilot study the main and interactive effects of attachment styles and oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene variation were probed in a combined risk factor model of social anxiety in healthy probands. Participants (N = 388; 219 females, 169 males; age 24.7 ± 4.7 years) were assessed for anxiety in social situations (Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory) depending on attachment style (Adult Attachment Scale, AAS) and OXTR rs53576 A/G genotype. A less secure attachment style was significantly associated with higher social anxiety. This association was partly modulated by OXTR genotype, with a stronger negative influence of a less secure attachment style on social anxiety in A allele carriers as compared to GG homozygotes. The present pilot data point to a strong association of less secure attachment and social anxiety as well as to a gene-environment interaction effect of OXTR rs53576 genotype and attachment style on social anxiety possibly constituting a targetable combined risk marker of social anxiety disorder.

  14. Social anxiety and drinking refusal self-efficacy moderate the relationship between drinking game participation and alcohol-related consequences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kenney, Shannon R; Napper, Lucy E; LaBrie, Joseph W

    2014-09-01

    Participation in drinking games is associated with excessive drinking and alcohol risks. Despite the growing literature documenting the ubiquity and consequences of drinking games, limited research has examined the influence of psychosocial factors on the experience of negative consequences as the result of drinking game participation. The current event-level study examined the relationships among drinking game participation, social anxiety, drinking refusal self-efficacy (DRSE) and alcohol-related consequences in a sample of college students. Participants (n = 976) reported on their most recent drinking occasion in the past month in which they did not preparty. After controlling for sex, age, and typical drinking, higher levels of social anxiety, lower levels of DRSE, and playing drinking games predicted greater alcohol-related consequences. Moreover, two-way interactions (Social Anxiety × Drinking Games, DRSE × Drinking Games) demonstrated that social anxiety and DRSE each moderated the relationship between drinking game participation and alcohol-related consequences. Participation in drinking games resulted in more alcohol problems for students with high social anxiety, but not low social anxiety. Students with low DRSE experienced high levels of consequences regardless of whether they participated in drinking games; however, drinking game participation was associated with more consequences for students confident in their ability to resist drinking. Findings highlight the important role that social anxiety and DRSE play in drinking game-related risk, and hence provide valuable implications for screening at-risk students and designing targeted harm reduction interventions that address social anxiety and drink refusal in the context of drinking games.

  15. Elevated Social Anxiety among Early Maturing Girls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blumenthal, Heidemarie; Leen-Feldner, Ellen W.; Babson, Kimberly A.; Gahr, Jessica L.; Trainor, Casey D.; Frala, Jamie L.

    2011-01-01

    Adolescence is a key period in terms of the development of anxiety psychopathology. An emerging literature suggests that early pubertal maturation is associated with enhanced vulnerability for anxiety symptomatology, although few studies have examined this association with regard to social anxiety. Accordingly, the current study was designed to…

  16. The impact of cognitive behavioral therapy on post event processing among those with social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, Matthew; Anderson, Page L

    2011-02-01

    Individuals with social anxiety are prone to engage in post event processing (PEP), a post mortem review of a social interaction that focuses on negative elements. The extent that PEP is impacted by cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and the relation between PEP and change during treatment has yet to be evaluated in a controlled study. The current study used multilevel modeling to determine if PEP decreased as a result of treatment and if PEP limits treatment response for two types of cognitive behavioral treatments, a group-based cognitive behavioral intervention and individually based virtual reality exposure. These hypotheses were evaluated using 91 participants diagnosed with social anxiety disorder. The findings suggested that PEP decreased as a result of treatment, and that social anxiety symptoms for individuals reporting greater levels of PEP improved at a slower rate than those with lower levels of PEP. Further research is needed to understand why PEP attenuates response to treatment. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. The Impact of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Post Event Processing Among Those with Social Anxiety Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, Matthew; Anderson, Page L.

    2011-01-01

    Individuals with social anxiety are prone to engage in post event processing (PEP), a post mortem review of a social interaction that focuses on negative elements. The extent that PEP is impacted by cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and the relation between PEP and change during treatment has yet to be evaluated in a controlled study. The current study used multilevel modeling to determine if PEP decreased as a result of treatment and if PEP limits treatment response for two types of cognitive behavioral treatments, a group-based cognitive behavioral intervention and individually based virtual reality exposure. These hypotheses were evaluated using 91 participants diagnosed with social anxiety disorder. The findings suggested that PEP decreased as a result of treatment, and that social anxiety symptoms for individuals reporting greater levels of PEP improved at a slower rate than those with lower levels of PEP. Further research is needed to understand why PEP attenuates response to treatment. PMID:21159328

  18. Animal models of social anxiety disorder and their validity criteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Réus, Gislaine Z; Dos Santos, Maria Augusta B; Abelaira, Helena M; Quevedo, João

    2014-09-26

    Anxiety disorders pose one of the largest threats to global mental health, and they predominantly emerge early in life. Social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia, is the most common of all anxiety disorders. Moreover, it has severe consequences and is a disabling disorder that can cause an individual to be unable to perform the tasks of daily life. Social anxiety disorder is associated with the subsequent development of major depression and other mental diseases, as well as increased substance abuse. Although some neurobiological alterations have been found to be associated with social anxiety disorder, little is known about this disorder. Animal models are useful tools for the investigation of this disorder, as well as for finding new pharmacological targets for treatment. Thus, this review will highlight the main animal models of anxiety associated with social phobia. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. College drinking problems and social anxiety: The importance of drinking context.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terlecki, Meredith A; Ecker, Anthony H; Buckner, Julia D

    2014-06-01

    Social anxiety more than quadruples the risk of developing an alcohol use disorder, yet it is inconsistently linked to heavy alcohol use. Elucidation of the relation between social anxiety and alcohol use is an important next step in treating and preventing risky drinking. College students routinely face potentially anxiety-provoking social situations (e.g., meeting new people) and socially anxious undergraduates are especially vulnerable to alcohol-related impairment. Drinking to cope with social anxiety is thought to reinforce alcohol use, yet research on coping-motivated drinking among socially anxious students has yielded inconsistent findings. Further, undergraduate drinking varies by drinking context, yet the role of context in drinking behaviors among socially anxious individuals remains unclear. The current study sought to examine the relationship of social anxiety and drinking quantity in specific drinking contexts among undergraduates (N = 611). We also evaluated whether relevant drinking contexts mediated the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol-related problems. Clinically elevated social anxiety was related to heavier consumption in negative emotion (e.g., feeling sad or angry) and personal/intimate (e.g., before sexual intercourse) contexts, but not social/convivial contexts (e.g., parties, bars). Quantity of alcohol consumed in negative emotion and personal/intimate contexts mediated the relationship between social anxiety and drinking problem severity. Drinking in personal/intimate contexts demonstrated a unique mediational role. Findings suggest that heavy drinking in particular contexts (especially personal/intimate and negative emotion) may play an important role in drinking problems among socially anxious individuals.

  20. Contributions of cognitive inflexibility to eating disorder and social anxiety symptoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arlt, Jean; Yiu, Angelina; Eneva, Kalina; Taylor Dryman, M; Heimberg, Richard G; Chen, Eunice Y

    2016-04-01

    Eating disorders and social anxiety are highly co-occurring. These disorders share fears of social evaluation, possibly maintained by similar cognitive content and styles, including an inability to adapt or flexibly respond to unexpected conditions. However, the role of cognitive inflexibility in eating disorders in relation to social anxiety has not been explored. In this study, the link between eating disorder symptoms and cognitive inflexibility, while accounting for social anxiety, is examined. Participants (N=461) were undergraduates who completed the Detail and Flexibility Questionnaire 12-item Cognitive Rigidity subscale, the Eating Disorders Diagnostic Scale, and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale. Eating disorder symptoms and social anxiety were both positively correlated with cognitive inflexibility. After controlling for social anxiety, the relationship between eating disorder symptoms and cognitive inflexibility remained robust. Further examination of cognitive inflexibility in eating disorders and comorbid social anxiety in clinical samples is warranted. We suggest future directions for examining cognitive inflexibility as a trans-diagnostic construct important to eating disorders and frequently comorbid disorders, consistent with NIMH Research Domain Criteria. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  1. Familial correlates of social anxiety in children and adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bögels, S M; van Oosten, A; Muris, P; Smulders, D

    2001-03-01

    Retrospective studies suggest a relationship between parental rearing practices and social phobia. The present study investigated whether socially anxious children perceive their current parental rearing as rejecting, overprotective, and lacking emotional warmth, and as emphasizing the importance of other's opinion, and de-emphasizing social initiatives and family sociability. Furthermore, we examined whether parents of socially anxious children report to rely on such rearing practices, and suffer themselves from social fears. A regression analysis as well as extreme group comparisons were applied. Little support was found for the presumed role of the assessed family rearing aspects in the development of social anxiety in children. Solely family sociability (children's and mothers' report) and children's perception of overprotection of the mother predicted social anxiety in the regression analysis. Given the influence of the mentioned rearing practices, social anxiety of the mother still significantly predicted social anxiety of the child. In the extreme group comparisons, differences in the expected direction were found between socially anxious and normal children on parental rejection, emotional warmth, and family sociability. However, the lack of differences between socially anxious and clinical control children suggests that these variables do not form a specific pathway to social fears.

  2. Social Anxiety in Cornelia de Lange Syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richards, Caroline; Moss, Jo; O'Farrell, Laura; Kaur, Gurmeash; Oliver, Chris

    2009-01-01

    In this study we assessed the behavioral presentation of social anxiety in Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS) using a contrast group of Cri du Chat syndrome (CdCS). Behaviors indicative of social anxiety were recorded in twelve children with CdLS (mean age = 11.00; SD = 5.15) and twelve children with CdCS (8.20; SD = 2.86) during social…

  3. Gender matters: the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol-related consequences.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amie R Schry

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Identification of risk factors for alcohol-related consequences is an important public health concern. Both gender and social anxiety have been associated with alcohol-related consequences broadly, but it is unknown whether these variables are differentially related to specific types of alcohol-related consequences for American college students. METHODS: In the present study, 573 undergraduate students (M(age = 19.86 years, SD = 1.40; range 18 to 25; 68.9% female completed an on-line assessment of social anxiety, alcohol use, and four types of alcohol-related consequences (personal, social, physical, and role. Poisson regressions were run to examine social anxiety, gender, and the interaction between social anxiety and gender as predictors of each type of alcohol-related consequences. RESULTS: After controlling for alcohol use, social anxiety was positively associated with all four types of consequences, and females endorsed higher rates of physical, personal, and role consequences. The interaction between social anxiety and gender was statistically significant only for physical consequences, with social anxiety having a stronger effect for males. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: These findings, which diverge somewhat from those of a prior study with Australian college students, are discussed in the context of a biopsychosocial model of social anxiety and substance use problems. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: This study highlights the importance of further investigating cultural differences in the relationships among social anxiety, gender, and alcohol-related consequences.

  4. Gender Matters: The Relationship between Social Anxiety and Alcohol-Related Consequences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schry, Amie R.; Norberg, Melissa M.; Maddox, Brenna B.; White, Susan W.

    2014-01-01

    Background and Objectives Identification of risk factors for alcohol-related consequences is an important public health concern. Both gender and social anxiety have been associated with alcohol-related consequences broadly, but it is unknown whether these variables are differentially related to specific types of alcohol-related consequences for American college students. Methods In the present study, 573 undergraduate students (M age = 19.86 years, SD = 1.40; range 18 to 25; 68.9% female) completed an on-line assessment of social anxiety, alcohol use, and four types of alcohol-related consequences (personal, social, physical, and role). Poisson regressions were run to examine social anxiety, gender, and the interaction between social anxiety and gender as predictors of each type of alcohol-related consequences. Results After controlling for alcohol use, social anxiety was positively associated with all four types of consequences, and females endorsed higher rates of physical, personal, and role consequences. The interaction between social anxiety and gender was statistically significant only for physical consequences, with social anxiety having a stronger effect for males. Discussion and Conclusions These findings, which diverge somewhat from those of a prior study with Australian college students, are discussed in the context of a biopsychosocial model of social anxiety and substance use problems. Scientific Significance This study highlights the importance of further investigating cultural differences in the relationships among social anxiety, gender, and alcohol-related consequences. PMID:25541722

  5. Alexithymia, emotion processing and social anxiety in adults with ADHD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edel M-A

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Objective Given sparse research on the issue, this study sought to shed light upon the interactions of alexithymia, emotion processing, and social anxiety in adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD. Subjects and methods 73 German adults with ADHD according to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria participated. We used the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20 to assess alexithymia, the Social Phobia Scale (SPS and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS to assess different features of social anxiety, and we applied the German 'Experience of Emotions Scale' (SEE to measure emotion processing. Results 40% of the sample were found to meet the DSM-IV criteria of social anxiety disorder, and about 22% were highly alexithymic according to a TAS-20 total score ≥ 61; however, the mean TAS-20 total score of 50.94 ± 9.3 was not much higher than in community samples. Alexithymic traits emerged to be closely linked to emotion processing problems, particularly 'difficulty accepting own emotions', and to social anxiety features. Discussion/conclusion Our findings suggest interactions of alexithymia, emotion processing dysfunction, and social anxiety in adults with ADHD, which may entail the therapeutic implication to thoroughly instruct these patients to identify, accept, communicate, and regulate their emotions to aid reducing interaction anxiety.

  6. Social anxiety questionnaire (SAQ): Development and preliminary validation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Łakuta, Patryk

    2018-05-30

    The Social Anxiety Questionnaire (SAQ) was designed to assess five dimensions of social anxiety as posited by the Clark and Wells' (1995; Clark, 2001) cognitive model. The development of the SAQ involved generation of an item pool, followed by a verification of content validity and the theorized factor structure (Study 1). The final version of the SAQ was then assessed for reliability, temporal stability (test re-test reliability), and construct, criterion-related, and contrasted-group validity (Study 2, 3, and 4). Following a systematic process, the results provide support for the SAQ as reliable, and both theoretically and empirically valid measure. A five-factor structure of the SAQ verified and replicated through confirmatory factor analyses reflect five dimensions of social anxiety: negative self-processing; self-focused attention and self-monitoring; safety behaviours; somatic and cognitive symptoms; and anticipatory and post-event rumination. Results suggest that the SAQ possesses good psychometric properties, while recognizing that additional validation is a required future research direction. It is important to replicate these findings in diverse populations, including a large clinical sample. The SAQ is a promising measure that supports social anxiety as a multidimensional construct, and the foundational role of self-focused cognitive processes in generation and maintenance of social anxiety symptoms. The findings make a significant contribution to the literature, moreover, the SAQ is a first instrument that offers to assess all, proposed by the Clark-Wells model, specific cognitive-affective, physiological, attitudinal, and attention processes related to social anxiety. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Social anxiety and the cortisol response to social evaluation in children and adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van den Bos, Esther; Tops, Mattie; Westenberg, P Michiel

    2017-04-01

    Contradictory findings have been reported on the relation between social anxiety and the cortisol response to social evaluation in youth. The present longitudinal study aimed to clarify this relation by taking pubertal development into account. Data were collected in two waves, two years apart, for a community sample of 196 participants, aged 8-17 years at Time 1. Pubertal development and social anxiety were assessed with self-report questionnaires. Salivary cortisol was obtained before and after participants completed the Leiden Public Speaking Task. Data were analyzed using regression analysis with clustered bootstrap. The dependent variable was the cortisol area under the curve. Social anxiety and pubertal development scores were decomposed into between- and within-participants components. Between participants, the relation between social anxiety and the cortisol response to public speaking varied with pubertal development: socially anxious individuals showed higher responses at low levels of pubertal development, but lower responses at high levels of pubertal development. Within participants, an increase in social anxiety over time was associated with a lower cortisol response. The results are in line with the suggestion that the responses of socially anxious individuals change from elevated in childhood to attenuated in adolescence and adulthood. Attenuation of the cortisol response is explained by theories proposing that the stress response changes with the duration of the stressor. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Mother-Child Attachment and Social Anxiety Symptoms in Middle Childhood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brumariu, Laura E.; Kerns, Kathryn A.

    2008-01-01

    Literature suggests that parent-child attachment and anxiety symptoms are related. One purpose of the present study was to assess whether attachment patterns relate differentially to social anxiety aspects (fear of negative evaluation, social anxiety and distress in new situations, and generalized anxiety and distress). The second purpose was to…

  9. Psychological treatment of social anxiety disorder improves body dysmorphic concerns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Angela; Sawyer, Alice T; Aderka, Idan M; Hofmann, Stefan G

    2013-10-01

    Social anxiety disorder and body dysmorphic disorder are considered nosologically distinct disorders. In contrast, some cognitive models suggest that social anxiety disorder and body dysmorphic disorder share similar cognitive maintenance factors. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of psychological treatments for social anxiety disorder on body dysmorphic disorder concerns. In Study 1, we found that 12 weekly group sessions of cognitive-behavioral therapy led to significant decreases in body dysmorphic symptom severity. In Study 2, we found that an attention retraining intervention for social anxiety disorder was associated with a reduction in body dysmorphic concerns, compared to a placebo control condition. These findings support the notion that psychological treatments for individuals with primary social anxiety disorder improve co-occurring body dysmorphic disorder symptoms. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. High visual working memory capacity in trait social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moriya, Jun; Sugiura, Yoshinori

    2012-01-01

    Working memory capacity is one of the most important cognitive functions influencing individual traits, such as attentional control, fluid intelligence, and also psychopathological traits. Previous research suggests that anxiety is associated with impaired cognitive function, and studies have shown low verbal working memory capacity in individuals with high trait anxiety. However, the relationship between trait anxiety and visual working memory capacity is still unclear. Considering that people allocate visual attention more widely to detect danger under threat, visual working memory capacity might be higher in anxious people. In the present study, we show that visual working memory capacity increases as trait social anxiety increases by using a change detection task. When the demand to inhibit distractors increased, however, high visual working memory capacity diminished in individuals with social anxiety, and instead, impaired filtering of distractors was predicted by trait social anxiety. State anxiety was not correlated with visual working memory capacity. These results indicate that socially anxious people could potentially hold a large amount of information in working memory. However, because of an impaired cognitive function, they could not inhibit goal-irrelevant distractors and their performance decreased under highly demanding conditions.

  11. Social Support and Social Anxiety in Use and Perceptions of Online Mental Health Resources: Exploring Social Compensation and Enhancement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruppel, Erin K; McKinley, Christopher J

    2015-08-01

    This study used the frameworks of social compensation and social enhancement to examine how social anxiety and social support were related to college students' (N=443) use and perceptions of online mental health resources (Web sites and online support groups). Potential interactions between social support and social anxiety were also examined. Consistent with the social compensation hypothesis, perceived usefulness of Web sites was positively associated with social support. Perceived usefulness of online support groups was positively associated with social support when participants reported average or high, but not low, social anxiety. In contrast, previous use of Web sites was consistent with the social compensation hypothesis. Participants who reported less social support were more likely to have used a Web site for a mental or emotional problem. These findings suggest that college students' use and perceptions of online mental health resources vary as a function of social support and social anxiety, and that patterns suggestive of social compensation and social enhancement depend on whether perceptions or actual use of resources are examined. Combined with the significant interaction between social support and social anxiety on perceived usefulness of online support groups, these findings highlight the potential complexity of social compensation and enhancement phenomena.

  12. Schizophrenia, Obsessive Covert Mental Rituals and Social Anxiety: Case Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tully, Phillip J.; Edwards, Christopher J.

    2009-01-01

    This case study reports the outcomes of cognitive therapy for social anxiety in a 45-year-old man with a 27-year history of paranoid schizophrenia. The intervention targeted the overlapping and interrelated symptoms of social anxiety and delusional beliefs. After 11 sessions of treatment, the patient showed no improvement in social anxiety,…

  13. Anxiety sensitivity and subjective social status in relation to anxiety and depressive symptoms and disorders among Latinos in primary care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zvolensky, Michael J; Bakhshaie, Jafar; Garza, Monica; Valdivieso, Jeanette; Ortiz, Mayra; Bogiaizian, Daniel; Robles, Zuzuky; Vujanovic, Anka

    2015-05-01

    The present investigation examined the interactive effects of anxiety sensitivity and subjective social status in relation to anxiety and depressive symptoms and psychopathology among 143 Latinos (85.7% female; Mage=39.0, SD=10.9; 97.2% used Spanish as their first language) who attended a community-based primary healthcare clinic. Results indicated that the interaction between anxiety sensitivity and subjective social status was significantly associated with number of mood and anxiety disorders, panic, social anxiety, and depressive symptoms. The form of the significant interactions indicated that individuals reporting co-occurring higher levels of anxiety sensitivity and lower levels of subjective social status evidenced the greatest levels of psychopathology and panic, social anxiety, and depressive symptoms. The present findings suggest that there is merit in focusing further scientific attention on the interplay between anxiety sensitivity and subjective social status in regard to understanding, and thus, better intervening to reduce anxiety/depressive vulnerability among Latinos in primary care. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Effectiveness of “Task Concentration Training” in Reducing the Anxiety Symptoms in Individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder

    OpenAIRE

    K. Golmohammadi; M.R. Shairi; M.A. Asghari Moghaddam

    2017-01-01

    Aims: As a common disorder, the social anxiety disorder is characterized by the persistent fear of social situations and severe physical and mental reactions. Its prevalence and effect being noticed, different psychotherapy methods were raised to reduce or annihilate it. The aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of task-concentration training technics on the social anxiety symptom reduction in persons with social anxiety. Materials & Methods: In the controlled pretest-postte...

  15. Development, standardization and validation of social anxiety scale ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Little attention has been given to social anxiety in Nigeria despite its debilitating effects on the sufferers. The objective of this study was to develop, standardize and validate an instrument (Social Anxiety Scale) with high coefficients of Cronbach Alpha Internal Consistency Split-half reliability and construct validity.

  16. : Translated Scales in French: Social Anxiety and Taijin Kyofusho

    OpenAIRE

    Lacroix , Franca; Zhou , Biru

    2015-01-01

    This document contains 6 in-house translated scales (in French) that are related to social anxiety and Taijin Kyofusho. These translated scales are: Self Construal Scale (30 items), Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (12 items), Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (20 items), Social Anxiety - Causing Discomfort to Others (26 items), Taijin Kyofusho Scale (31 items), Modified version of Taijin Kyofusho Questionnaire (40 items).; Ce document contient la traduction en français de 6 échelles de...

  17. Social anxiety disorder: A critical overview of neurocognitive research

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cremers, H.R.; Roelofs, K.

    2016-01-01

    Social anxiety is a common disorder characterized by a persistent and excessive fear of one or more social or performance situations. Behavioral inhibition is one of the early indicators of social anxiety, which later in life may advance into a certain personality structure (low extraversion and

  18. Linking Social Anxiety with Social Competence in Early Adolescence: Physiological and Coping Moderators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaeppler, Alexander K; Erath, Stephen A

    2017-02-01

    Despite relatively universal feelings of discomfort in social situations, there is considerable evidence for diversity in the social behaviors and peer experiences of socially anxious youth. However, to date, very little research has been conducted with the aim of identifying factors that differentiate socially anxious youth who are more socially competent from those who are less socially competent. The present study addresses this gap in the literature by examining whether physiological and cognitive coping responses to social stress moderate the association between social anxiety and social competence. Participants were a community sample of 123 fifth and sixth graders (Mage = 12.03). Social anxiety was measured globally and in the context of a lab-based peer evaluation situation, and social competence was assessed via teacher-reports. Physiological (i.e., skin conductance level reactivity, SCLR, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity, RSAR) and coping (i.e., disengaged) responses to social stressors were also assessed. Results indicated that SCLR and disengaged coping with peer victimization moderated associations linking global and context-specific social anxiety with social competence, such that social anxiety was associated with lower social competence at lower levels of SCLR and higher levels of disengaged coping with peer victimization. Thus, whether socially anxious preadolescents exhibit more or less competent social behavior may depend, in part, on how they respond to peer-evaluative stress. Inflexible physiological responses and disengaged coping responses may undermine social competence, whereas engaged responses may counteract socially anxious preadolescents' tendency to withdraw from social interactions or focus primarily on threat cues.

  19. Amygdalar volumetric correlates of social anxiety in offspring of parents with bipolar disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Min-Hyeon; Garrett, Amy; Boucher, Spencer; Howe, Meghan; Sanders, Erica; Kim, Eunjoo; Singh, Manpreet; Chang, Kiki

    2015-11-30

    The prevalence of social anxiety disorder is high in offspring of parents with bipolar disorder (BD) and anxiety may be a significant risk factor in these youth for developing BD. We compared social anxiety symptoms between BD offspring with mood symptoms (high-risk group for developing BD I or II: HR) and healthy controls (HC). We also explored the correlations between the amygdalar volumes and social anxiety symptoms in the HR group with high social anxiety scores (HRHSA) due to the potential involvement of the amygdala in the pathophysiology of both BD and social anxiety. Youth participating in the study included 29h and 17HC of comparable age and gender. To assess social anxiety symptoms, we used the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) social anxiety subscale. The HR group's MASC social anxiety score was significantly higher than that of the HC group. Among the 29h, 17 subjects (58.6%) showed high social anxiety and they were classified as the HRHSA group. No significant difference was observed in amygdalar volume between the HRHSA and HC groups. However, there were significant negative correlations between amydalar volumes and MASC social anxiety score in the HRHSA group. These findings have implications for the link between amygdalar structure and both anxiety and mood control. This link may serve to implicate high social anxiety as a risk marker for future BD development. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  20. Cognitive indicators of social anxiety in youth: a structural equation analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rudy, Brittany M; Davis, Thompson E; Matthews, Russell A

    2014-01-01

    Previous studies have demonstrated significant relationships among various cognitive variables such as negative cognition, self-efficacy, and social anxiety. Unfortunately, few studies focus on the role of cognition among youth, and researchers often fail to use domain-specific measures when examining cognitive variables. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine domain-specific cognitive variables (i.e., socially oriented negative self-referent cognition and social self-efficacy) and their relationships to social anxiety in children and adolescents using structural equation modeling techniques. A community sample of children and adolescents (n=245; 55.9% female; 83.3% Caucasian, 9.4% African American, 2% Asian, 2% Hispanic, 2% "other," and 1.2% not reported) completed questionnaires assessing social cognition and social anxiety symptomology. Three latent variables were created to examine the constructs of socially oriented negative self-referent cognition (as measured by the SONAS scale), social self-efficacy (as measured by the SEQSS-C), and social anxiety (as measured by the SPAI-C and the Brief SA). The resulting measurement model of latent variables fit the data well. Additionally, consistent with the study hypothesis, results indicated that social self-efficacy likely mediates the relationship between socially oriented negative self-referent cognition and social anxiety, and socially oriented negative self-referent cognition yields significant direct and indirect effects on social anxiety. These findings indicate that socially oriented negative cognitions are associated with youth's beliefs about social abilities and the experience of social anxiety. Future directions for research and study limitations, including use of cross-sectional data, are discussed. © 2013.

  1. A mixed methods survey of social anxiety, anxiety, depression and wig use in alopecia

    OpenAIRE

    Montgomery, K.; White, C.; Thompson, A. R.

    2017-01-01

    Objectives This study aimed to examine levels of social anxiety, anxiety and depression reported by people with alopecia as a result of a dermatological condition and associations with wig use. The study also sought to report on experiences of wearing wigs in social situations and the relationship with social confidence.\\ud \\ud Design A cross-sectional survey was sent by email to the Alopecia UK charity mailing list and advertised on social media.\\ud \\ud Participants Inclusion criteria were a...

  2. Panic and phobic anxiety: associations among neuroticism, physiological hyperarousal, anxiety sensitivity, and three phobias.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Longley, Susan L; Watson, David; Noyes, Russell; Yoder, Kevin

    2006-01-01

    A dimensional and psychometrically informed taxonomy of anxiety is emerging, but the specific and nonspecific dimensions of panic and phobic anxiety require greater clarification. In this study, confirmatory factor analyses of data from a sample of 438 college students were used to validate a model of panic and phobic anxiety with six content factors; multiple scales from self-report measures were indicators of each model component. The model included a nonspecific component of (1) neuroticism and two specific components of panic attack, (2) physiological hyperarousal, and (3) anxiety sensitivity. The model also included three phobia components of (4) classically defined agoraphobia, (5) social phobia, and (6) blood-injection phobia. In these data, agoraphobia correlated more strongly with both the social phobia and blood phobia components than with either the physiological hyperarousal or the anxiety sensitivity components. These findings suggest that the association between panic attacks and agoraphobia warrants greater attention.

  3. Specificity of dysfunctional thinking in children with symptoms of social anxiety, separation anxiety and generalised anxiety

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bogels, S.M.; Snieder, N.; Kindt, M.

    2003-01-01

    The present study investigated whether children with high symptom levels of either social phobia (SP), separation anxiety disorder (SAD), or generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) are characterised by a specific set of dysfunctional interpretations that are consistent with the cognitive model of their

  4. Cognitive bias modification of interpretation in children with social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orchard, Faith; Apetroaia, Adela; Clarke, Kiri; Creswell, Cathy

    2017-01-01

    Negative (or a lack of positive) interpretation of ambiguous social situations has been hypothesised to maintain social anxiety disorder in children, yet there is currently limited evidence to support this. Cognitive Bias Modification of Interpretation (CBM-I) provides a means to explore the causal influence of interpretation bias on social anxiety disorder, and has been associated with a reduction in social anxiety symptoms in adults. Seven to twelve year old children with a diagnosis of social anxiety disorder completed CBM-I training, adapted from materials designed for socially anxious children in the community, or no training. Effects on interpretation bias and social anxiety were assessed. The adapted CBM-I training was not associated with significant changes in benign or negative interpretation. Unsurprisingly given the lack of successful interpretation training, there were no significant changes in child or parent reported social anxiety symptoms, clinician-rated severity or diagnoses and change in interpretation was not significantly associated with change in social anxiety. These findings contrast with some studies with community populations although it is possible that more intensive CBM-I training is required to fully test this hypothesis among clinical groups. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  5. Attention bias for social threat in youth with tic disorders: Links with tic severity and social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pile, Victoria; Robinson, Sally; Topor, Marta; Hedderly, Tammy; Lau, Jennifer Y F

    2018-06-07

    Many individuals with Tourette syndrome and chronic tic disorders (TS/CTDs) report poor social functioning and comorbid social anxiety. Yet limited research has investigated the role of cognitive factors that highlight social threats in youth with TS/CTD, and whether these biases underlie tic severity and co-occurring social anxiety. This study examined whether selective attention to social threat is enhanced young people with TS/CTDs compared to healthy controls, and whether attention biases are associated with tic severity and social anxiety. Twenty seven young people with TS/CTDs and 25 matched control participants completed an experimental measure of attention bias toward/away from threat stimuli. A clinician-rated interview measuring tic severity/impairment (YGTSS Total Score) and questionnaire measures of social anxiety were completed by participants and their parents. Young people with TS/CTD showed an attention bias to social threat words (relative to benign words) compared to controls but no such bias for social threat faces. Attention bias for social threat words was associated with increasing YGTSS Total Score and parent-reported social anxiety in the TS/CTDs group. Mediation analysis revealed a significant indirect path between YGTSS Total Score and social anxiety, via attention to social threat. Tentatively, these associations appeared to be driven by impairment rather than tic severity scores. Preliminary data suggests that youth with TS/CTD have enhanced attention to threat, compared to controls, and this is associated with impairment and social anxiety. Attention to threat could offer a cognitive mechanism connecting impairment and social anxiety, and so be a valuable trans-diagnostic treatment target.

  6. Social Anxiety, Reasons for Drinking, and College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norberg, Melissa M.; Norton, Alice R.; Olivier, Jake; Zvolensky, Michael J.

    2010-01-01

    Recent research suggests that social anxiety may be associated with higher rates of alcohol problems in women, yet may be associated with lower levels of drinking in men. The current study investigated putative mechanisms that may underlie potential gender differences in the social anxiety-alcohol relationship. One hundred and eighteen college…

  7. Social Anxiety as a Predictor of Dating Aggression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanby, Michelle S. R.; Fales, Jessica; Nangle, Douglas W.; Serwik, Agnieszka K.; Hedrich, Uriah J.

    2012-01-01

    By far, most research on the behavior of socially anxious individuals has focused on the "flight" rather than the "fight" response described in the traditional conceptualization of anxiety. More recently, however, there has been some speculation and emerging evidence suggesting that social anxiety and aggression may be related. The present study…

  8. A Neurobehavioral Mechanism Linking Behaviorally Inhibited Temperament and Later Adolescent Social Anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buzzell, George A; Troller-Renfree, Sonya V; Barker, Tyson V; Bowman, Lindsay C; Chronis-Tuscano, Andrea; Henderson, Heather A; Kagan, Jerome; Pine, Daniel S; Fox, Nathan A

    2017-12-01

    Behavioral inhibition (BI) is a temperament identified in early childhood that is a risk factor for later social anxiety. However, mechanisms underlying the development of social anxiety remain unclear. To better understand the emergence of social anxiety, longitudinal studies investigating changes at behavioral neural levels are needed. BI was assessed in the laboratory at 2 and 3 years of age (N = 268). Children returned at 12 years, and an electroencephalogram was recorded while children performed a flanker task under 2 conditions: once while believing they were being observed by peers and once while not being observed. This methodology isolated changes in error monitoring (error-related negativity) and behavior (post-error reaction time slowing) as a function of social context. At 12 years, current social anxiety symptoms and lifetime diagnoses of social anxiety were obtained. Childhood BI prospectively predicted social-specific error-related negativity increases and social anxiety symptoms in adolescence; these symptoms directly related to clinical diagnoses. Serial mediation analysis showed that social error-related negativity changes explained relations between BI and social anxiety symptoms (n = 107) and diagnosis (n = 92), but only insofar as social context also led to increased post-error reaction time slowing (a measure of error preoccupation); this model was not significantly related to generalized anxiety. Results extend prior work on socially induced changes in error monitoring and error preoccupation. These measures could index a neurobehavioral mechanism linking BI to adolescent social anxiety symptoms and diagnosis. This mechanism could relate more strongly to social than to generalized anxiety in the peri-adolescent period. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. All rights reserved.

  9. The moderating role of avoidance behavior on anxiety over time: Is there a difference between social anxiety disorder and specific phobia?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Myriam Rudaz

    Full Text Available Theories of anxiety disorders and phobias have ascribed a critical role to avoidance behavior in explaining the persistence of fear and anxiety, but knowledge about the role of avoidance behavior in the maintenance of anxiety in social anxiety disorder relative to specific phobia is lacking. This study examined the extent to which avoidance behavior moderates the relationship between general anxiety at baseline and 18 months later in women with a diagnosed social anxiety disorder (n = 91 and women with a diagnosed specific phobia (n = 130 at baseline. Circumscribed avoidance of social and specific situations were clinician-rated using the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule-Lifetime (ADIS-IV-L, and general anxiety was measured using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI. Moderated regression analyses revealed that (a general anxiety at baseline predicted general anxiety at follow-up in both women with a specific phobia and women with a social anxiety disorder and (b avoidance behavior moderated this relationship in women with a specific phobia but not in women with a social anxiety disorder. Specifically, high avoidance behavior was found to amplify the effect between general anxiety at baseline and follow-up in specific phobia. Reasons for the absence of a similar moderating effect of avoidance behavior within social anxiety disorder are discussed.

  10. The moderating role of avoidance behavior on anxiety over time: Is there a difference between social anxiety disorder and specific phobia?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rudaz, Myriam; Ledermann, Thomas; Margraf, Jürgen; Becker, Eni S.; Craske, Michelle G.

    2017-01-01

    Theories of anxiety disorders and phobias have ascribed a critical role to avoidance behavior in explaining the persistence of fear and anxiety, but knowledge about the role of avoidance behavior in the maintenance of anxiety in social anxiety disorder relative to specific phobia is lacking. This study examined the extent to which avoidance behavior moderates the relationship between general anxiety at baseline and 18 months later in women with a diagnosed social anxiety disorder (n = 91) and women with a diagnosed specific phobia (n = 130) at baseline. Circumscribed avoidance of social and specific situations were clinician-rated using the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule-Lifetime (ADIS-IV-L), and general anxiety was measured using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Moderated regression analyses revealed that (a) general anxiety at baseline predicted general anxiety at follow-up in both women with a specific phobia and women with a social anxiety disorder and (b) avoidance behavior moderated this relationship in women with a specific phobia but not in women with a social anxiety disorder. Specifically, high avoidance behavior was found to amplify the effect between general anxiety at baseline and follow-up in specific phobia. Reasons for the absence of a similar moderating effect of avoidance behavior within social anxiety disorder are discussed. PMID:28671977

  11. The moderating role of avoidance behavior on anxiety over time: Is there a difference between social anxiety disorder and specific phobia?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rudaz, Myriam; Ledermann, Thomas; Margraf, Jürgen; Becker, Eni S; Craske, Michelle G

    2017-01-01

    Theories of anxiety disorders and phobias have ascribed a critical role to avoidance behavior in explaining the persistence of fear and anxiety, but knowledge about the role of avoidance behavior in the maintenance of anxiety in social anxiety disorder relative to specific phobia is lacking. This study examined the extent to which avoidance behavior moderates the relationship between general anxiety at baseline and 18 months later in women with a diagnosed social anxiety disorder (n = 91) and women with a diagnosed specific phobia (n = 130) at baseline. Circumscribed avoidance of social and specific situations were clinician-rated using the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule-Lifetime (ADIS-IV-L), and general anxiety was measured using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Moderated regression analyses revealed that (a) general anxiety at baseline predicted general anxiety at follow-up in both women with a specific phobia and women with a social anxiety disorder and (b) avoidance behavior moderated this relationship in women with a specific phobia but not in women with a social anxiety disorder. Specifically, high avoidance behavior was found to amplify the effect between general anxiety at baseline and follow-up in specific phobia. Reasons for the absence of a similar moderating effect of avoidance behavior within social anxiety disorder are discussed.

  12. Processing bias in children with separation anxiety disorder, social phobia and generalised anxiety disorder

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kindt, M.; Bögels, S.M.; Morren, M.

    2003-01-01

    The present study examined processing bias in children suffering from anxiety disorders. Processing bias was assessed using of the emotional Stroop task in clinically referred children with separation anxiety disorder (SAD), social phobia (SP), and/or generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) and normal

  13. Systematic Review of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder in Psychosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michail, Maria; Birchwood, Max; Tait, Lynda

    2017-04-25

    Social anxiety is highly prevalent among people with psychosis and linked with significant social disability and poorer prognosis. Although cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) has shown to be effective for the treatment of social anxiety in non-psychotic populations, there is a lack of evidence on the clinical effectiveness of CBT for the treatment of social anxiety when this is co-morbid in psychosis. A systematic review to summarise and critically appraise the literature on the effectiveness of CBT interventions for the treatment of social anxiety in psychosis. Two studies were included in the review assessing the effectiveness of group CBT for social anxiety in schizophrenia, both of poor methodological quality. Preliminary findings suggest that group-based CBT is effective in treating symptoms of social anxiety, depression and associated distress in people with schizophrenia. The evidence-base is not robust enough to provide clear implications for practice about the effectiveness of CBT for the treatment of social anxiety in psychosis. Future research should focus on methodologically rigorous randomised controlled trials with embedded process evaluation to assess the effectiveness of CBT interventions in targeting symptoms of social anxiety in psychosis and identify mechanisms of change.

  14. Refining and validating the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and the Social Phobia Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carleton, R Nicholas; Collimore, Kelsey C; Asmundson, Gordon J G; McCabe, Randi E; Rowa, Karen; Antony, Martin M

    2009-01-01

    The Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and Social Phobia Scale are companion measures for assessing symptoms of social anxiety and social phobia. The scales have good reliability and validity across several samples, however, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses have yielded solutions comprising substantially different item content and factor structures. These discrepancies are likely the result of analyzing items from each scale separately or simultaneously. The current investigation sets out to assess items from those scales, both simultaneously and separately, using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in an effort to resolve the factor structure. Participants consisted of a clinical sample (n 5353; 54% women) and an undergraduate sample (n 5317; 75% women) who completed the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and Social Phobia Scale, along with additional fear-related measures to assess convergent and discriminant validity. A three-factor solution with a reduced set of items was found to be most stable, irrespective of whether the items from each scale are assessed together or separately. Items from the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale represented one factor, whereas items from the Social Phobia Scale represented two other factors. Initial support for scale and factor validity, along with implications and recommendations for future research, is provided. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  15. The comparison of attentional control deficits in the three group of normal, with social anxiety disorder and with comorbidity (social anxiety disorder and depression) students of Lorestan University

    OpenAIRE

    Ghadampour E; Rezaei F; Hosseini Ramaghani NA; Moradi M

    2017-01-01

    Background and aims: One of the mechanisms that thought to underlie social anxiety disorder is dysfunction in attentional control. The current study was designed to compare attentional control deficits in the three group: normal, with social anxiety disorder and with comorbidity (social anxiety disorder and depression) students. Methods: The design of present study was causal-comparative. Statistical population of this study contained all normal female students, with social anxiety disorde...

  16. Social anxiety impacts willingness to participate in addiction treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Book, Sarah W; Thomas, Suzanne E; Dempsey, Jared P; Randall, Patrick K; Randall, Carrie L

    2009-05-01

    Individuals with social anxiety have difficulty participating in group settings. Although it makes intuitive sense that social anxiety could present a challenge in addiction treatment settings, which often involve small groups and encouragement to participate in self-help groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA), to our knowledge no study has yet assessed the impact of shyness on the treatment experience. Assessment surveys were given to 110 individuals seeking intensive outpatient substance abuse treatment at three community treatment programs. Established cut-offs for presence of clinically-significant social anxiety indicated a prevalence of 37%. Controlling for depression and worry, social anxiety was a unique predictor of endorsement that shyness interfered with willingness to talk to a therapist, speak up in group therapy, attend AA/NA, and ask somebody to be a sponsor. Socially anxious substance abusers were 4-8 times more likely to endorse that shyness interfered with addiction treatment activities. These findings have clinical and research implications.

  17. Loneliness over time: The crucial role of social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Michelle H; Rodebaugh, Thomas L; Zyphur, Michael J; Gleeson, John F M

    2016-07-01

    Loneliness is known to be associated with multiple adverse physical outcomes, including higher mortality and morbidity risk. However, the impact of loneliness on mental health is less well researched, with most studies assessing how loneliness relates to depressive symptoms alone. We hypothesized that 2 mental health symptoms that relate to the fear of others-social anxiety and paranoia-would contribute to loneliness. We examined how loneliness relates to social anxiety, paranoia, and depression symptoms in a general community sample aged 18-87 years old (N = 1,010). We administered online measures over 3 time points across a 6-month period. In a cross-lagged structural equation model controlling for trait levels and prior states, our results indicated that earlier loneliness positively predicted future states of social anxiety, paranoia, and depression. However, in the same model, earlier social anxiety was the only predictor of future loneliness. These results suggest that loneliness may be a potential antecedent to emerging mental health symptoms and that identifying and treating co-occurring social anxiety symptoms may reduce the severity of loneliness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  18. Parental and Peer Predictors of Social Anxiety in Youth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Festa, Candice C.; Ginsburg, Golda S.

    2011-01-01

    The aim of the current study was to extend etiological models of social anxiety in youth by examining the relative importance of parental (i.e., parental anxiety, rejection, and overcontrol) and peer factors (i.e., social acceptance, social support, and friendship quality). Sixty-three youth (ages 7-12; 52% male) and their parents participated in…

  19. Social Anxiety and Sociometric Nomination in Spanish Students of Compulsory Secondary Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delgado, Beatriz; Inglés, Cándido J; Aparisi, David; García-Fernández, José M

    2016-07-18

    Adolescents with social anxiety can manifest great interference in their relationship with classmates and other peers, as well as in their school performance. The aim of this study was to analyze the sociometric nominations and assessment of students with high social anxiety by their peers and teachers, and to determine whether these assessments differ significantly between evaluators (peers vs. teachers), in a sample of 2022 (51.1% male) Spanish adolescents aged between 12 and 16 years. Social anxiety was assessed using the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory questionnaire. Sociometric identification and assessment of various educational aspects of the students was performed through the Socio program and Teacher assessment scales, respectively. Results show that students with high social anxiety were nominated by peers as popular, rejected and neglected with the same frequency and proportionately less nominated as leaders, friendly, cooperative, and quarrelsome students than those without high social anxiety (d .97). Finally, peers significantly nominated students with high social anxiety more as leaders, cooperative, quarrelsome, obedient and good students than their teachers (d social anxiety are valued and nominated by their peers and teachers differently.

  20. Post-event Processing Predicts Impaired Cortisol Recovery Following Social Stressor: The Moderating Role of Social Anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maeda, Shunta; Sato, Tomoya; Shimada, Hironori; Tsumura, Hideki

    2017-01-01

    There is growing evidence that individuals with social anxiety show impaired cortisol recovery after experiencing social evaluative stressors. Yet, little is known regarding the cognitive processes underlying such impaired cortisol recovery. The present study examined the effect of post-event processing (PEP), referred to as repetitive thinking about social situations, on cortisol recovery following a social stressor. Forty-two non-clinical university students (23 women, 19 men, mean age = 22.0 ± 2.0 years) completed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), followed by a thought sampling procedure which assessed the frequency of PEP reflecting the TSST. A growth curve model showed PEP and social anxiety interactively predicted cortisol recovery. In particular, PEP predicted impaired cortisol recovery in those with low levels of social anxiety but not in those with high levels of social anxiety, which contradicted the initial hypothesis. These findings suggest that PEP is differentially associated with cortisol recovery depending on levels of social anxiety. The possible mechanisms underlying these findings were discussed in terms of protective inhibition framework.

  1. Exposure to virtual social interactions in the treatment of social anxiety disorder: A randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kampmann, Isabel L; Emmelkamp, Paul M G; Hartanto, Dwi; Brinkman, Willem-Paul; Zijlstra, Bonne J H; Morina, Nexhmedin

    2016-02-01

    This randomized controlled trial investigated the efficacy of a stand-alone virtual reality exposure intervention comprising verbal interaction with virtual humans to target heterogeneous social fears in participants with social anxiety disorder. Sixty participants (Mage = 36.9 years; 63.3% women) diagnosed with social anxiety disorder were randomly assigned to individual virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET), individual in vivo exposure therapy (iVET), or waiting-list. Multilevel regression analyses revealed that both treatment groups improved from pre-to postassessment on social anxiety symptoms, speech duration, perceived stress, and avoidant personality disorder related beliefs when compared to the waiting-list. Participants receiving iVET, but not VRET, improved on fear of negative evaluation, speech performance, general anxiety, depression, and quality of life relative to those on waiting-list. The iVET condition was further superior to the VRET condition regarding decreases in social anxiety symptoms at post- and follow-up assessments, and avoidant personality disorder related beliefs at follow-up. At follow-up, all improvements were significant for iVET. For VRET, only the effect for perceived stress was significant. VRET containing extensive verbal interaction without any cognitive components can effectively reduce complaints of generalized social anxiety disorder. Future technological and psychological improvements of virtual social interactions might further enhance the efficacy of VRET for social anxiety disorder. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Social impressions while drinking account for the relationship between alcohol-related problems and social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckner, Julia D; Matthews, Russell A

    2012-04-01

    Individuals with elevated social anxiety appear particularly vulnerable to experiencing alcohol-related problems; yet we know little about factors that may account for this relationship. One possibility is that socially anxious individuals hold beliefs about the impressions they make on others while drinking and these beliefs play an important role in their drinking behaviors. The present study used exploratory factor analysis among participants with clinically elevated social anxiety (n=166) to develop a measure, the Social Impressions while Drinking Scale (SIDS), to assess beliefs regarding others' impressions of drinking behaviors that may be particularly relevant to socially anxious individuals. A valuations scale was also developed to assess the importance of each belief. Empirically-derived subscales were identified with adequate reliability. Among socially anxious participants, the Gregarious and Sexual Facilitation subscales were uniquely related to drinking problems and frequency respectively. Individuals with clinically meaningful social anxiety achieved higher scores on all SIDS subscales compared to those with lower social anxiety (n=166). Several SIDS scales mediated the relations between social anxiety group status and drinking problems (Interaction Fears, Observation Fears, Aggression, Gregariousness). Results highlight the importance of examining beliefs specific to high-risk populations in assessing their alcohol-related behaviors. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Gaining Insight into Adolescent Vulnerability for Social Anxiety from Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

    OpenAIRE

    Caouette, Justin D.; Guyer, Amanda E.

    2013-01-01

    Social anxiety disorder (SAD) markedly impairs daily functioning. For adolescents, SAD can constrain typical development precisely when social experiences broaden, peers’ opinions are highly salient, and social approval is actively sought. Individuals with extreme, impairing social anxiety fear evaluation from others, avoid social interactions, and interpret ambiguous social cues as threatening. Yet some degree of social anxiety can be normative and non-impairing. Furthermore, a temperament o...

  4. Predictors of social anxiety in an opioid dependent sample and a control sample.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shand, Fiona L; Degenhardt, Louisa; Nelson, Elliot C; Mattick, Richard P

    2010-01-01

    Compared to other mental health problems, social anxiety is under-acknowledged amongst opioid dependent populations. This study aimed to assess levels of social anxiety and identify its predictors in an opioid dependent sample and a matched control group. Opioid dependent participants (n=1385) and controls (n=417) completed the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS), the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and a diagnostic interview. Regression analyses were used to test a range of predictors of social anxiety. Opioid dependent cases had higher mean scores on both scales compared to controls. Predictors of social anxiety centred on emotional rejection in childhood, either by parents or peers. For opioid dependent cases, but not controls, lifetime non-opioid substance dependence (cannabis, sedatives, and tobacco) was associated with higher levels of social anxiety. However, much of the variance in social anxiety remains unexplained for this population.

  5. More than a face: A unified theoretical perspective on nonverbal social cue processing in social anxiety

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eva eGilboa-Schechtman

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Processing of nonverbal social cues (NVSCs is essential to interpersonal functioning and is particularly relevant to models of social anxiety. This article provides a review of the literature on NVSC processing from the perspective of social rank and affiliation biobehavioral systems, based on functional analysis of human sociality. We examine the potential of this framework for integrating cognitive, interpersonal, and evolutionary accounts of social anxiety. We argue that NVSCs are uniquely suited to rapid and effective conveyance of emotional, motivational, and trait information and that various channels are differentially effective in transmitting such information. First, we review studies on perception of NVSCs through face, voice, and body. We begin with studies that utilized information processing or imaging paradigms to assess NVSC perception. This research demonstrated that social anxiety is associated with biased attention to, and interpretation of, emotional facial expressions and emotional prosody. Findings regarding body and posture remain scarce. Next, we review studies on NVSC expression, which pinpointed links between social anxiety and disturbances in eye gaze, facial expressivity, and vocal properties of spontaneous and planned speech. Again, links between social anxiety and posture were understudied. Although cognitive, interpersonal, and evolutionary theories have described different pathways to social anxiety, all three models focus on interrelations among cognition, subjective experience, and social behavior. NVSC processing and production comprise the juncture where these theories intersect. In light of the conceptualizations emerging from the review, we highlight several directions for future research including focus on NVSCs as indexing reactions to changes in belongingness and social rank, the moderating role of gender, and the therapeutic opportunities offered by embodied cognition to treat social anxiety.

  6. More than a face: a unified theoretical perspective on nonverbal social cue processing in social anxiety

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilboa-Schechtman, Eva; Shachar-Lavie, Iris

    2013-01-01

    Processing of nonverbal social cues (NVSCs) is essential to interpersonal functioning and is particularly relevant to models of social anxiety. This article provides a review of the literature on NVSC processing from the perspective of social rank and affiliation biobehavioral systems (ABSs), based on functional analysis of human sociality. We examine the potential of this framework for integrating cognitive, interpersonal, and evolutionary accounts of social anxiety. We argue that NVSCs are uniquely suited to rapid and effective conveyance of emotional, motivational, and trait information and that various channels are differentially effective in transmitting such information. First, we review studies on perception of NVSCs through face, voice, and body. We begin with studies that utilized information processing or imaging paradigms to assess NVSC perception. This research demonstrated that social anxiety is associated with biased attention to, and interpretation of, emotional facial expressions (EFEs) and emotional prosody. Findings regarding body and posture remain scarce. Next, we review studies on NVSC expression, which pinpointed links between social anxiety and disturbances in eye gaze, facial expressivity, and vocal properties of spontaneous and planned speech. Again, links between social anxiety and posture were understudied. Although cognitive, interpersonal, and evolutionary theories have described different pathways to social anxiety, all three models focus on interrelations among cognition, subjective experience, and social behavior. NVSC processing and production comprise the juncture where these theories intersect. In light of the conceptualizations emerging from the review, we highlight several directions for future research including focus on NVSCs as indexing reactions to changes in belongingness and social rank, the moderating role of gender, and the therapeutic opportunities offered by embodied cognition to treat social anxiety. PMID:24427129

  7. Mediation of Changes in Anxiety and Depression During Treatment of Social Phobia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moscovitch, David A.; Stefan G. Hofmann, Michael K.; Suvak, Michael K.; In-Albon, Tina

    2005-01-01

    To investigate the interactive process of changes in social anxiety and depression during treatment, the authors assessed weekly symptoms in 66 adult outpatients with social phobia (social anxiety disorder) who participated in cognitive- behavioral group therapy. Multilevel mediational analyses revealed that improvements in social anxiety mediated…

  8. Women's anxiety about social and exercise settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walton, Vicki R; Finkenberg, Mel E

    2002-04-01

    This study involved a comparison of social physique anxiety, assessed through the application of a modified version of the Social Physique Anxiety Scale, with 28 women who were new members exercising at all-female facilities compared to 43 new female members exercising at coeducational facilities. Analyses indicated there were no significant differences in means between the groups. The scores of women attending all-female facilities were significantly more influenced by the sex of members when choosing a facility.

  9. Cannabis-Related Problems and Social Anxiety: The Mediational Role of Post-Event Processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ecker, Anthony H; Buckner, Julia D

    2018-01-02

    Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug in the US, and is associated with a range of psychological, social, and physical health-related problems. Individuals who endorse elevated levels of social anxiety are especially at risk for experiencing cannabis-related problems, including cannabis use disorder, despite not using cannabis more often than those with more normative social anxiety. Identification of mechanisms that underlie the relationship between social anxiety and cannabis-related problems may inform treatment and prevention efforts. Post-event processing (PEP, i.e., cognitively reviewing past social interactions/performances) is a social anxiety-related phenomenon that may be one such mechanism. The current study sought to test PEP as a mediator of the relationship between social anxiety and cannabis-related problems, adjusting for cannabis use frequency. Cannabis-using (past 3-month) undergraduate students recruited in 2015 (N = 244; 76.2% female; 74.2% Non-Hispanic Caucasian) completed an online survey of cannabis use, cannabis-related problems, social anxiety, and PEP. Bootstrap estimate of the indirect effect of social anxiety through PEP was significant, suggesting PEP is a mediator of the social anxiety-cannabis-related problems relationship. Conclusions/Importance: Treatment and prevention efforts may benefit from targeting PEP among individuals with elevated social anxiety and cannabis-related problems.

  10. Psychometric Properties of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale in a Longitudinal Study of Latinos with Anxiety Disorders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beard, Courtney; Rodriguez, Benjamin F.; Weisberg, Risa B.; Perry, Ashley; Keller, Martin B.

    2012-01-01

    The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) is one of the most commonly used measures of social anxiety symptoms. To date, no study has examined its psychometric properties in a Latino sample. The authors examined the reliability, temporal stability, and convergent validity of the LSAS in 73 Latinos diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. The original…

  11. Social Anxiety in Childhood: Bridging Developmental and Clinical Perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gazelle, Heidi; Rubin, Kenneth H.

    2010-01-01

    In this introductory chapter, guided by developmental psychopathology and developmental science as overarching integrative theoretical frameworks, the authors define three constructs related to social anxiety in childhood (behavioral inhibition, anxious solitude/withdrawal, and social anxiety disorder) and analyze commonalities and differences in…

  12. Social anxiety and Internet socialization in Indian undergraduate students: An exploratory study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honnekeri, Bianca S; Goel, Akhil; Umate, Maithili; Shah, Nilesh; De Sousa, Avinash

    2017-06-01

    Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is a globally prevalent, chronic, debilitating psychiatric disorder affecting youth. With comorbidities including major depression, substance abuse, lower educational and work attainment, and increased suicide risk, it has a significant public health burden. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of SAD in urban Indian undergraduate students and to study their Facebook (FB) usage patterns. In this exploratory cross-sectional study, 316 undergraduate students were screened for social anxiety using validated instruments, Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) and Social Phobia Scale (SPS), and divided into two groups based on scores obtained. The groups were then compared with regards to behaviors and attitudes toward Facebook, obtained from a self-report questionnaire. SAD was estimated to be a significant, prevalent (7.8%) disorder in otherwise productive youth, and showed female preponderance. Higher specific social phobia scores were associated with the inability to reduce Facebook use, urges toward increasing use, spending more time thinking about Facebook, negative reactions to restricting use, and using it to forget one's problems. SAD was estimated to have a prevalence of 7.8% in our study, and was associated with stronger FB usage attitudes and patterns. We recommend that the relationship between social anxiety and Internet use be explored further, to study the possibility of Internet-based screening and intervention strategies having wider reach and appeal in socially anxious individuals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Social and academic functioning in adolescents with anxiety disorders: A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Lijster, Jasmijn M; Dieleman, Gwen C; Utens, Elisabeth M W J; Dierckx, Bram; Wierenga, Milou; Verhulst, Frank C; Legerstee, Jeroen S

    2018-04-01

    Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent during adolescence. Although literature points out that anxiety symptoms are related to problems in social and academic functioning, the extent of these problems among adolescents with clinical anxiety disorders has not been systematically reviewed before. Electronic databases were searched up to October 2017, with keywords representing anxiety disorders, adolescents, and social or academic functioning. The inclusion criteria were studies with a sample of adolescents (10-19 years) with anxiety disorders that provided data regarding their social or academic functioning. 3431 studies were examined, of which 19 met the inclusion criteria. Adolescents with anxiety disorders had a lower social competence relative to their healthy peers. They reported more negativity within interpersonal relationships, higher levels of loneliness, and victimization. Most adolescents with anxiety disorders felt impaired at school, however, findings of their average school results, compared to peers, were mixed. In addition, they had a higher risk for school refusal and entered higher education less often. Impairments in social and academic functioning differed across type and the number of anxiety disorders. Most studies examined social phobia or anxiety disorders in general and methodological approaches varied widely between studies. This systematic review indicates that adolescents with anxiety disorders experience a range of significant problems in both social and academic functioning. These findings suggest that the assessment and treatment of anxiety disorders in adolescence should focus on improving functioning across domains. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Compensatory deficits following rejection: the role of social anxiety in disrupting affiliative behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mallott, Michael A; Maner, Jon K; DeWall, Nathan; Schmidt, Norman B

    2009-01-01

    Managing perceived or actual social rejection is an important facet of meeting basic needs for affiliation. Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by significant distress and debilitation relating to affiliation and recent work suggests higher levels of social anxiety symptoms may adversely affect responses to social rejection. This study examined emotional and behavioral responding to a social rejection stressor to explore whether social anxiety moderates the effects of social rejection on prosocial compensatory behaviors. Individuals (N=37) evaluated on social anxiety symptoms were assigned to either a social rejection condition or control condition. Consistent with expectation, rejection promoted renewed interest in connecting with sources of positive social interaction among participants low in social anxiety. Participants with higher levels of social anxiety, however, failed to react to rejection in a positive or prosocial manner and exhibited some evidence of negative social responses. Such differential compensatory responding could have important implications for the genesis, maintenance, and treatment of SAD.

  15. Generic versus disorder specific cognitive behavior therapy for social anxiety disorder in youth: A randomized controlled trial using internet delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spence, Susan H; Donovan, Caroline L; March, Sonja; Kenardy, Justin A; Hearn, Cate S

    2017-03-01

    The study examined whether the efficacy of cognitive behavioral treatment for Social Anxiety Disorder for children and adolescents is increased if intervention addresses specific cognitive and behavioral factors linked to the development and maintenance of SAD in young people, over and above the traditional generic CBT approach. Participants were 125 youth, aged 8-17 years, with a primary diagnosis of SAD, who were randomly assigned to generic CBT (CBT-GEN), social anxiety specific CBT (CBT-SAD) or a wait list control (WLC). Intervention was delivered using a therapist-supported online program. After 12-weeks, participants who received treatment (CBT-SAD or CBT-GEN) showed significantly greater reduction in social anxiety and post-event processing, and greater improvement in global functioning than the WLC but there was no significant difference between CBT-SAD and CBT-GEN on any outcome variable at 12-weeks or 6-month follow-up. Despite significant reductions in anxiety, the majority in both treatment conditions continued to meet diagnostic criteria for SAD at 6-month follow-up. Decreases in social anxiety were associated with decreases in post-event processing. Future research should continue to investigate disorder-specific interventions for SAD in young people, drawing on evidence regarding causal or maintaining factors, in order to enhance treatment outcomes for this debilitating condition. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Incorporating social anxiety into a model of college student problematic drinking

    OpenAIRE

    Ham, Lindsay S.; Hope, Debra A.

    2005-01-01

    College problem drinking and social anxiety are significant public health concerns with highly negative consequences. College students are faced with a variety of novel social situations and situations encouraging alcohol consumption. The current study involved developing a path model of college problem drinking, including social anxiety, in 316 college students referred to an alcohol intervention due to a campus alcohol violation. Contrary to hypotheses, social anxiety generally had an inver...

  17. Mother-Child Attachment and Social Anxiety Symptoms in Middle Childhood

    OpenAIRE

    Brumariu, Laura E.; Kerns, Kathryn A.

    2008-01-01

    Literature suggests that parent-child attachment and anxiety symptoms are related. One purpose of the present study was to assess whether attachment patterns relate differentially to social anxiety aspects (fear of negative evaluation, social anxiety and distress in new situations, and generalized anxiety and distress). The second purpose was to investigate these links both longitudinally and concurrently in middle childhood. Children in grades 3 and 5 (N = 74) completed measures of secure, a...

  18. Treating Social Anxiety in Adolescents: Ten Group Therapy Lesson Plans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazur-Elmer, Alison; McBride, Dawn

    2009-01-01

    This project provides a comprehensive overview of the research literature on social anxiety disorder (SAD) in adolescents and concludes by offering a set of 10 group therapy lesson plans for SAD that therapists can use in their practice. The overview includes a description of social anxiety disorder and highlights various theories of anxiety. The…

  19. Optogenetic insights on the relationship between anxiety-related behaviors and social deficits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allsop, Stephen A.; Vander Weele, Caitlin M.; Wichmann, Romy; Tye, Kay M.

    2014-01-01

    Many psychiatric illnesses are characterized by deficits in the social domain. For example, there is a high rate of co-morbidity between autism spectrum disorders and anxiety disorders. However, the common neural circuit mechanisms by which social deficits and other psychiatric disease states, such as anxiety, are co-expressed remains unclear. Here, we review optogenetic investigations of neural circuits in animal models of anxiety-related behaviors and social behaviors and discuss the important role of the amygdala in mediating aspects of these behaviors. In particular, we focus on recent evidence that projections from the basolateral amygdala (BLA) to the ventral hippocampus (vHPC) modulate anxiety-related behaviors and also alter social interaction. Understanding how this circuit influences both social behavior and anxiety may provide a mechanistic explanation for the pathogenesis of social anxiety disorder, as well as the prevalence of patients co-diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders and anxiety disorders. Furthermore, elucidating how circuits that modulate social behavior also mediate other complex emotional states will lead to a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms by which social deficits are expressed in psychiatric disease. PMID:25076878

  20. Vigilance-avoidance and disengagement are differentially associated with fear and avoidant behaviors in social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Travis C; Walukevich, Katherine A; Britton, Jennifer C

    2016-07-15

    Individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) often exhibit preferential attention for social threat, demonstrating abnormal orientation to threat (i.e., vigilance-avoidance) and/or difficulty disengaging from threat. However, no research has compared the relationship between attention indices (i.e., vigilance-avoidance, difficulty disengaging from threat) and characteristic features of the disorder such as fear during social situations (social fear) and avoidant behaviors (social avoidance). To address this issue, seventy adults (19.29±1.47 years, 33 females) were separated into low (n=37) or high (n=33) socially anxious groups using clinical cutoff scores on the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS). Participants in both groups completed a dot-probe task with congruent, incongruent, and neutral trials to obtain measures of vigilance-avoidance and difficulty disengaging. Using linear regression, we examined the associations each attention index shared with self-reported social fear and social avoidance. Exclusively in the high anxious group, greater vigilance towards threat was associated with higher self-reported social fear, but not with social avoidance. However, difficulty disengaging was not associated with either social measure. In the low anxiety group, no relationships between attention indices and either social measure emerged. Future research with clinical samples is necessary to replicate and extend these findings. The small sample size studied may have limited our ability to detect other smaller effects. Indices of attention bias may contribute differently to the etiology and maintenance of SAD, which offers important implications for novel treatments that target attention. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. The correlates and consequences of early appearing social anxiety in young children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weeks, Murray; Coplan, Robert J; Kingsbury, Adam

    2009-10-01

    Social anxiety is the fear of social situations and being negatively evaluated by others. Most previous studies of childhood social anxiety have employed clinical samples of children aged 10 years and older. The current study explored the correlates of social anxiety in an unselected sample of young children. Participants were n=178 elementary school children in grade 2 (aged 7-8 years). Children were individually administered the Social Anxiety Scale for Children-Revised (SASC-R), as well as measures of socio-emotional adjustment. Teachers completed measures of children's socio-emotional problems and school adjustment. Results indicated that social anxiety was positively associated with self-reported loneliness, school avoidance, and internalizing coping, and negatively related to school liking. However, social anxiety was mostly unrelated to teacher-rated outcomes. Findings are discussed in terms of use of the SASC-R for this type of population and reasons for the disparity between child and teacher reports of adjustment outcomes.

  2. Social anxiety and emotion regulation flexibility

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    O'Toole, Mia S.; Zachariae, Robert; Mennin, Douglas S.

    2017-01-01

    Abstract BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Individuals with social anxiety disorder have often been considered inflexible in their emotion regulation. The aim of this study was to investigate emotion regulation flexibility in socially anxious individuals in response to two contextual factors, namely...... different levels of emotion intensity and emotion type. METHODS: A daily diary approach was employed, investigating emotion regulation (i.e., experiential avoidance, expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal) in college students scoring high (N = 62; HSA) and low (N = 52; LSA) on social anxiety....... RESULTS: Results revealed that HSAs were found to use more experiential avoidance than LSAs, especially at higher levels of negative intensity. The use of this emotion regulation strategy appeared to be driven by guilt, nervousness, and sadness. There were no between-group differences concerning the other...

  3. The relation between social support, anxiety and distress symptoms and maternal fetal attachment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hopkins, Joyce; Miller, Jennifer L; Butler, Kristina; Gibson, Lynda; Hedrick, Laura; Boyle, Deborah Anne

    2018-05-04

    The aims of this study were to: (1) examine the relation between social support, trait anxiety, symptoms of maternal distress (including stress, depression and anxiety) and maternal-fetal attachment; and (2) to determine if social support buffers the relation between trait anxiety, symptoms of distress and maternal-fetal attachment. Ninety-four pregnant women completed five self-report questions. Two hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the influence of trait anxiety, symptoms of distress, and social support on two factors of maternal-fetal attachment, quality and intensity/frequency. In the first model with the dependent measure as the maternal-fetal attachment quality score, trait anxiety (β = -.24, p social support (β = .30, p social support (β = .32, p social support is high, the relation between anxiety and maternal-fetal attachment intensity/frequency is attenuated. This study demonstrates that prenatal attachment is related to trait anxiety and social support. These findings suggest that interventions to decrease anxiety and increase social support could enhance maternal-fetal attachment.

  4. College Drinking Problems and Social Anxiety: The Importance of Drinking Context

    OpenAIRE

    Terlecki, Meredith A.; Ecker, Anthony H.; Buckner, Julia D.

    2014-01-01

    Social anxiety more than quadruples the risk of developing an alcohol use disorder, yet it is inconsistently linked to heavy alcohol use. Elucidation of the relation between social anxiety and alcohol use is an important next step in treating and preventing risky drinking. College students routinely face potentially anxiety-provoking social situations (e.g., meeting new people) and socially anxious undergraduates are especially vulnerable to alcohol-related impairment. Drinking to cope with s...

  5. Social anxiety and perception of early parenting among American, Chinese American, and social phobic samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, A W; Heimberg, R G; Holt, C S; Bruch, M A

    1994-01-01

    Emotionally distant and controlling child-rearing attitudes have been reported to characterize the parents of American or western European social phobics in previous research. However, the notion that these parental attitudes may be associated with social anxiety only in some cultures has not been investigated. The present study examined social anxiety among American social phobics and American and Chinese/Chinese American volunteer samples and how it may relate to their parents' child-rearing attitudes. Multivariate analyses of variance revealed overall group differences. Both volunteer samples reported lower levels of anxiety than social phobics. Parents of Chinese/Chinese Americans and social phobics were reported to be similar in their (1) isolation of children from social activities; (2) over-emphasis of others' opinions; and (3) use of shame tactics for discipline (more so than American volunteers' parents). However, parents of nonsocial phobics were more likely to attend family social activities than social phobics' parents. Overall, the association between a reported parenting style emphasizing others' opinions and shame tactics and social anxiety in their adult children was more evident in both American samples than among Chinese/Chinese Americans.

  6. Social anxiety and training in neurolinguistic programming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konefal, J; Duncan, R C

    1998-12-01

    The Liebowitz Social Phobia Scale measured the effect of training on social anxiety responses of 28 adults prior to and following a 21-day residential training, and at 6 mo. follow-up. Significant reductions posttraining and at follow-up were evident in the mean self-reported global scale scores on fear and avoidance behavior in social situations. The item scores, aggregated to reflect the situational domains of formal and informal speaking, being observed by others, and assertion, showed significant and continuing reduction from posttraining through follow-up. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that this training may be associated with reduced responses to social anxiety, but as there was no formal control group, pretest scores from another study were used. Interpretation is limited.

  7. Negative autobiographical memories in social anxiety disorder

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    OToole, Mia Skytte; Watson, Lynn Ann; Rosenberg, Nicole

    2016-01-01

    (SAD), compared to patients with panic disorder (PD), and healthy controls (HCs). METHODS: A total of 107 participants retrieved four memories cued by verbal phrases associated with either social anxiety (SA) or panic anxiety (PA), with two memories for each cue category. RESULTS: PA-cued memories were...

  8. Work-related CBT versus vocational services as usual for unemployed persons with social anxiety disorder: A randomized controlled pilot trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Himle, Joseph A; Bybee, Deborah; Steinberger, Edward; Laviolette, Wayne T; Weaver, Addie; Vlnka, Sarah; Golenberg, Zipora; Levine, Debra Siegel; Heimberg, Richard G; O'Donnell, Lisa A

    2014-12-01

    We designed and pilot-tested a group-based, work-related cognitive-behavioral therapy (WCBT) for unemployed individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD). WCBT, delivered in a vocational service setting by vocational service professionals, aims to reduce social anxiety and enable individuals to seek, obtain, and retain employment. We compared WCBT to a vocational services as usual control condition (VSAU). Participants were unemployed, homeless, largely African American, vocational service-seeking adults with SAD (N = 58), randomized to receive either eight sessions of WCBT plus VSAU or VSAU alone and followed three months post-treatment. Multilevel modeling revealed significantly greater reductions in social anxiety, general anxiety, depression, and functional impairment for WCBT compared to VSAU. Coefficients for job search activity and self-efficacy indicated greater increases for WCBT. Hours worked per week in the follow-up period did not differ between the groups, but small sample size and challenges associated with measuring work hours may have contributed to this finding. Overall, the results of this study suggest that unemployed persons with SAD can be effectively treated with specialized work-related CBT administered by vocational service professionals. Future testing of WCBT with a larger sample, a longer follow-up period, and adequate power to assess employment outcomes is warranted. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Kindergarteners' self-reported social inhibition and observed social reticence: moderation by adult-reported social inhibition and social anxiety disorder symptoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiel, Elizabeth J; Buss, Kristin A; Molitor, Joseph G

    2015-04-01

    Prevention of later anxiety problems would best be accomplished by identifying at-risk children early in development. For example, children who develop Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) may show social withdrawal in the form of social inhibition (i.e., shyness with unfamiliar adults and peers) at school entry. Although the use of children's perceptions of their own social inhibition would provide insight into early risk, the utility of young children's self-reports remains unclear. The current study examined whether children deemed more extreme on social inhibition or social anxiety by adult report provided self-report of social inhibition that related to observed social reticence in the laboratory. Participants included 85 kindergarten children (36 female, 49 male), their parents, and their teachers. Moderation analyses revealed that children's self-reported social inhibition related significantly to observed social reticence under the conditions of high parent-reported social inhibition, high teacher-reported social inhibition, and high SAD symptoms. These results suggest that the most inhibited children are aware of their behavior and can report it in a meaningfully way as young as kindergarten age.

  10. Facial Affect Recognition and Social Anxiety in Preschool Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ale, Chelsea M.; Chorney, Daniel B.; Brice, Chad S.; Morris, Tracy L.

    2010-01-01

    Research relating anxiety and facial affect recognition has focused mostly on school-aged children and adults and has yielded mixed results. The current study sought to demonstrate an association among behavioural inhibition and parent-reported social anxiety, shyness, social withdrawal and facial affect recognition performance in 30 children,…

  11. Racial-Ethnic Differences in Social Anxiety among College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    LeSure-Lester, G. Evelyn; King, Nancy

    2004-01-01

    The present study investigated racial-ethnic differences in social anxiety among college students in two-year colleges. The sample consisted of 189 Asian American, African American, White American, and Hispanic American students from two colleges in the Southeast. Participants completed a questionnaire measure of social anxiety. The results…

  12. Social anxiety and alcohol use across the university years: Adaptive and maladaptive groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brook, Christina A; Willoughby, Teena

    2016-05-01

    University/college can be a challenging time as students face developmental tasks such as building new social networks and achieving academically. Social anxiety may be disadvantageous in this setting given that social situations often include drinking and individuals with social anxiety tend to self-medicate through alcohol use. However, findings are mixed as to whether the association between social anxiety and alcohol use is positive or negative. To clarify the nature of this association, we used a person-centered longitudinal analysis to identify student groups based on levels of social anxiety symptoms and alcohol consumption. Undergraduates (N = 1132, 70.5% female, Mage = 19.06 at Time 1) enrolled in university completed a survey assessing social anxiety and alcohol use over 3 years, and psychosocial functioning and emotion coping behaviors at Time 1. Two out of 5 groups were identified with higher levels of social anxiety, 1 with moderately low alcohol use, and the other with moderately high alcohol use. Both groups reported higher levels of general anxiety, depressive symptoms, behavioral inhibition, emotional reactivity, daily hassles, and lower levels of social ties at Time 1 than the 3 groups with lower levels of social anxiety. Furthermore, the social anxiety-alcohol use group reported significantly lower academic grades and was more likely to endorse problematic emotion coping behaviors (e.g., self-injury) than the social anxiety-low alcohol use group. These results not only help explain the mixed findings in the literature but indicate that 1 group of socially anxious students may be particularly vulnerable to negative adjustment difficulties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  13. Adverse consequences of student drinking: the role of sex, social anxiety, drinking motives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norberg, Melissa M; Olivier, Jake; Alperstein, Dion M; Zvolensky, Michael J; Norton, Alice R

    2011-08-01

    This study examined whether biological sex, social anxiety, and drinking motives relate differently to distinct types of alcohol-related consequences using Poisson regression. One hundred eighteen college students completed self-report measures assessing drinking motives and social anxiety and an interview assessing alcohol consumption and consequences. Highly socially anxious women were particularly apt to experience adverse role functioning consequences, while men were particularly apt to experience physical consequences. Although highly socially anxious women reported more personal consequences than did women with low to moderate social anxiety, men with low to moderate social anxiety reported experiencing more social and personal consequences than did women with low to moderate social anxiety. When taking into consideration the above associations, coping motives were statistically associated with social consequences and marginally related to personal consequences, while enhancement motives were significantly associated with physical consequences. Targeting these factors may lead to effective interventions for individuals with co-occurring social anxiety and drinking problems. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. The influence of exercise identity and social physique anxiety on exercise dependence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Brian; Karr, Trisha M; Zunker, Christie; Mitchell, James E; Thompson, Ron; Sherman, Roberta; Erickson, Ann; Cao, Li; Crosby, Ross D

    2015-09-01

    Previous research has identified exercise identity and social physique anxiety as two independent factors that are associated with exercise dependence. The purpose of our study was to investigate the unique and interactive effect of these two known correlates of exercise dependence in a sample of 1,766 female runners. Regression analyses tested the main effects of exercise identity and social physique anxiety on exercise dependence. An interaction term was calculated to examine the potential moderating effect of social physique anxiety on the exercise identity and exercise dependence relationship. Results indicate a main effect for exercise identity and social physique anxiety on exercise dependence; and the interaction of these factors explained exercise dependence scores beyond the independent effects. Thus, social physique anxiety acted as a moderator in the exercise identity and exercise dependence relationship. Our results indicate that individuals who strongly identify themselves as an exerciser and also endorse a high degree of social physique anxiety may be at risk for developing exercise dependence. Our study supports previous research which has examined factors that may contribute to the development of exercise dependence and also suggests a previously unknown moderating relationship for social physique anxiety on exercise dependence.

  15. Skills for social and academic success: a school-based intervention for social anxiety disorder in adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Paige H; Masia-Warner, Carrie; Klein, Rachel G

    2004-12-01

    This paper describes Skills for Academic and Social Success (SASS), a cognitive-behavioral, school-based intervention for adolescents with social anxiety disorder. Clinic-based treatment studies for socially anxious youth are reviewed, and a strong rationale for transporting empirically-based interventions into schools, such as SASS, is provided. The SASS program consists of 12, 40-min group sessions that emphasize social skills and in-vivo exposure. In addition to group sessions, students are seen individually at least twice and participate in 4 weekend social events with prosocial peers from their high schools. Meetings with teachers provide information about social anxiety and facilitate classroom exposures for socially anxious participants. Parents attend 2 psychoeducational meetings about social anxiety, its treatment, and approaches for managing their child's anxiety. Initial findings regarding the program's effectiveness are presented. We conclude by discussing the challenges involved in implementing treatment protocols in schools and provide suggestions to address these issues.

  16. Attentional control mediates the effect of social anxiety on positive affect☆

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morrison, Amanda S.; Heimberg, Richard G.

    2015-01-01

    The goal of the present studies was to examine whether attentional control, a self-regulatory attentional mechanism, mediates the effect of social anxiety on positive affect. We tested this mediation in two studies using undergraduate students selected to represent a broad range of severity of social anxiety. Self-report assessments of social anxiety, attentional control, and positive affect were collected in a cross-sectional design (Study 1) and in a longitudinal design with three assessment points (Study 2). Results of both studies supported the hypothesized mediational model. Specifically, social anxiety was inversely related to attentional control, which itself positively predicted positive affect. This mediation remained significant even when statistically controlling for the effects of depression. Additionally, the hypothesized model provided superior model fit to theoretically-grounded equivalent models in both studies. Implications of these findings for understanding diminished positive affect in social anxiety are discussed. PMID:23254261

  17. Measurement Invariance of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bunnell, Brian E.; Joseph, Dana L.; Beidel, Deborah C.

    2012-01-01

    The Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI) is a commonly used self-report measure of social phobia that has demonstrated adequate reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and criterion-related validity. However, research has yet to address whether this measure functions equivalently in (a) individuals with and without a diagnosis of social phobia and (b) males and females. Evaluating measurement equivalence is necessary in order to determine that the construct of social anxiety is conceptually understood invariantly across these populations. The results of the current investigation, using a series of nested factorial models proposed by Vandenberg and Lance (2000), provide evidence for strong equivalence across 420 individuals with and without diagnoses of social anxiety disorder and across male and female samples. Accordingly, these results provide psychometric justification for comparison of SPAI scores across the symptom continuum and sexes. PMID:23247204

  18. Relationships among depression, anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, and perceived social support in adolescents with conversion disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yılmaz, Savaş; Bilgiç, Ayhan; Akça, Ömer Faruk; Türkoğlu, Serhat; Hergüner, Sabri

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to assess the relationships of depression, anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, and perceived social support with conversion symptoms in adolescents with conversion disorder (CD). Fifty outpatients, aged 8-18 years, who had been diagnosed with CD and members of a control group were assessed using the psychological questionnaires. Compared with controls, adolescents with CD scored higher on the Child Depression Inventory (CDI), Screen for Child Anxiety-related Emotional Disorders (SCARED), Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI) total, CASI physical and cognitive subscales, and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support family subscale. Multiple regression analysis showed that CDI, CASI total, and CASI cognitive scores predicted the Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire (SDQ) scores and that CDI and CASI total scores predicted the Children's Somatization Inventory (CSI) scores of subjects. This study suggest that adolescents with CD had poor psychosocial well-being, and depression, global anxiety sensitivity and anxiety sensitivity cognitive concerns are related to conversion symptoms.

  19. The factor structure of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and the Social Phobia Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heidenreich, Thomas; Schermelleh-Engel, Karin; Schramm, Elisabeth; Hofmann, Stefan G; Stangier, Ulrich

    2011-05-01

    The Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) and the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) are two compendium measures that have become some of the most popular self-report scales of social anxiety. Despite their popularity, it remains unclear whether it is necessary to maintain two separate scales of social anxiety. The primary objective of the present study was to examine the factor analytic structure of both measures to determine the factorial validity of each scale. For this purpose, we administered both scales to 577 patients at the beginning of outpatient treatment. Analyzing both scales simultaneously, a CFA with two correlated factors showed a better fit to the data than a single factor model. An additional EFA with an oblique rotation on all 40 items using the WLSMV estimator further supported the two factor solution. These results suggest that the SIAS and SPS measure similar, but not identical facets of social anxiety. Thus, our findings provide support to retain the SIAS and SPS as two separate scales. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Biased Perception and Interpretation of Bodily Anxiety Symptoms in Childhood Social Anxiety

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmitz, Julian; Blechert, Jens; Kramer, Martina; Asbrand, Julia; Tuschen-Caffier, Brunna

    2012-01-01

    Cognitive models of social phobia (SP) and empirical evidence in adults suggest that affected individuals overestimate arousal symptoms such as heart rate (HR) during social stress and worry about their visibility in public. To date, little is known about these aspects in childhood social anxiety, an important precursor of the disorder. We…

  1. The Effects of Social Anxiety and State Anxiety on Visual Attention: Testing the Vigilance-Avoidance Hypothesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, J Suzanne; Capozzoli, Michelle C; Dodd, Michael D; Hope, Debra A

    2015-01-01

    A growing theoretical and research literature suggests that trait and state social anxiety can predict attentional patterns in the presence of emotional stimuli. The current study adds to this literature by examining the effects of state anxiety on visual attention and testing the vigilance-avoidance hypothesis, using a method of continuous visual attentional assessment. Participants were 91 undergraduate college students with high or low trait fear of negative evaluation (FNE), a core aspect of social anxiety, who were randomly assigned to either a high or low state anxiety condition. Participants engaged in a free view task in which pairs of emotional facial stimuli were presented and eye movements were continuously monitored. Overall, participants with high FNE avoided angry stimuli and participants with high state anxiety attended to positive stimuli. Participants with high state anxiety and high FNE were avoidant of angry faces, whereas participants with low state and low FNE exhibited a bias toward angry faces. The study provided partial support for the vigilance-avoidance hypothesis. The findings add to the mixed results in the literature that suggest that both positive and negative emotional stimuli may be important in understanding the complex attention patterns associated with social anxiety. Clinical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

  2. Attenuated positive psychotic symptoms and social anxiety: Along a psychotic continuum or different constructs?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, Shanna; Klugman, Joshua; Heimberg, Richard G; Anglin, Deidre M; Ellman, Lauren M

    2016-01-30

    Social anxiety commonly occurs across the course of schizophrenia, including in the premorbid and prodromal phases of psychotic disorders. Some have posited that social anxiety may exist on a continuum with paranoia; however, empirical data are lacking. The study aim was to determine whether attenuated positive psychotic symptoms are related to social anxiety. Young adults (N=1378) were administered the Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ), which measures attenuated positive psychotic symptoms (APPS), and the Social Phobia Scale (SPS), which measures a subset of social anxiety symptoms. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to address the extent to which social anxiety and APPS tap distinct dimensions. Confirmatory factor analyses support the existence of a separate social anxiety factor scale and four separate, though interrelated, APPS factor domains (unusual thought content, paranoia/suspiciousness, disorganized thinking, and perceptual abnormalities). Additionally, social anxiety was significantly, but not differently related to each APPS domain, although the magnitude was reduced between social anxiety and distressing APPS. The current study suggests that social anxiety and attenuated positive psychotic symptoms are separable constructs, but are significantly associated with each other. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Excess costs of social anxiety disorder in Germany.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dams, Judith; König, Hans-Helmut; Bleibler, Florian; Hoyer, Jürgen; Wiltink, Jörg; Beutel, Manfred E; Salzer, Simone; Herpertz, Stephan; Willutzki, Ulrike; Strauß, Bernhard; Leibing, Eric; Leichsenring, Falk; Konnopka, Alexander

    2017-04-15

    Social anxiety disorder is one of the most frequent mental disorders. It is often associated with mental comorbidities and causes a high economic burden. The aim of our analysis was to estimate the excess costs of patients with social anxiety disorder compared to persons without anxiety disorder in Germany. Excess costs of social anxiety disorder were determined by comparing two data sets. Patient data came from the SOPHO-NET study A1 (n=495), whereas data of persons without anxiety disorder originated from a representative phone survey (n=3213) of the general German population. Missing data were handled by "Multiple Imputation by Chained Equations". Both data sets were matched using "Entropy Balancing". Excess costs were calculated from a societal perspective for the year 2014 using general linear regression with a gamma distribution and log-link function. Analyses considered direct costs (in- and outpatient treatment, rehabilitation, and professional and informal care) and indirect costs due to absenteeism from work. Total six-month excess costs amounted to 451€ (95% CI: 199€-703€). Excess costs were mainly caused by indirect excess costs due to absenteeism from work of 317€ (95% CI: 172€-461€), whereas direct excess costs amounted to 134€ (95% CI: 110€-159€). Costs for medication, unemployment and disability pension was not evaluated. Social anxiety disorder was associated with statistically significant excess costs, in particular due to indirect costs. As patients in general are often unaware of their disorder or its severity, awareness should be strengthened. Prevention and early treatment might reduce long-term indirect costs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. The Reverse of Social Anxiety Is Not Always the Opposite: The Reverse-Scored Items of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale Do Not Belong

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodebaugh, Thomas L.; Woods, Carol M.; Heimberg, Richard G.

    2007-01-01

    Although well-used and empirically supported, the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) has a questionable factor structure and includes reverse-scored items with questionable utility. Here, using samples of undergraduates and a sample of clients with social anxiety disorder, we extend previous work that opened the question of whether the…

  5. Hooked on Facebook: The Role of Social Anxiety and Need for Social Assurance in Problematic Use of Facebook.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee-Won, Roselyn J; Herzog, Leo; Park, Sung Gwan

    2015-10-01

    There is a growing concern that excessive and uncontrolled use of Facebook not only interferes with performance at school or work but also poses threats to physical and psychological well-being. The present research investigated how two individual difference variables--social anxiety and need for social assurance--affect problematic use of Facebook. Drawing on the basic premises of the social skill model of problematic Internet use, we hypothesized that social anxiety and need for social assurance would be positively correlated with problematic use of Facebook. Furthermore, it was predicted that need for social assurance would moderate the relationship between social anxiety and problematic use. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with a college student sample in the United States (N=243) to test the proposed hypotheses. Results showed that both social anxiety and need for social assurance had a significant positive association with problematic use of Facebook. More importantly, the data demonstrated that need for social assurance served as a significant moderator of the relationship between social anxiety and problematic Facebook use. The positive association between social anxiety and problematic Facebook use was significant only for Facebook users with medium to high levels of need for social assurance but not for those with a low level of need for social assurance. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings were discussed.

  6. Self-referential and anxiety-relevant information processing in subclinical social anxiety: an fMRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abraham, Anna; Kaufmann, Carolin; Redlich, Ronny; Hermann, Andrea; Stark, Rudolf; Stevens, Stephan; Hermann, Christiane

    2013-03-01

    The fear of negative evaluation is one of the hallmark features of social anxiety. Behavioral evidence thus far largely supports cognitive models which postulate that information processing biases in the face of socially relevant information are a key factor underlying this widespread phobia. So far only one neuroimaging study has explicitly focused on the fear of negative evaluation in social anxiety where the brain responses of social phobics were compared to healthy participants during the processing of self-referential relative to other-referential criticism, praise or neutral information. Only self-referential criticism led to stronger activations in emotion-relevant regions of the brain, such as the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortices (mPFC), in the social phobics. The objective of the current study was to determine whether these findings could be extended to subclinical social anxiety. In doing so, the specificity of this self-referential bias was also examined by including both social and non-social (physical illness-related) threat information as well as a highly health anxious control group in the experimental paradigm. The fMRI findings indicated that the processing of emotional stimuli was accompanied by activations in the amygdala and the ventral mPFC, while self-referential processing was associated with activity in regions such as the mPFC, posterior cingulate and temporal poles. Despite the validation of the paradigm, the results revealed that the previously reported behavioral and brain biases associated with social phobia could not be unequivocally extended to subclinical social anxiety. The divergence between the findings is explored in detail with reference to paradigm differences and conceptual issues.

  7. Shame and guilt in social anxiety disorder: effects of cognitive behavior therapy and association with social anxiety and depressive symptoms.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erik Hedman

    Full Text Available Social anxiety disorder (SAD, characterized by fear of being scrutinized by others, has features that that are closely linked to the concept of shame. Despite this, it remains to be investigated whether shame is elevated in persons with SAD, and if cognitive behavior therapy (CBT for SAD could reduce shame experience. In the present study, we focused on internal shame, i.e. the type of shame that pertains to how we judge ourselves. Although guilt is distinctly different from shame, we also viewed it as important to investigate its role in SAD as the two emotions are highly correlated. The aim of this study was to investigate: (I if persons with SAD differ from healthy controls on shame and guilt, (II if shame, guilt, depressive symptoms, and social anxiety are associated in persons with SAD, and (III if CBT can reduce internal shame in patients with SAD. Firstly, we conducted a case-control study comparing a sample with SAD (n = 67 with two samples of healthy controls, a main sample (n = 72 and a replication sample (n = 22. Secondly, all participants with SAD were treated with CBT and shame, measured with the Test of Self-Conscious affect, was assessed before and after treatment. The results showed that shame was elevated in person with SAD compared to the control replication sample, but not to the main control sample. In addition, shame, social anxiety, and depressive symptoms were significantly associated among participants with SAD. After CBT, participants with SAD had significantly reduced their shame (Cohen's d = 0.44. Guilt was unrelated to social anxiety. We conclude that shame and social anxiety are associated and that it is likely that persons with SAD are more prone to experience shame than persons without SAD. Also, CBT is associated with shame reduction in the treatment of SAD.

  8. Shame and guilt in social anxiety disorder: effects of cognitive behavior therapy and association with social anxiety and depressive symptoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hedman, Erik; Ström, Peter; Stünkel, Angela; Mörtberg, Ewa

    2013-01-01

    Social anxiety disorder (SAD), characterized by fear of being scrutinized by others, has features that that are closely linked to the concept of shame. Despite this, it remains to be investigated whether shame is elevated in persons with SAD, and if cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for SAD could reduce shame experience. In the present study, we focused on internal shame, i.e. the type of shame that pertains to how we judge ourselves. Although guilt is distinctly different from shame, we also viewed it as important to investigate its role in SAD as the two emotions are highly correlated. The aim of this study was to investigate: (I) if persons with SAD differ from healthy controls on shame and guilt, (II) if shame, guilt, depressive symptoms, and social anxiety are associated in persons with SAD, and (III) if CBT can reduce internal shame in patients with SAD. Firstly, we conducted a case-control study comparing a sample with SAD (n = 67) with two samples of healthy controls, a main sample (n = 72) and a replication sample (n = 22). Secondly, all participants with SAD were treated with CBT and shame, measured with the Test of Self-Conscious affect, was assessed before and after treatment. The results showed that shame was elevated in person with SAD compared to the control replication sample, but not to the main control sample. In addition, shame, social anxiety, and depressive symptoms were significantly associated among participants with SAD. After CBT, participants with SAD had significantly reduced their shame (Cohen's d = 0.44). Guilt was unrelated to social anxiety. We conclude that shame and social anxiety are associated and that it is likely that persons with SAD are more prone to experience shame than persons without SAD. Also, CBT is associated with shame reduction in the treatment of SAD.

  9. Shame and Guilt in Social Anxiety Disorder: Effects of Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Association with Social Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hedman, Erik; Ström, Peter; Stünkel, Angela; Mörtberg, Ewa

    2013-01-01

    Social anxiety disorder (SAD), characterized by fear of being scrutinized by others, has features that that are closely linked to the concept of shame. Despite this, it remains to be investigated whether shame is elevated in persons with SAD, and if cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for SAD could reduce shame experience. In the present study, we focused on internal shame, i.e. the type of shame that pertains to how we judge ourselves. Although guilt is distinctly different from shame, we also viewed it as important to investigate its role in SAD as the two emotions are highly correlated. The aim of this study was to investigate: (I) if persons with SAD differ from healthy controls on shame and guilt, (II) if shame, guilt, depressive symptoms, and social anxiety are associated in persons with SAD, and (III) if CBT can reduce internal shame in patients with SAD. Firstly, we conducted a case-control study comparing a sample with SAD (n = 67) with two samples of healthy controls, a main sample (n = 72) and a replication sample (n = 22). Secondly, all participants with SAD were treated with CBT and shame, measured with the Test of Self-Conscious affect, was assessed before and after treatment. The results showed that shame was elevated in person with SAD compared to the control replication sample, but not to the main control sample. In addition, shame, social anxiety, and depressive symptoms were significantly associated among participants with SAD. After CBT, participants with SAD had significantly reduced their shame (Cohen's d = 0.44). Guilt was unrelated to social anxiety. We conclude that shame and social anxiety are associated and that it is likely that persons with SAD are more prone to experience shame than persons without SAD. Also, CBT is associated with shame reduction in the treatment of SAD. PMID:23620782

  10. Social Anxiety, Acute Social Stress, and Reward Parameters Interact to Predict Risky Decision-Making among Adolescents

    OpenAIRE

    Richards, Jessica M.; Patel, Nilam; Daniele, Teresa; MacPherson, Laura; Lejuez, C.W.; Ernst, Monique

    2014-01-01

    Risk-taking behavior increases during adolescence, leading to potentially disastrous consequences. Social anxiety emerges in adolescence and may compound risk-taking propensity, particularly during stress and when reward potential is high. However, the manner in which social anxiety, stress, and reward parameters interact to impact adolescent risk-taking is unclear. To clarify this question, a community sample of 35 adolescents (15 to 18 yo), characterized as having high or low social anxiety...

  11. The effects of self-focus on attentional biases in social anxiety:An ERP study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Judah, Matt R; Grant, DeMond M; Carlisle, Nancy B

    2016-06-01

    Cognitive theories of social anxiety disorder suggest that biased attention plays a key role in maintaining symptoms. These biases include self-focus and attention to socially threatening stimuli in the environment. The goal of this study was to utilize ERPs that are elicited by a change detection task to examine biases in selective attention (i.e., N2pc) and working memory maintenance (i.e., contralateral delay activity; CDA). Additionally, the effect of self-focus was examined using false heart rate feedback. In support of the manipulation, self-focus cues resulted in greater self-reported self-consciousness and task interference, enhanced anterior P2 amplitude and reduced SPN amplitude. Moreover, P2 amplitude for self-focus cues was correlated with reduced task performance for socially anxious subjects only. The difference in P2 amplitude between self-focus and standard cues was correlated with social anxiety independent of depression. As hypothesized, socially anxious participants (n = 20) showed early selection and maintenance of disgust faces relative to neutral faces as indicated by the N2pc and CDA components. Nonanxious controls (n = 22) did not show these biases. During self-focus cues, controls showed marginal evidence of biased selection for disgust faces, whereas socially anxious subjects showed no bias in this condition. Controls showed an ipsilateral delay activity after being cued to attend to one hemifield. Overall, this study supports early and persistent attentional bias for social threat in socially anxious individuals. Furthermore, self-focus may disrupt these biases. These findings and supplementary data are discussed in light of cognitive models of social anxiety disorder, recent empirical findings, and treatment.

  12. Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Social Anxiety Disorder, but Not Panic Anxiety Disorder, Are Associated with Higher Sensitivity to Learning from Negative Feedback: Behavioral and Computational Investigation

    OpenAIRE

    Khdour, Hussain Y.; Abushalbaq, Oday M.; Mughrabi, Ibrahim T.; Imam, Aya F.; Gluck, Mark A.; Herzallah, Mohammad M.; Moustafa, Ahmed A.

    2016-01-01

    Anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), and panic anxiety disorder (PAD), are a group of common psychiatric conditions. They are characterized by excessive worrying, uneasiness, and fear of future events, such that they affect social and occupational functioning. Anxiety disorders can alter behavior and cognition as well, yet little is known about the particular domains they affect. In this study, we tested the cognitive correlates of me...

  13. Gaining Insight into Adolescent Vulnerability for Social Anxiety from Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caouette, Justin D.; Guyer, Amanda E.

    2013-01-01

    Social anxiety disorder (SAD) markedly impairs daily functioning. For adolescents, SAD can constrain typical development precisely when social experiences broaden, peers’ opinions are highly salient, and social approval is actively sought. Individuals with extreme, impairing social anxiety fear evaluation from others, avoid social interactions, and interpret ambiguous social cues as threatening. Yet some degree of social anxiety can be normative and non-impairing. Furthermore, a temperament of behavioral inhibition increases risk for SAD for some, but not all adolescents with this temperament. One fruitful approach taken to understand the mechanisms of social anxiety has been to use neuroimaging to link affect and cognition with neural networks implicated in the neurodevelopmental social reorientation of adolescence. Although initial neuroimaging studies of adolescent SAD and risk for SAD underscored the role of fear-processing circuits (e.g., the amygdala and ventral prefrontal cortex), recent work has expanded these circuits to include reward-processing structures in the basal ganglia. A growing focus on reward-related neural circuitry holds promise for innovative translational research needed to differentiate impairing from normative social anxiety and for novel ways to treat adolescent SAD that focus on both social avoidance and social approach. PMID:24239049

  14. Gaining insight into adolescent vulnerability for social anxiety from developmental cognitive neuroscience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Justin D. Caouette

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Social anxiety disorder (SAD markedly impairs daily functioning. For adolescents, SAD can constrain typical development precisely when social experiences broaden, peers’ opinions are highly salient, and social approval is actively sought. Individuals with extreme, impairing social anxiety fear evaluation from others, avoid social interactions, and interpret ambiguous social cues as threatening. Yet some degree of social anxiety can be normative and non-impairing. Furthermore, a temperament of behavioral inhibition increases risk for SAD for some, but not all adolescents with this temperament. One fruitful approach taken to understand the mechanisms of social anxiety has been to use neuroimaging to link affect and cognition with neural networks implicated in the neurodevelopmental social reorientation of adolescence. Although initial neuroimaging studies of adolescent SAD and risk for SAD underscored the role of fear-processing circuits (e.g., the amygdala and ventral prefrontal cortex, recent work has expanded these circuits to include reward-processing structures in the basal ganglia. A growing focus on reward-related neural circuitry holds promise for innovative translational research needed to differentiate impairing from normative social anxiety and for novel ways to treat adolescent SAD that focus on both social avoidance and social approach.

  15. Interrogative suggestibility: its relationship with assertiveness, social-evaluative anxiety, state anxiety and method of coping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gudjonsson, G H

    1988-05-01

    This paper attempts to investigate empirically in 30 subjects some of the theoretical components related to individual differences that are thought by Gudjonsson & Clark (1986) to mediate interrogative suggestibility as measured by the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS; Gudjonsson, 1984a). The variables studied were: assertiveness, social-evaluative anxiety, state anxiety and the coping methods subjects are able to generate and implement during interrogation. Low assertiveness and high evaluative anxiety were found to correlate moderately with suggestibility, but no significant correlations emerged for 'social avoidance and distress'. State anxiety correlated significantly with suggestibility, particularly after negative feedback had been administered. Coping methods (active-cognitive/behavioural vs. avoidance) significantly predicted suggestibility scores. The findings give strong support to the theoretical model of Gudjonsson & Clark.

  16. Vortioxetine versus placebo in major depressive disorder comorbid with social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liebowitz, Michael R; Careri, Jason; Blatt, Kyra; Draine, Ann; Morita, Junko; Moran, Melissa; Hanover, Rita

    2017-12-01

    Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) are highly comorbid, yet the combined condition has not been subject to any placebo-controlled treatment trials. This study reports a trial of vortioxetine, an antidepressant that has also shown benefit in Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), in patients meeting DSM-5 criteria for both MDD and SAD. The study was a 12-week double-blind, placebo-controlled comparison of vortioxetine 10-20 mg/day or placebo administered on a 1:1 ratio. The study was designed to include 40 male or female outpatients aged 18-70 years. The primary endpoint was the "composite" Clinical Global Impression of Improvement (CGI-I) responder rate, factoring in improvement in both MDD and SAD features. Major secondary outcome measures were changes on the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). On the composite CGI-I, 10 of 20 (50%) vortioxetine and six of 20 (30%) placebo-treated patients were rated as responders, a non-significant difference. However, vortioxetine-treated patients did show significantly greater improvement than those on placebo on both the MADRS (effect size 0.672) and LSAS (effect size 0.714). Efficacy in depression was seen before improvement in SAD. Adverse effects were similar to those previously reported. In this preliminary trial vortioxetine appears safe and effective for patients with MDD comorbid with SAD, with robust effect sizes on dimensional measures of both depression and social anxiety, but failure to separate from placebo on the primary outcome measure of composite responder rate. More studies of patients with comorbid conditions are needed, as this mirrors what is often seen in clinical practice. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. Kindergarteners’ Self-Reported Social Inhibition and Observed Social Reticence: Moderation by Adult-Reported Social Inhibition and Social Anxiety Disorder Symptoms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiel, Elizabeth J.; Buss, Kristin A.; Molitor, Joseph G.

    2014-01-01

    Prevention of later anxiety problems would best be accomplished by identifying at-risk children early in development. For example, children who develop Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) may show social withdrawal in the form of social inhibition (i.e., shyness with unfamiliar adults and peers) at school entry. Although the use of children’s perceptions of their own social inhibition would provide insight into early risk, the utility of young children’s self-reports remains unclear. The current study examined whether children deemed more extreme on social inhibition or social anxiety by adult report provided self-report of social inhibition that related to observed social reticence in the laboratory. Participants included 85 kindergarten children (36 female, 49 male), their parents, and their teachers. Moderation analyses revealed that children’s self-reported social inhibition related significantly to observed social reticence under the conditions of high parent-reported social inhibition, high teacher-reported social inhibition, and high SAD symptoms. These results suggest that the most inhibited children are aware of their behavior and can report it in a meaningfully way as young as kindergarten age. PMID:25113397

  18. The Interrelationship of Social Anxiety with Anxiety, Depression, Locus of Control, Ways of Coping and Ego Strength amongst University Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shepherd, Robin-Marie; Edelman, Robert J.

    2009-01-01

    This is the first study to investigate the interrelationship of social anxiety with the variables anxiety, depression, locus of control, ego strength and ways of coping in a sample of university students. There were high scores of social anxiety which were related to high scores on measures of anxiety and depression, low ego strength, external…

  19. The Relationships between Social Class, Listening Test Anxiety and Test Scores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rezaabadi, Omid Talebi

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated the relationships between the social anxiety, social class and listening-test anxiety of students learning English as a foreign language. The aims of the study were to examine the relationship between listening-test anxiety and listening-test performance. The data were collected using an adapted Foreign Language Listening…

  20. Drinking motives in alcohol use disorder patients with and without social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, R; Hildebrandt, S; Gerlach, A L

    2014-01-01

    The high comorbidity of alcohol use disorders (AUD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) is often explained by excessive drinking in social situations to self-medicate social anxiety. Indeed, the motive to drink alcohol to lower social fears was found to be elevated in socially anxious persons. However, this social anxiety specific motive has not been directly investigated in primarily alcohol dependent individuals. We explored social anxiety, the motivation to drink alcohol in order to cope with social fears, and social anxiety as a consequence of drinking in AUD with and without comorbid SAD. Male AUD inpatients with (AUD+SAD group, N=23) and without comorbid SAD (N=37) completed a clinical interview and a questionnaire assessment. AUD+SAD patients reported higher levels of depression and an elevated motive to drink due to social anxiety but did not experience more social fears as a consequence of drinking. Previous results concerning alcohol drinking motives in order to relieve social fears could be replicated in a clinical AUD sample. Additionally, our findings suggest comorbid AUD+SAD patients to be more burdened regarding broader psychopathological symptoms. Thus, accessibility to SAD-specific screening and treatment procedures may be beneficial for primary AUD patients.

  1. Reduction of Test Anxiety Through Cognitive Restructuring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldfried, Marvin R.; And Others

    1978-01-01

    On the basis of questionnaire measures of test anxiety, only those in the rational restructuring condition reported a significant decrease in subjective anxiety when placed in an analogue test-taking situation. Participants in the restructuring condition also reported greater generalized anxiety reduction in social-evaluative situations. (Author)

  2. Internet-based attention bias modification for social anxiety: a randomised controlled comparison of training towards negative and training towards positive cues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boettcher, Johanna; Leek, Linda; Matson, Lisa; Holmes, Emily A; Browning, Michael; MacLeod, Colin; Andersson, Gerhard; Carlbring, Per

    2013-01-01

    Biases in attention processes are thought to play a crucial role in the aetiology and maintenance of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). The goal of the present study was to examine the efficacy of a programme intended to train attention towards positive cues and a programme intended to train attention towards negative cues. In a randomised, controlled, double-blind design, the impact of these two training conditions on both selective attention and social anxiety were compared to that of a control training condition. A modified dot probe task was used, and delivered via the internet. A total of 129 individuals, diagnosed with SAD, were randomly assigned to one of these three conditions and took part in a 14-day programme with daily training/control sessions. Participants in all three groups did not on average display an attentional bias prior to the training. Critically, results on change in attention bias implied that significantly differential change in selective attention to threat was not detected in the three conditions. However, symptoms of social anxiety reduced significantly from pre- to follow-up-assessment in all three conditions (dwithin  = 0.63-1.24), with the procedure intended to train attention towards threat cues producing, relative to the control condition, a significantly greater reduction of social fears. There were no significant differences in social anxiety outcome between the training condition intended to induce attentional bias towards positive cues and the control condition. To our knowledge, this is the first RCT where a condition intended to induce attention bias to negative cues yielded greater emotional benefits than a control condition. Intriguingly, changes in symptoms are unlikely to be by the mechanism of change in attention processes since there was no change detected in bias per se. Implications of this finding for future research on attention bias modification in social anxiety are discussed. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01463137.

  3. Social Anxiety and Onset of Drinking in Early Adolescence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomlinson, Kristin L.; Cummins, Kevin M.; Brown, Sandra A.

    2013-01-01

    The present study examines several types of social anxiety that may be associated with the onset of alcohol use in middle school students, and whether the relationship differs by sex and grade. Students in the seventh and eighth grades (N = 2,621) completed the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents and a measure of lifetime drinking via schoolwide…

  4. An examination of the MASC Social Anxiety Scale in a non-referred sample of adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Emily R; Jordan, Judith A; Smith, Ashley J; Inderbitzen-Nolan, Heidi M

    2009-12-01

    Social phobia is prevalent during adolescence and is associated with negative outcomes. Two self-report instruments are empirically validated to specifically assess social phobia symptomatology in youth: the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children and the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents. The Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children is a broad-band measure of anxiety containing a scale assessing the social phobia construct. The present study investigated the MASC Social Anxiety Scale in relation to other well-established measures of social phobia and depression in a non-referred sample of adolescents. Results support the convergent validity of the MASC Social Anxiety Scale and provide some support for its discriminant validity, suggesting its utility in the initial assessment of social phobia. Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROCs) calculated the sensitivity and specificity of the MASC Social Anxiety Scale. Binary logistic regression analyses determined the predictive utility of the MASC Social Anxiety Scale. Implications for assessment are discussed.

  5. Aversive eye gaze during a speech in virtual environment in patients with social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Haena; Shin, Jung Eun; Hong, Yeon-Ju; Shin, Yu-Bin; Shin, Young Seok; Han, Kiwan; Kim, Jae-Jin; Choi, Soo-Hee

    2018-03-01

    One of the main characteristics of social anxiety disorder is excessive fear of social evaluation. In such situations, anxiety can influence gaze behaviour. Thus, the current study adopted virtual reality to examine eye gaze pattern of social anxiety disorder patients while presenting different types of speeches. A total of 79 social anxiety disorder patients and 51 healthy controls presented prepared speeches on general topics and impromptu speeches on self-related topics to a virtual audience while their eye gaze was recorded. Their presentation performance was also evaluated. Overall, social anxiety disorder patients showed less eye gaze towards the audience than healthy controls. Types of speech did not influence social anxiety disorder patients' gaze allocation towards the audience. However, patients with social anxiety disorder showed significant correlations between the amount of eye gaze towards the audience while presenting self-related speeches and social anxiety cognitions. The current study confirms that eye gaze behaviour of social anxiety disorder patients is aversive and that their anxiety symptoms are more dependent on the nature of topic.

  6. Social anxiety under load: the effects of perceptual load in processing emotional faces

    OpenAIRE

    Soares, Sandra C.; Rocha, Marta; Neiva, Tiago; Rodrigues, Paulo; Silva, Carlos F.

    2015-01-01

    Previous studies in the social anxiety arena have shown an impaired attentional control system, similar to that found in trait anxiety. However, the effect of task demands on social anxiety in socially threatening stimuli, such as angry faces, remains unseen. In the present study, 54 university students scoring high and low in the Social Interaction and Performance Anxiety and Avoidance Scale (SIPAAS) questionnaire, participated in a target letter discrimination task while task-irrelevant fac...

  7. Reduced reciprocal giving in social anxiety - Evidence from the Trust Game.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderl, Christine; Steil, Regina; Hahn, Tim; Hitzeroth, Patricia; Reif, Andreas; Windmann, Sabine

    2018-06-01

    Social anxiety is known to impair interpersonal relationships. These impairments are thought to partly arise from difficulties to engage in affiliative interactions with others, such as sharing favors or reciprocating prosocial acts. Here, we examined whether individuals high compared to low in social anxiety differ in giving towards strangers in an economic game paradigm. One hundred and twenty seven non-clinical participants who had been pre-screened to be either particularly high or low in social anxiety played an incentivized Trust Game to assess trustful and reciprocal giving towards strangers in addition to providing information on real life interpersonal functioning (perceived social support and attachment style). We found that reciprocal, but not trustful giving, was significantly decreased among highly socially anxious individuals. Both social anxiety and reciprocal giving furthermore showed significant associations with self-reported real life interpersonal functioning. Participants played the Trust Game with the strategy method; results need replication with a clinical sample. Individuals high in social anxiety showed reduced reciprocal, but intact trustful giving, pointing to a constraint in responsiveness. The research may contribute to the development of new treatment and prevention programs to reduce the interpersonal impairments in socially anxious individuals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Factor structure of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale for Children and Adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Storch, Eric A; Masia-Warner, Carrie; Heidgerken, Amanda D; Fisher, Paige H; Pincus, Donna B; Liebowitz, Michael R

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factor structure of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale for Children and Adolescents (LSAS-CA). The LSAS-CA was administered to 225 children and adolescents as a component of various clinical studies. In addition, other measures of psychopathology and impairment were administered to a subgroup of the sample. Confirmatory factor analyses of the social interaction and performance subscales for the anxiety and avoidance ratings yielded poor fit indices. Exploratory factor analysis supported a two-factor solution with a higher order factor for the LSAS-CA anxiety and avoidance ratings. Based on item content, factors were named Social and School Performance. The internal consistency of the factors was high and the convergent and divergent validity was supported vis-à-vis correlations with measures of depression and social anxiety, and clinician ratings of impairment and functioning. Findings suggest that the anxiety and avoidance ratings are best explained by a two-factor solution that measures social anxiety and avoidance in social and school performance interactions. This factor structure appears to be a reliable and valid framework for assessing childhood social phobia.

  9. Individual differences in the ability to recognise facial identity are associated with social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Joshua M; McKone, Elinor; Dennett, Hugh; O'Connor, Kirsty B; O'Kearney, Richard; Palermo, Romina

    2011-01-01

    Previous research has been concerned with the relationship between social anxiety and the recognition of face expression but the question of whether there is a relationship between social anxiety and the recognition of face identity has been neglected. Here, we report the first evidence that social anxiety is associated with recognition of face identity, across the population range of individual differences in recognition abilities. Results showed poorer face identity recognition (on the Cambridge Face Memory Test) was correlated with a small but significant increase in social anxiety (Social Interaction Anxiety Scale) but not general anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory). The correlation was also independent of general visual memory (Cambridge Car Memory Test) and IQ. Theoretically, the correlation could arise because correct identification of people, typically achieved via faces, is important for successful social interactions, extending evidence that individuals with clinical-level deficits in face identity recognition (prosopagnosia) often report social stress due to their inability to recognise others. Equally, the relationship could arise if social anxiety causes reduced exposure or attention to people's faces, and thus to poor development of face recognition mechanisms.

  10. Neural sensitivity to social reward and punishment anticipation in Social Anxiety Disorder.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Henk eCremers

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available An imbalance in the neural motivational system may underlie Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD. This study examines social reward and punishment anticipation in SAD, predicting a valence-specific effect: increased striatal activity for punishment avoidance compared to obtaining a reward. Individuals with SAD (n=20 and age, gender, and education case-matched controls (n=20 participated in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI study. During fMRI scanning, participants performed a Social Incentive Delay task to measure the anticipation of social reward and punishment. The left putamen (part of the striatum showed a valence-specific interaction with group after correcting for medication use and comorbidity. The control group showed a relatively stronger activation for reward vs. punishment trials, compared to the social anxiety group. However, post-hoc pairwise comparisons were not significant, indicating that the effect is driven by a relative difference. A connectivity analysis (Psychophysiological interaction further revealed a general salience effect: SAD patients showed decreased putamen-ACC connectivity compared to controls for both reward and punishment trials. Together these results suggest that the usual motivational preference for social reward is absent in SAD. In addition, cortical control processes during social incentive anticipation may be disrupted in SAD. These results provide initial evidence for altered striatal involvement in both valence-specific and valence nonspecific processing of social incentives, and stress the relevance of taking motivational processes into account when studying social anxiety.

  11. Dually diagnosed patients' benefits of mutual-help groups and the role of social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timko, Christine; Cronkite, Ruth C; McKellar, John; Zemore, Sarah; Moos, Rudolf H

    2013-02-01

    There is debate about whether dually diagnosed patients benefit from mutual-help groups (MHGs), partly because social anxiety may make participation problematic. We examined dually diagnosed patients' participation in MHGs and outcomes at 6, 12, and 24 months post-treatment, and the extent to which social anxiety was associated with participation. We also examined whether MHG participation and social anxiety were related to outcomes, and whether social anxiety moderated associations between participation and outcomes. We found high rates of MHG participation. Among patients who attended at least one meeting, outcomes were positive. Social anxiety was not associated with levels of MHG participation, but more participation was associated with better outcomes. When social anxiety moderated associations between MHG participation and outcomes, patients with more social anxiety benefited more from participation. Treated dually diagnosed patients participate in, and benefit from, MHGs, and participation and benefits are comparable, or even strengthened, among more socially-anxious patients. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  12. The negative self-portrayal scale: development, validation, and application to social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moscovitch, David A; Huyder, Vanessa

    2011-06-01

    The Negative Self-Portrayal Scale (NSPS) is a new questionnaire designed to assess the extent to which individuals are concerned that specific self-attributes they view as being deficient will be exposed to scrutiny and evaluation by critical others in social situations. These concerns have been proposed to drive symptoms of social anxiety and account for individual differences in social fears and avoidance behaviors (Moscovitch, 2009). Here, we introduce the NSPS and examine its factor structure and psychometric properties across two large samples of North American undergraduate students with normally distributed symptoms of social anxiety. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a 3-factor solution representing concerns about (a) social competence; (b) physical appearance; and (c) signs of anxiety. The NSPS was found to have good internal consistency and test-retest reliability, strong convergent validity, and adequate discriminant validity. In addition, NSPS total scores accounted for a significant proportion of unique variance in self-concealment (i.e., safety) behaviors over and above established symptom measures of social interaction anxiety, social performance anxiety, and depression. Results are discussed in relation to theoretical models of social anxiety and the potential utility of the NSPS for both clinical research and practice. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  13. Effects of anger regulation and social anxiety on perceived stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ayano Yamaguchi

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The mediating role of social anxiety was explored within the effect of anger regulation on perceived stress in the national sample of American and Japanese older adults. Results indicated that anger suppression is a significant factor in perceived stress mediated by social anxiety. Anger suppression was also directly related to perceived stress. The correlation of anger suppression with social anxiety was stronger in Japan than in the United States. Understanding both universal and culture-specific aspects of emotion regulation and perceived stress will be essential for the development of sound theory, future research, and effective prevention and intervention efforts.

  14. Pre-treatment social anxiety severity moderates the impact of mindfulness-based stress reduction and aerobic exercise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jazaieri, Hooria; Lee, Ihno A; Goldin, Philippe R; Gross, James J

    2016-06-01

    We examined whether social anxiety severity at pre-treatment would moderate the impact of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) or aerobic exercise (AE) for generalized social anxiety disorder. MBSR and AE produced equivalent reductions in weekly social anxiety symptoms. Improvements were moderated by pre-treatment social anxiety severity. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and aerobic exercise (AE) are effective in reducing symptoms of social anxiety. Pre-treatment social anxiety severity can be used to inform treatment recommendations. Both MBSR and AE produced equivalent reductions in weekly levels of social anxiety symptoms. MBSR appears to be most effective for patients with lower pre-treatment social anxiety symptom severity. AE appears to be most effective for patients with higher pre-treatment social anxiety symptom severity. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

  15. Working memory capacity in social anxiety disorder: Revisiting prior conclusions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waechter, Stephanie; Moscovitch, David A; Vidovic, Vanja; Bielak, Tatiana; Rowa, Karen; McCabe, Randi E

    2018-04-01

    In one of the few studies examining working memory processes in social anxiety disorder (SAD), Amir and Bomyea (2011) recruited participants with and without SAD to complete a working memory span task with neutral and social threat words. Those with SAD showed better working memory performance for social threat words compared to neutral words, suggesting an enhancement in processing efficiency for socially threatening information in SAD. The current study sought to replicate and extend these findings. In this study, 25 participants with a principal diagnosis of SAD, 24 anxious control (AC) participants with anxiety disorders other than SAD, and 27 healthy control (HC) participants with no anxiety disorder completed a working memory task with social threat, general threat, and neutral stimuli. The groups in the current study demonstrated similar working memory performance within each of the word type conditions, thus failing to replicate the principal findings of Amir and Bomyea (2011). Post hoc analyses revealed a significant association between higher levels of anxiety symptomatology and poorer overall WM performance. These results inform our understanding of working memory in the anxiety disorders and support the importance of replication in psychological research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. Association between coping strategies, social support, and depression and anxiety symptoms among rural Ugandan women living with HIV/AIDS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seffren, Victoria; Familiar, Itziar; Murray, Sarah M; Augustinavicius, Jura; Boivin, Michael J; Nakasujja, Noeline; Opoka, Robert; Bass, Judith

    2018-02-22

    Poor mental health detrimentally affects quality of life among women living with HIV/AIDS. An improved understanding of how coping and social support relate to depression and anxiety in this population can facilitate the design and implementation of appropriate mental health treatment and support services. Secondary analysis was conducted on baseline data from 288 HIV-positive women enrolled in a parenting intervention in Uganda. Depression and anxiety symptoms, social support, and coping were assessed with the Hopkins Symptom Checklist and adapted versions of the Multidimensional Scale for Perceived Social Support and Ways of Coping Questionnaire. General linear regression models were used to estimate associations between coping and mental health. Based on report of elevated symptoms, approximately 10% of women were categorized as having clinically-relevant depression or anxiety. Emotion-focused (EF: p symptoms while greater family support (EF: p = .002; PF: p = .003) was associated with fewer depression symptoms. More anxiety symptoms were associated with reporting both coping strategies (EF: p symptoms among women living with HIV.

  17. Hormone-treated transsexuals report less social distress, anxiety and depression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez-Gil, Esther; Zubiaurre-Elorza, Leire; Esteva, Isabel; Guillamon, Antonio; Godás, Teresa; Cruz Almaraz, M; Halperin, Irene; Salamero, Manel

    2012-05-01

    The aim of the present study was to evaluate the presence of symptoms of current social distress, anxiety and depression in transsexuals. We investigated a group of 187 transsexual patients attending a gender identity unit; 120 had undergone hormonal sex-reassignment (SR) treatment and 67 had not. We used the Social Anxiety and Distress Scale (SADS) for assessing social anxiety and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) for evaluating current depression and anxiety. The mean SADS and HADS scores were in the normal range except for the HAD-Anxiety subscale (HAD-A) on the non-treated transsexual group. SADS, HAD-A, and HAD-Depression (HAD-D) mean scores were significantly higher among patients who had not begun cross-sex hormonal treatment compared with patients in hormonal treatment (F=4.362, p=.038; F=14.589, p=.001; F=9.523, p=.002 respectively). Similarly, current symptoms of anxiety and depression were present in a significantly higher percentage of untreated patients than in treated patients (61% vs. 33% and 31% vs. 8% respectively). The results suggest that most transsexual patients attending a gender identity unit reported subclinical levels of social distress, anxiety, and depression. Moreover, patients under cross-sex hormonal treatment displayed a lower prevalence of these symptoms than patients who had not initiated hormonal therapy. Although the findings do not conclusively demonstrate a direct positive effect of hormone treatment in transsexuals, initiating this treatment may be associated with better mental health of these patients. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. How does social functioning in the early stages of psychosis relate to depression and social anxiety?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chudleigh, Catherine; Naismith, Sharon L; Blaszczynski, Alex; Hermens, Daniel F; Hodge, M Antoinette Redoblado; Hickie, Ian B

    2011-08-01

    The study aims to compare social functioning in young people considered to be at risk of psychosis with those meeting criteria for first episode psychosis (FEP) and controls, and to determine the association between social functioning and positive and negative symptoms, depressive symptoms, and social anxiety. This study examined social functioning in 20 individuals at risk of psychosis, 20 FEP patients and 20 healthy controls. Social functioning was measured using the Social Functioning Scale and World Health Organization Disability Assessment Scale. Psychiatric variables were also measured using the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, the Brief Social Phobia Scale, and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale. At-risk individuals had comparable social deficits to the FEP group, and both patient groups had significantly poorer social functioning than controls. Importantly, social functioning was most strongly associated with depressive and social anxiety symptoms and to a lesser extent with positive symptoms. However, negative symptoms did not appear to relate to social functioning. Social functioning impairments precede the onset of full-threshold psychosis and may therefore be a significant marker for the illness. Additionally, associated psychiatric symptoms such as depression and social anxiety may provide an avenue for early interventions of social functioning deficits in psychosis. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  19. Social anxiety and peer helping in adolescent addiction treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pagano, Maria E; Wang, Alexandra R; Rowles, Brieana M; Lee, Matthew T; Johnson, Byron R

    2015-05-01

    The developmental need to fit in may lead to higher alcohol and other drug use among socially anxious youths which exacerbates the drink/trouble cycle. In treatment, youths with social anxiety disorder (SAD) may avoid participating in therapeutic activities with risk of negative peer appraisal. Peer-helping is a low-intensity, social activity in the 12-step program associated with greater abstinence among treatment-seeking adults. This study examined the influence of SAD on clinical severity at intake, peer-helping during treatment, and outcomes in a large sample of adolescents court-referred to residential treatment. Adolescents (N = 195; 52% female, 30% Black) aged 14 to 18 were prospectively assessed at treatment admission, treatment discharge, and 6 months after treatment discharge. Data were collected using rater-administered assessments, youth reports, clinician reports, medical charts, and electronic court records. The influence of SAD on peer-helping and outcomes was examined using hierarchical linear regression and event history methods. Forty-two percent of youths reported a persistent fear of being humiliated or scrutinized in social situations, and 15% met current diagnostic criteria for SAD. SAD onset preceded initial use for two-thirds of youths with SAD and substance dependency. SAD youths presented for treatment with greater clinical severity in terms of earlier age of first use (p networks in the transition back into the community. Copyright © 2015 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

  20. Stigma, social anxiety, and illness severity in bipolar disorder: Implications for treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levy, Boaz; Tsoy, Elena; Brodt, Madeline; Petrosyan, Karen; Malloy, Mary

    2015-02-01

    Studies indicate that comorbid anxiety disorders predict a more severe course of illness in bipolar disorder (BD). The relatively high prevalence of social anxiety in BD points to the potential role that socio-cultural factors, such as stigma, play in exacerbating the progression of this disorder. Stigma creates social anxiety in affected individuals because it essentially forces them into a vulnerable social status that is marked by public disgrace. Although the etiology of debilitating social anxiety in BD may involve multiple factors, stigma deserves particular clinical attention because research in this area indicates that it is common and its internalization is associated with poor outcome. We conducted a literature review using search terms related to stigma, social anxiety, bipolar disorder, illness severity, and outcomes. The electronic databases searched included PsychINFO, PubMed, JSTOR, and EBSCOhost Academic Search Complete with limits set to include articles published in English. The literature indicates that internalized stigma often triggers the core psychological experiences of social anxiety and is highly correlated with clinical and functional outcome in BD. On a psychological level, internalized stigma and social anxiety can create distress that triggers symptoms of BD. From a biological perspective, stigma constitutes a chronic psychosocial stressor that may interact with the pathophysiology of BD in inflammatory ways. The connection between stigma and social anxiety, and their combined effects on people with BD, carries important implications for psychiatric care. To obtain an accurate clinical formulation, initial evaluations may seek to examine stigma-related experiences and determine their relationship to anxiety symptoms and psychosocial functioning. In addition, direct interventions for reducing the ill effects of stigma in BD deserve clinical attention, because they may carry the potential to enhance outcomes.

  1. Short forms of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and the Social Phobia Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fergus, Thomas A; Valentiner, David P; McGrath, Patrick B; Gier-Lonsway, Stephanie L; Kim, Hyun-Soo

    2012-01-01

    Mattick and Clarke's (1998) Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) and Social Phobia Scale (SPS) are commonly used self-report measures that assess 2 dimensions of social anxiety. Given the need for short, readable measures, this research proposes short forms of both scales. Item-level analyses of readability characteristics of the SIAS and SPS items led to the selection of 6 items from each scale for use in the short forms. The SIAS and SPS short forms had reading levels at approximately the 6th and 5th grade level, respectively. Results using nonclinical (Study 1: N = 469) and clinical (Study 2: N = 145) samples identified these short forms as being factorially sound, possessing adequate internal consistency, and having strong convergence with their full-length counterparts. Moreover, these short forms showed convergence with other measures of social anxiety, showed divergence from measures assessing related constructs, and predicted concurrent interpersonal functioning. Recommendations for the use of these short forms are discussed.

  2. Examining the relation between adolescent social anxiety, adolescent delinquency (abstention), and emerging adulthood relationship quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mercer, Natalie; Crocetti, Elisabetta; Meeus, Wim; Branje, Susan

    2017-07-01

    Social anxiety symptoms and delinquency are two prevalent manifestations of problem behavior during adolescence and both are related to negative interpersonal relationships in adolescence and emerging adulthood. This study examined the relation between social anxiety and delinquency in adolescence and the interplay between adolescent social anxiety and delinquency on perceived relationship quality in emerging adulthood. In a 10-year long prospective study (T1, n = 923; T2, n = 727; Mage T1 = 12; 49% female), we examined competing hypotheses using regression analyses: the protective perspective, which suggests social anxiety protects against delinquency; and the co-occurring perspective, which suggests social anxiety and delinquency co-occur leading to increased negative interpersonal outcomes. In adolescence, the relation between social anxiety and delinquency was consistent with the protective perspective. In emerging adulthood, consistent with the co-occurring perspective, ever-delinquents (but not delinquency abstainers) with higher social anxiety reported less perceived best friend, mother, and father support compared to delinquents with lower social anxiety. There was no interaction between anxiety and delinquency in predicting perceived conflict. This study highlights the importance of examining the relation between social anxiety and delinquency with regards to different interpersonal outcomes.

  3. Social anxiety and the ironic effects of positive interviewer feedback.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Budnick, Christopher J; Kowal, Marta; Santuzzi, Alecia M

    2015-01-01

    Positive interviewer feedback should encourage positive experiences and outcomes for interviewees. Yet, positive feedback is inconsistent with socially anxious interviewees' negative self-views. Socially anxious interviewees might experience increased self-focus while attempting to reconcile the inconsistency between their self-perceptions and that feedback. This could interfere with successful interview performance. This study used a 3 (feedback: positive, negative, no) × 2 (social anxiety: high, low) between-subjects design. Undergraduate students (N = 88) completed a measure of dispositional social anxiety. They then engaged in a simulated interview with a White confederate trained to adhere to a standardized script. Interviewees received positive, negative, or no interviewer feedback. Each interview was video recorded to code anxiety displays, impression management tactics, and interview success. Following positive feedback, socially anxious interviewees displayed more anxiety, less assertiveness, and received lower success ratings. Among anxious interviewees, increased self-focus provided an indirect path between positive feedback and lower success. Consistent with self-verification theory, anxious interviewees had poorer interview performance following positive feedback that contradicted their negative self-views. Thus, socially anxious interviewees might be at a disadvantage when interviewing, especially following positive feedback. Implications for interviewees and interviewers are discussed.

  4. Role of Academic Self-efficacy and Social Support on Nursing Students' Test Anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warshawski, Sigalit; Bar-Lev, Oshra; Barnoy, Sivia

    2018-05-25

    Associations between test anxiety, academic self-efficacy (ASE), and social support through social media have not been fully explored. The purposes were to explore associations between test anxiety, ASE, and social support from social media and to examine differences in test anxiety by students' year of studies and cultural background. This study used a cross-sectional, descriptive design. The sample comprised first- and fourth-year nursing students (n = 240) attending a baccalaureate nursing program in Israel. Higher ASE and support through social media were related to lower test anxiety. Fourth-year students and Jewish students had higher ASE than first-year and Arab students, who received more support on social media than Jewish students. Developing learning strategies designed to increase students' ASE and reduce test anxiety is warranted. Social media as an educational tool can be adopted for this purpose.

  5. More than a face: a unified theoretical perspective on nonverbal social cue processing in social anxiety

    OpenAIRE

    Gilboa-Schechtman, Eva; Shachar-Lavie, Iris

    2013-01-01

    Processing of nonverbal social cues (NVSCs) is essential to interpersonal functioning and is particularly relevant to models of social anxiety. This article provides a review of the literature on NVSC processing from the perspective of social rank and affiliation biobehavioral systems (ABSs), based on functional analysis of human sociality. We examine the potential of this framework for integrating cognitive, interpersonal, and evolutionary accounts of social anxiety. We argue that NVSCs are ...

  6. The moderating role of avoidance behavior on anxiety over time: Is there a difference between social anxiety disorder and specific phobia?

    OpenAIRE

    Rudaz, Myriam; Ledermann, Thomas; Margraf, J?rgen; Becker, Eni S.; Craske, Michelle G.

    2017-01-01

    Theories of anxiety disorders and phobias have ascribed a critical role to avoidance behavior in explaining the persistence of fear and anxiety, but knowledge about the role of avoidance behavior in the maintenance of anxiety in social anxiety disorder relative to specific phobia is lacking. This study examined the extent to which avoidance behavior moderates the relationship between general anxiety at baseline and 18 months later in women with a diagnosed social anxiety disorder (n = 91) and...

  7. The Moderating Role of Avoidance Behavior on Anxiety Over Time: Is There a Difference Between Social Anxiety Disorder and Specific Phobia?

    OpenAIRE

    Rudaz, Myriam; Ledermann, Thomas; Margraf, Jürgen; Becker, Eni S.; Craske, Michelle G.

    2017-01-01

    Theories of anxiety disorders and phobias have ascribed a critical role to avoidance behavior in explaining the persistence of fear and anxiety, but knowledge about the role of avoidance behavior in the maintenance of anxiety in social anxiety disorder relative to specific phobia is lacking. This study examined the extent to which avoidance behavior moderates the relationship between general anxiety at baseline and 18 months later in women with a diagnosed social anxiety disorder (n = 91) and...

  8. Aggression and anxiety: social context and neurobiological links

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Inga D Neumann

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Psychopathologies such as anxiety- and depression-related disorders are often characterized by impaired social behaviours including excessive aggression and violence. Excessive aggression and violence likely develop as a consequence of generally disturbed emotional regulation, such as abnormally high or low levels of anxiety. This suggests an overlap between brain circuitries and neurochemical systems regulating aggression and anxiety. In this review, we will discuss different forms of male aggression, rodent models of excessive aggression, and neurobiological mechanisms underlying male aggression in the context of anxiety. We will summarize our attempts to establish an animal model of high and abnormal aggression using rats selected for high (HAB versus low (LAB anxiety-related behaviour. Briefly, male LAB rats and, to a lesser extent, male HAB rats show high and abnormal forms of aggression compared with non-selected (NAB rats, making them a suitable animal model for studying excessive aggression in the context of extremes in innate anxiety. In addition, we will discuss differences in the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, brain arginine vasopressin, and the serotonin systems, among others, which contribute to the distinct behavioural phenotypes related to aggression and anxiety. Further investigation of the neurobiological systems in animals with distinct anxiety phenotypes might provide valuable information about the link between excessive aggression and disturbed emotional regulation, which is essential for understanding the social and emotional deficits that are characteristic of many human psychiatric disorders.

  9. Social Functioning in Youth with Anxiety Disorders: Association with Anxiety Severity and Outcomes from Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Settipani, Cara A.; Kendall, Philip C.

    2013-01-01

    Social functioning was assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist and Teacher Report Form for children with anxiety disorders who participated in a randomized clinical trial (N = 161, aged 7-14). Significant relationships were found between severity of children's principal anxiety disorder and most measures of social functioning, such that poorer…

  10. Social interaction anxiety and personality traits predicting engagement in health risk sexual behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahm-Knigge, Ryan L; Prince, Mark A; Conner, Bradley T

    2018-06-01

    Individuals with social interaction anxiety, a facet of social anxiety disorder, withdraw from or avoid social encounters and generally avoid risks. However, a subset engages in health risk sexual behavior (HRSB). Because sensation seeking, emotion dysregulation, and impulsivity predict engagement in HRSB among adolescents and young adults, the present study hypothesized that latent classes of social interaction anxiety and these personality traits would differentially predict likelihood of engagement in HRSB. Finite mixture modeling was used to discern four classes: two low social interaction anxiety classes distinguished by facets of emotion dysregulation, positive urgency, and negative urgency (Low SIAS High Urgency and Low SIAS Low Urgency) and two high social interaction anxiety classes distinguished by positive urgency, negative urgency, risk seeking, and facets of emotion dysregulation (High SIAS High Urgency and High SIAS Low Urgency). HRSB were entered into the model as auxiliary distal outcomes. Of importance to this study were findings that the High SIAS High Urgency class was more likely to engage in most identified HRSB than the High SIAS Low Urgency class. This study extends previous findings on the heterogeneity of social interaction anxiety by identifying the effects of social interaction anxiety and personality on engagement in HRSB. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Individual differences in the ability to recognise facial identity are associated with social anxiety.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joshua M Davis

    Full Text Available Previous research has been concerned with the relationship between social anxiety and the recognition of face expression but the question of whether there is a relationship between social anxiety and the recognition of face identity has been neglected. Here, we report the first evidence that social anxiety is associated with recognition of face identity, across the population range of individual differences in recognition abilities. Results showed poorer face identity recognition (on the Cambridge Face Memory Test was correlated with a small but significant increase in social anxiety (Social Interaction Anxiety Scale but not general anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The correlation was also independent of general visual memory (Cambridge Car Memory Test and IQ. Theoretically, the correlation could arise because correct identification of people, typically achieved via faces, is important for successful social interactions, extending evidence that individuals with clinical-level deficits in face identity recognition (prosopagnosia often report social stress due to their inability to recognise others. Equally, the relationship could arise if social anxiety causes reduced exposure or attention to people's faces, and thus to poor development of face recognition mechanisms.

  12. The Role of Family for Youth Friendships: Examining a Social Anxiety Mechanism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mak, Hio Wa; Fosco, Gregory M; Feinberg, Mark E

    2018-02-01

    The quality of family relationships and youth friendships are intricately linked. Previous studies have examined different mechanisms of family-peer linkage, but few have examined social anxiety. The present study examined whether parental rejection and family climate predicted changes in youth social anxiety, which in turn predicted changes in friendship quality and loneliness. Possible bidirectional associations also were examined. Data for mothers, fathers, and youth (M age at Time 1 = 11.27; 52.3% were female) from 687 two-parent households over three time points are presented. Results from autoregressive, cross-lagged analyses revealed that father rejection (not mother rejection or family climate) at Time 1 (Fall of 6th Grade) predicted increased youth social anxiety at Time 2 (Spring of 7th Grade), which in turn, predicted increased loneliness at Time 3 (Spring of 8th Grade). The indirect effect of father rejection on loneliness was statistically significant. Mother rejection, father rejection, and a poor family climate were associated with decreased friendship quality and increased loneliness over time. Finally, there was some evidence of transactional associations between father rejection and youth social anxiety as well as between social anxiety and loneliness. This study's findings underscore the important role of fathers in youth social anxiety and subsequent social adjustment.

  13. Relations among loneliness, social anxiety, and problematic Internet use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caplan, Scott E

    2007-04-01

    The model of problematic Internet use advanced and tested in the current study proposes that individuals' psychosocial well-being, along with their beliefs about interpersonal communication (both face-to-face and online) are important cognitive predictors of negative outcomes arising from Internet use. The study examined the extent to which social anxiety explains results previously attributed to loneliness as a predictor of preference for online social interaction and problematic Internet use. The results support the hypothesis that the relationship between loneliness and preference for online social interaction is spurious, and that social anxiety is the confounding variable.

  14. Comorbid Social Anxiety Disorder in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maddox, Brenna B.; White, Susan W.

    2015-01-01

    Social anxiety symptoms are common among cognitively unimpaired youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Few studies have investigated the co-occurrence of social anxiety disorder (SAD) in adults with ASD, although identification may aid access to effective treatments and inform our scientific efforts to parse heterogeneity. In this preliminary…

  15. Incorporating Social Anxiety Into a Model of College Problem Drinking: Replication and Extension

    OpenAIRE

    Ham, Lindsay S.; Hope, Debra A.

    2006-01-01

    Although research has found an association between social anxiety and alcohol use in noncollege samples, results have been mixed for college samples. College students face many novel social situations in which they may drink to reduce social anxiety. In the current study, the authors tested a model of college problem drinking, incorporating social anxiety and related psychosocial variables among 228 undergraduate volunteers. According to structural equation modeling (SEM) results, social anxi...

  16. A study of poor insight in social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vigne, Paula; de Menezes, Gabriela B; Harrison, Ben J; Fontenelle, Leonardo F

    2014-11-30

    We investigated levels of insight among patients with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) as compared to patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and evaluated whether levels of insight in SAD were related to specific sociodemographic and/or clinical features. Thirty-seven SAD patients and 51 OCD patients attending a tertiary obsessive-compulsive and anxiety disorders clinic were assessed with a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire, a structured diagnostic interview, the Brown Assessment of Beliefs Scale (BABS), the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), and the Treatment Adherence Survey-patient version (TAS-P). According to the BABS, SAD patients exhibited insight levels that were as low as those exhibited by OCD patients, with up to 29.7% of them being described as "poor insight" SAD. Although poor insight SAD patients were more frequently married, less depressed and displayed a statistical trend towards greater rates of early drop-out from cognitive-behavioral therapy, their insight levels were not associated with other variables of interest, including sex, age, employment, age at onset, duration of illness, associated psychiatric disorders, SPIN and SDS scores. Patients with poor insight SAD might perceive their symptoms as being less distressful and thus report fewer depressive symptoms and high rates of treatment non-adherence. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. The relationship between social support and the level of anxiety, depression, and quality of life of Turkish women with gynecologic cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinar, Gul; Okdem, Seyda; Buyukgonenc, Lale; Ayhan, Ali

    2012-01-01

    Anxiety and depression are among the most common psychosocial problems with gynecologic cancer patients. In this respect, "social support" has become a key tool in the patients' coping with the aforementioned risk factors as an important contributor to their well-being. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between social support and the level of anxiety, depression, and quality of life of Turkish women with gynecologic cancer. In a hospital in Turkey, 187 women with a diagnosis of gynecologic cancer comprised a convenience sample and completed 4 study instruments in a cross-sectional design. Statistically significant correlations among type of perceived social support, quality of life, anxiety, and depression (P social support was associated with increased quality of life, it was also associated with reduced anxiety and depression rates. Our study showed that the type of perceived social support by the patients with cancer had significant effect on depression, anxiety, and quality of life. Social support is a powerful tool that can mediate the effects of difficult life stressors and decrease the incidence of mood disorders, and, therefore, greater importance should be attached to it in the realm of cancer treatment. Supported by the collaborative efforts of family members and healthcare professionals, cancer patients will more easily cope with the drawbacks of their state.

  18. College Adjustment of First Year Students: The Role of Social Anxiety

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruseno Arjanggi

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to analyze the correlation between social anxiety and college adjustment. 436 undergraduate psychology students of five universities in Central Java were involved in this study. All respondents completed a questionnaire about student adjustment to college, and social anxiety scale. Canonical correlation was conducted to analyze the data. The result showed that fear of negative evaluation correlates with academic and personal-emotional adjustment, but not with social adjustment and institutional adjustment, while social avoidance and distress correlate with all of the dependent variables. This study suggests about the role of social anxiety to college adjustment. These findings investigate further discussion about appropriate intervention to address adjustment problems among college students.

  19. Social anxiety under load: the effects of perceptual load in processing emotional faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soares, Sandra C; Rocha, Marta; Neiva, Tiago; Rodrigues, Paulo; Silva, Carlos F

    2015-01-01

    Previous studies in the social anxiety arena have shown an impaired attentional control system, similar to that found in trait anxiety. However, the effect of task demands on social anxiety in socially threatening stimuli, such as angry faces, remains unseen. In the present study, 54 university students scoring high and low in the Social Interaction and Performance Anxiety and Avoidance Scale (SIPAAS) questionnaire, participated in a target letter discrimination task while task-irrelevant face stimuli (angry, disgust, happy, and neutral) were simultaneously presented. The results showed that high (compared to low) socially anxious individuals were more prone to distraction by task-irrelevant stimuli, particularly under high perceptual load conditions. More importantly, for such individuals, the accuracy proportions for angry faces significantly differed between the low and high perceptual load conditions, which is discussed in light of current evolutionary models of social anxiety.

  20. Time-course of attentional bias for positive social words in individuals with high and low social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Hongyu; Li, Songwei; Qian, Mingyi; Yang, Peng; Wang, Xiaoling; Lin, Muyu; Yao, Nisha

    2014-07-01

    Although accumulating research demonstrates the association between attentional bias and social anxiety, the bias for positive stimuli has so far not been adequately studied. The aim is to investigate the time-course of attentional bias for positive social words in participants with high and low social anxiety. In a modified dot-probe task, word-pairs of neutral and positive social words were randomly presented for 100, 500, and 1250 milliseconds in a nonclinical sample of students to test their attentional bias. Non-significant interaction of Group × Exposure Duration was found. However, there was a significant main effect of group, with significantly different response latencies between the high social anxiety (HSA) and low social anxiety (LSA) groups in the 100 ms condition, without for 500 or 1250 ms. With respect to attentional bias, the LSA group showed enhanced preferential attention for positive social words to which the HSA group showed avoidance in the 100 ms condition. In the 500 ms condition, preferential attention to positive social words was at trend in the LSA group, relative to the HSA group. Neither group showed attentional bias in the 1250 ms condition. These findings extend recent research about the attention training program and add to the empirical literature suggesting that the initial avoidance of positive stimuli may contribute to maintaining social anxiety.

  1. Social exclusion intensifies anxiety-like behavior in adolescent rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hyunchan; Noh, Jihyun

    2015-05-01

    Social connection reduces the physiological reactivity to stressors, while social exclusion causes emotional distress. Stressful experiences in rats result in the facilitation of aversive memory and induction of anxiety. To determine the effect of social interaction, such as social connection, social exclusion and equality or inequality, on emotional change in adolescent distressed rats, the emotional alteration induced by restraint stress in individual rats following exposure to various social interaction circumstances was examined. Rats were assigned to one of the following groups: all freely moving rats, all rats restrained, rats restrained in the presence of freely moving rats and freely moving rats with a restrained rat. No significant difference in fear-memory and sucrose consumption between all groups was found. Change in body weight significantly increased in freely moving rats with a restrained rat, suggesting that those rats seems to share the stressful experience of the restrained rat. Interestingly, examination of the anxiety-like behavior revealed only rats restrained in the presence of freely moving rats to have a significant increase, suggesting that emotional distress intensifies in positions of social exclusion. These results demonstrate that unequally excluded social interaction circumstances could cause the amplification of distressed status and anxiety-related emotional alteration. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Submitting to defeat: social anxiety, dominance threat, and decrements in testosterone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maner, Jon K; Miller, Saul L; Schmidt, Norman B; Eckel, Lisa A

    2008-08-01

    Although theory suggests a link between social anxiety and social dominance, direct empirical evidence for this link is limited. The present experiment tested the hypothesis that socially anxious individuals, particularly men, would respond to a social-dominance threat by exhibiting decrements in their testosterone levels, an endocrinological change that typically reflects pronounced social submission in humans and other animals. Participants were randomly assigned to either win or lose a rigged face-to-face competition with a confederate. Although no zero-order relationship between social anxiety and level of testosterone was observed, testosterone levels showed a pronounced drop among socially anxious men who lost the competition. No significant changes were observed in nonanxious men or in women. This research provides novel insight into the nature and consequences of social anxiety, and also illustrates the utility of integrating social psychological theory with endocrinological approaches to psychological science.

  3. A study on the reliability and validity of Leary's social anxiety scale

    OpenAIRE

    岡林, 尚子; 生和, 秀敏

    1992-01-01

    The Interaction and Audience Anxiousness Scale (I-AA scale) drawn up by Leary is a measure of subjective social anxiety. This is a 27-item scale that is composed of two sub-scales, interaction anxiety scale and audience anxiety scale. Leary has hypothesized that higher interaction anxiety could be observed in the condition of continget social setting and audience anxiety might be sensitive in the condition of no contingent situation. The purpose of this study was to examin the factorial s...

  4. Social Anxiety in Online and Real-Life Interaction and Their Associated Factors

    OpenAIRE

    Yen, Ju-Yu; Yen, Cheng-Fang; Chen, Cheng-Sheng; Wang, Peng-Wei; Chang, Yi-Hsin; Ko, Chih-Hung

    2012-01-01

    Social anxiety was compared between online and real-life interaction in a sample of 2,348 college students. Severity of social anxiety in both real-life and online interaction was tested for associations with depression, Internet addiction, Internet activity type (gaming versus chatting), and scores on Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS)/Behavioral Activation System (BAS) scales. The results showed that social anxiety was lower when interacting online than when interacting offline. Depression,...

  5. An Examination of the MASC Social Anxiety Scale in a Non-referred sample of Adolescents

    OpenAIRE

    Anderson, Emily R.; Jordan, Judith A.; Smith, Ashley J.; Inderbitzen-Nolan, Heidi M.

    2009-01-01

    Social phobia is prevalent during adolescence and is associated with negative outcomes. Two self-report instruments are empirically-validated to specifically assess social phobia symptomatology in youth: the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children and the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents. The Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children is a broad-band measure of anxiety containing a scale assessing the social phobia construct. The present study investigated the MASC Social Anxiet...

  6. Testing questionnaires “Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale” and “Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale” (short version

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irina V. Grigorieva

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Social anxiety has a negative impact on individual’s daily life and disturbs his or hers social adaptation. Socially anxious people are often lonely, have difficulties in meeting new people and communicating with others. Social anxiety can also be a serious obstacle to professional growth and career development, can interfere with obtaining new skills and knowledge. Severe social anxiety is often associated with a variety of disorders, including depression, alcohol and drug addiction, eating disorders. However, social anxiety has a high prevalence among population. In this regard, it is becoming increasingly important to diagnose social anxiety. Therefore, the aim of our study was the validation of two questionnaires measuring social anxiety “Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale“ and “Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale“. The validation was conducted on 179 people (65 men and 114 women, aged from 18 to 35 years. “Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale“ measures the degree of anxiety and a tendency to avoidance occurring in various social situations: situations of social interaction and performance situations. «Fear of negative evaluation (brief version» measures the central construct underlying social anxiety - the fear of negative evaluation. As a result of factor analysis of the data it is demonstrated, that “Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale“ has three-factor structure. Single-factor structure of the «Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale» is confirmed. It is shown that all the subscale “Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale“ and “Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (brief version“ has good internal consistency, high test-retest reliability and external validity.

  7. Comparing a Yoga Class with a Resistance Exercise Class: Effects on Body Satisfaction and Social Physique Anxiety in University Women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gammage, Kimberley L; Drouin, Breanne; Lamarche, Larkin

    2016-11-01

    The current study compared a single yoga group exercise class and a resistance group exercise class for their effects on state body satisfaction and social physique anxiety in women. A pretest-posttest design was used. Participants (N = 46) completed both a resistance exercise class and yoga class in a counterbalanced order. Measures of body satisfaction and social physique anxiety were completed immediately before and after each class. A 2 (time) × 2 (class type) repeatedmeasures multiple analysis of variance showed a significant overall Time × Class Type interaction (F 2,44 = 5.69, P class. After both classes, there was a significant decrease in social physique anxiety, but the magnitude of the change was larger after the yoga class than after the resistance class. Both types of exercise class were associated with improvements in body image, but there were greater improvements after the yoga class. This study provided evidence of the positive effects of yoga for reducing state social physique anxiety and increasing state body satisfaction, adding to correlational evidence suggesting that yoga is particularly beneficial for improving body image-related outcomes in women.

  8. Attentional bias and drinking to cope with social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrigan, Maureen H; Drobes, David J; Randall, Carrie L

    2004-12-01

    This study investigated the sensitivity of the emotional Stroop test for identifying individuals who reported drinking to cope with social fears. Community volunteers completed a modified Stroop task during which social threat, alcohol-related, and control words were presented. High scores on drinking-to-cope measures were hypothesized to be associated with longer response latencies to both social threat and alcohol-related words. Consistent with previous studies, alcohol dependence was correlated with latencies for alcohol-related words, and level of social anxiety was correlated with response latency to social threat words. As expected, drinking-to-cope measures predicted response latency to alcohol-related and social threat words. These results suggest that the emotional Stroop test is useful in studying the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol consumption. Copyright 2005 APA.

  9. Social anxiety and disordered eating: The influence of stress reactivity and self-esteem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciarma, Jessica Lyn; Mathew, Jaya Miriam

    2017-08-01

    While previous research indicates a strong link between social anxiety and disordered eating, more research is needed in order to understand the mechanisms that underlie this relationship. Given that stress is often implicated in disordered eating, it was hypothesised that ones reaction to stress (i.e. stress reactivity) would mediate the relationship between social anxiety and disordered eating. Similarly, given that low self-esteem is commonly reported in both those with social anxiety and eating disorders, it was hypothesised that self-esteem would also mediate the relationship between social anxiety and disordered eating. In order to test this, an online survey measuring social anxiety, disordered eating, stress reactivity and self-esteem, was administered to 282 participants in the community, aged between 18 and 35years. Results showed that self-esteem and a reactivity to stress during social conflict - but not during negative social evaluations - partially mediated the relationship between social anxiety and disordered eating. These findings demonstrate that low self-esteem and interpersonal conflict are powerful mechanisms that can maintain eating disorder psychopathology in those who are socially anxious. This highlights the importance of ensuring that these mechanisms are sufficiently addressed in eating disorder prevention and treatment programs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Social anxiety in high-functioning children and adolescents with Autism and Asperger syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuusikko, Sanna; Pollock-Wurman, Rachel; Jussila, Katja; Carter, Alice S; Mattila, Marja-Leena; Ebeling, Hanna; Pauls, David L; Moilanen, Irma

    2008-10-01

    We examined social anxiety and internalizing symptoms using the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C), the Social Anxiety Scale for Children -Revised (SASC-R), and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) in a sample of fifty-four high-functioning subjects with autism or Asperger syndrome (HFA/AS) (M = 11.2 +/- 1.7 years) and 305 community subjects (M = 12.2 +/- 2.2 years). Children and adolescents completed the SPAI-C and SASC-R, and their parents completed the CBCL Internalizing scale. Adolescents with HFA/AS scored higher than the community sample on all measures. Behavioural avoidance and evaluative social anxiety increased by age within the HFA/AS group, whereas behavioural avoidance decreased by age in control participants. Data support that HFA/AS in adolescents may be associated with clinically relevant social anxiety symptoms.

  11. Social anxiety and alcohol-related sexual victimization: A longitudinal pilot study of college women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schry, Amie R; Maddox, Brenna B; White, Susan W

    2016-10-01

    We sought to examine social anxiety as a risk factor for alcohol-related sexual victimization among college women. Women (Time 1: n = 574; Time 2: n = 88) who reported consuming alcohol at least once during the assessment timeframe participated. Social anxiety, alcohol use, alcohol-related consequences, and sexual victimization were assessed twice, approximately two months apart. Logistic regressions were used to examine social anxiety as a risk factor for alcohol-related sexual victimization at both time points. Longitudinally, women high in social anxiety were approximately three times more likely to endorse unwanted alcohol-related sexual experiences compared to women with low to moderate social anxiety. This study suggests social anxiety, a modifiable construct, increases risk for alcohol-related sexual victimization among college women. Implications for clinicians and risk-reduction program developers are discussed. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  12. Parameters for screening music performance anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbar, Ana E; Crippa, José A; Osório, Flávia L

    2014-09-01

    To assess the discriminative capacity of the Kenny Music Performance Anxiety Inventory (K-MPAI), in its version adapted for Brazil, in a sample of 230 Brazilian adult musicians. The Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) was used to assess the presence of social anxiety indicators, adopting it as the gold standard. The Mann-Whitney U test and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used for statistical analysis, with p ≤ 0.05 set as the significance level. Subjects with social anxiety indicators exhibited higher mean total K-MPAI scores, as well as higher individual scores on 62% of its items. The area under the ROC curve was 0.734 (p = 0.001), and considered appropriate. Within the possible cutoff scores presented, the score -15 had the best balance of sensitivity and specificity values. However, the score -7 had greater specificity and accuracy. The K-MPAI showed appropriate discriminant validity, with a marked association between music performance anxiety and social anxiety. The cutoff scores presented in the study have both clinical and research value, allowing screening for music performance anxiety and identification of possible cases.

  13. The importance of perceived care and connectedness with friends and parents for adolescent social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Zalk, Nejra; Van Zalk, Maarten

    2015-06-01

    Nonclinical social anxiety in adolescence can be highly problematic, as it likely affects current and especially new social interactions. Relationships with significant others, such as close friends, mothers, and fathers, could aid socially anxious adolescents' participation in social situations, thereby helping reduce feelings of social anxiety. We examined whether making friends as well as high friendship quality help reduce social anxiety over time, and whether friends', mothers', and fathers' care interact in reducing social anxiety. Using longitudinal data from 2,194 participants in a social network (48% girls; Mage  = 13.58) followed for 3 years, we estimated friendship selection and influence processes via a continuous time-modeling approach using SIENA. We controlled for the effects of depressive symptoms, self-esteem, gender, age, and family structure. Our findings suggest that perceived care by friends mediated the effect of making friends on social anxiety. Perceptions of mother and father, as well as friend care and connectedness, respectively, did not interact in decreasing social anxiety. Nonetheless, care and connectedness with mothers, fathers, and friends jointly predicted decreases in social anxiety. Caring relationships with friends and parents each play a role in mutually protecting early adolescents against increasing in social anxiety over time. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  14. The social gradient in oral health: Is there a role for dental anxiety?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernabé, Eduardo; Humphris, Gerry; Freeman, Ruth

    2017-08-01

    To evaluate the contribution of dental anxiety to social gradients in different oral health outcomes and whether social gradients in oral health persist once dental anxiety is removed from the population examined. Data from 9035 British adults were analysed. Participants' socioeconomic position (SEP) was measured through education and household income. Dental anxiety was measured with the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale. Poor subjective oral health, oral impacts on quality of life and edentulism among all adults and the number of teeth, the number of decayed, missing and filled surfaces (DMFS) and sextants with pocketing among dentate adults were the oral health outcomes. The contribution of dental anxiety to absolute and relative social inequalities in each oral health outcome (measured with the Slope and Relative Index of Inequality [SII and RII], respectively) was estimated from regression models without and with adjustment for dental anxiety and quantified with the percentage attenuation. Interactions between each SEP indicator and dental anxiety were used to test what would happen if dental anxiety were removed from the whole population. The largest contribution of dental anxiety to explaining oral health inequalities was found for education gradients in perceived outcomes (11%-13%), but dental anxiety explained social gradients in edentulism. Among dentate adults, dental anxiety accounted for anxiety-free adults but were significant at higher levels of dental anxiety. Little support was found for the role of dental anxiety in explaining social inequalities in various perceived and clinical oral health measures. Oral health inequalities were found among both nondentally anxious and anxious participants. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Social Anxiety Under Load: The Effects of Perceptual Load in Processing Emotional Faces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Cristina Soares

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Previous studies in the social anxiety arena have shown an impaired attentional control system, similar to that found in trait anxiety. However, the effect of task demands on social anxiety in socially threatening stimuli, such as angry faces, remains unseen. In the present study, fifty-four university students scoring high and low in the Social Interaction and Performance Anxiety and Avoidance Scale (SIPAAS questionnaire, participated in a target letter discrimination task while task-irrelevant face stimuli (angry, disgust, happy, and neutral were simultaneously presented. The results showed that high (compared to low socially anxious individuals were more prone to distraction by task-irrelevant stimuli, particularly under high perceptual load conditions. More importantly, for such individuals, the accuracy proportions for angry faces significantly differed between the low and high perceptual load conditions, which is discussed in light of current evolutionary models of social anxiety.

  16. Alexithymia, emotion processing and social anxiety in adults with ADHD

    OpenAIRE

    Edel, M-A; Rudel, A; Hubert, C; Scheele, D; Brüne, M; Juckel, G; Assion, H-J

    2010-01-01

    Abstract Objective Given sparse research on the issue, this study sought to shed light upon the interactions of alexithymia, emotion processing, and social anxiety in adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Subjects and methods 73 German adults with ADHD according to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria participated. We used the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) to assess alexithymia, the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) to assess different...

  17. "Build Your Social Confidence": A Social Anxiety Group for College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Damer, Diana E.; Latimer, Kelsey M.; Porter, Sarah H.

    2010-01-01

    Social anxiety, a common concern among college students, carries significant negative consequences. Group therapy is an efficient and cost-effective way to provide treatment, and cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBGT; Heimberg & Becker, 2002) is the most widely researched and empirically supported treatment for persons with social anxiety…

  18. Low implicit self-esteem and dysfunctional automatic associations in social anxiety disorder

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Glashouwer, K.A.; Vroling, M.S.; Jong, P.J. de; Lange, W.G.; Keijser, J. de

    2013-01-01

    Background and Objectives Negative automatic associations towards the self and social cues are assumed to play an important role in social anxiety disorder. We tested whether social anxiety disorder patients (n = 45) showed stronger dysfunctional automatic associations than non-clinical controls (n

  19. Low implicit self-esteem and dysfunctional automatic associations in social anxiety disorder

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Glashouwer, Klaske A.; Vroling, Maartje S.; de Jong, Peter J.; Lange, Wolf-Gero; de Keijser, Jos

    Background and Objectives: Negative automatic associations towards the self and social cues are assumed to play an-important role in social anxiety disorder. We tested whether social anxiety disorder patients (n = 45) showed stronger dysfunctional automatic associations than non-clinical controls (n

  20. Social Anxiety in High-Functioning Children and Adolescents with Autism and Asperger Syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuusikko, Sanna; Pollock-Wurman, Rachel; Jussila, Katja; Carter, Alice S.; Mattila, Marja-Leena; Ebeling, Hanna; Pauls, David L.; Moilanen, Irma

    2008-01-01

    We examined social anxiety and internalizing symptoms using the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C), the Social Anxiety Scale for Children -Revised (SASC-R), and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) in a sample of fifty-four high-functioning subjects with autism or Asperger syndrome (HFA/AS) (M = 11.2 plus or minus 1.7 years)…

  1. Predicting anxious response to a social challenge: the predictive utility of the social interaction anxiety scale and the social phobia scale in a college population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gore, K L; Carter, M M; Parker, S

    2002-06-01

    Trait anxiety is believed to be a hierarchical construct composed of several lower-order factors (Adv. Behav. Res. Therapy, 15 (1993) 147; J. Anxiety Disorders, 9 (1995) 163). Assessment devices such as the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, the Social Phobia Scale (SIAS and SPS; Behav. Res. Therapy, 36 (4) (1998) 455), and the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI; Behav. Res. Therapy, 24 (1986) 1) are good measures of the presumably separate lower-order factors. This study compared the effectiveness of the SIAS, SPS, ASI-physical scale and STAI-T (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press (1970)) as predictors of anxious response to a social challenge (asking an aloof confederate out on a date). Consistent with the hierarchical model of anxiety, the measures of trait anxiety were moderately correlated with each other and each was a significant predictor of anxious response. The specific measures of trait social anxiety were slightly better predictors of anxious response to the social challenge than was either the ASI-physical scale or the STAI-T. The results provide evidence of the predictive validity of these social trait measures and some support for their specificity in the prediction of anxious response to a social challenge.

  2. Latent dimensions of social anxiety disorder: A re-evaluation of the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell-Sills, Laura; Espejo, Emmanuel; Ayers, Catherine R; Roy-Byrne, Peter; Stein, Murray B

    2015-12-01

    The Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN; Connor et al., 2000) is a well-validated instrument for assessing severity of social anxiety disorder (SAD). However, evaluations of its factor structure have produced inconsistent results and this aspect of the scale requires further study. Primary care patients with SAD (N=397) completed the SPIN as part of baseline assessment for the Coordinated Anxiety Learning and Management study (Roy-Byrne et al., 2010). These data were used for exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of the SPIN. A 3-factor model provided the best fit for the data and factors were interpreted as Fear of Negative Evaluation, Fear of Physical Symptoms, and Fear of Uncertainty in Social Situations. Tests of a second-order model showed that the three factors loaded strongly on a single higher-order factor that was labeled Social Anxiety. Findings are consistent with theories identifying Fear of Negative Evaluation as the core feature of SAD, and with evidence that anxiety sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty further contribute to SAD severity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Taijin kyofusho and social anxiety and their clinical relevance in indonesia and Switzerland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vriends, N; Pfaltz, M C; Novianti, P; Hadiyono, J

    2013-01-01

    Taijin Kyofusho Scale (TKS) is an interpersonal fear to offend others and is defined by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) as a culturally bound syndrome that occurs in Japan and Korea. Recently, cases with TKS have also been recognized in other cultures. The present questionnaire study investigated self-report TKS symptoms and social anxiety symptoms, and their clinical relevance in an Indonesian and Swiss sample. It also investigated whether self-construal is associated with TKS and social anxiety, and if self-construal is a mediator of the expected association between cultural background and social anxiety and TKS symptoms. 311 Indonesian and 349 Swiss university students filled out the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, the Taijin Kyofusho Scale, the Self-Construal Scale, self-report social phobia DSM-IV criteria, and rated their wish for professional help to deal with social fears. TKS and social anxiety symptoms were higher in the Indonesian than the Swiss sample. TKS symptoms were associated with clinical relevance in Indonesia, whereas in Switzerland only social anxiety symptoms were associated with clinical relevance. Independent self-construal was negatively associated and interdependent self-construal was positively associated with TKS and social anxiety symptoms. Interdependent self-construal mediated the association between cultural background and these symptoms. TKS might be a clinically relevant syndrome in all individuals or cultures with an interdependent self-construal or less independent self-construal. The proposal to include the fear of offending others in the DSM-V criteria of social phobia is supported by the present findings.

  4. Taijin Kyofusho and Social Anxiety and their clinical relevance in Indonesia and Switzerland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noortje eVriends

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Background: Taijin Kyofusho (TKS is an interpersonal fear to offend others and is defined by DSM-IV as a culturally bound syndrome that occurs in Japan and Korea. Recently, cases with TKS have also been recognized in other cultures. The present questionnaire study investigated self-report TKS symptoms and social anxiety symptoms, and their clinical relevance in an Indonesian and Swiss sample. It also investigated if self-construal is associated with TKS and social anxiety, and if self-construal is a mediator of the expected association between cultural background and social anxiety and TKS symptoms. Method: 311 Indonesian and 349 Swiss university students filled out the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, the Taijin Kyofusho Scale, the Self-Construal Scale, self-report social phobia DSM-IV criteria, and rated their wish for professional help to deal with social fears.Results: TKS and social anxiety symptoms were higher in the Indonesian than the Swiss sample. TKS symptoms were associated with clinical relevance in Indonesia, whereas in Switzerland only social anxiety symptoms were associated with clinical relevance. Independent self-construal was negatively associated and interdependent self-construal was positively associated with TKS and social anxiety symptoms. Interdependent self-construal mediated the association between cultural background and these symptoms.Discussion: TKS might be a clinically relevant syndrome in all individuals or cultures with an interdependent self-construal or less independent self-construal. The proposal to include the fear of offending others in the DSM-V criteria of social phobia is supported by the present findings.

  5. Dissociation of social and nonsocial anxiety in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome

    OpenAIRE

    Liu, Zhong-Hua; Smith, Carolyn Beebe

    2009-01-01

    Anxiety is a common symptom in fragile X patients. However, an anxiety-prone phenotype in mouse models of fragile X syndrome is not clear. In most studies of fmr1 knockout mice, decreased anxiety-like responses in exploratory-based models are found, but mice also exhibit abnormal social interactions. We hypothesize the coexistence of elevated social anxiety and reduced nonsocial anxiety in fmr1 knockout mice. In the present study, we applied an automated three-chambered social approach method...

  6. Ethanol intake under social circumstances or alone in sprague-dawley rats: impact of age, sex, social activity, and social anxiety-like behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varlinskaya, Elena I; Truxell, Eric M; Spear, Linda P

    2015-01-01

    In human adolescents, heavy drinking is often predicted by high sociability in males and high social anxiety in females. This study assessed the impact of baseline levels of social activity and social anxiety-like behavior in group-housed adolescent and adult male and female Sprague-Dawley rats on ethanol (EtOH) intake when drinking alone or in a social group. Social activity and anxiety-like behavior initially were assessed in a modified social interaction test, followed by 6 drinking sessions that occurred every other day in animals given ad libitum food and water. Sessions consisted of 30-minute access to 10% EtOH in a "supersac" (3% sucrose + 0.1% saccharin) solution given alone as well as in groups of 5 same-sex littermates, with order of the alternating session types counterbalanced across animals. Adolescent males and adults of both sexes overall consumed more EtOH under social than alone circumstances, whereas adolescent females ingested more EtOH when alone. Highly socially active adolescent males demonstrated elevated levels of EtOH intake relative to their low and medium socially active counterparts when drinking in groups, but not when tested alone. Adolescent females with high levels of social anxiety-like behavior demonstrated the highest EtOH intake under social, but not alone circumstances. Among adults, baseline levels of social anxiety-like behavior did not contribute to individual differences in EtOH intake in either sex. The results clearly demonstrate that in adolescent rats, but not their adult counterparts, responsiveness to a social peer predicts EtOH intake in a social setting-circumstances under which drinking typically occurs in human adolescents. High levels of social activity in males and high levels of social anxiety-like behavior in females were associated with elevated social drinking, suggesting that males ingest EtOH for its socially enhancing properties, whereas females ingest EtOH for its socially anxiolytic effects. Copyright

  7. Depression and social anxiety in children: Differential links with coping strategies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wright, M.; Banerjee, R.; Hoek, W.; Rieffe, C.J.; Novin Farahbakhsh, S.

    2010-01-01

    Strategies that children use for coping with stressors are known to be related to emotional adjustment, but not enough is understood about specific links with social anxiety and depression. The present investigation tested differentiated associations of social anxiety and depression with specific

  8. Adolescents with anxiety and depression: is social recovery relevant?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simonds, Laura M; Pons, Rebecca A; Stone, Nicola J; Warren, Fiona; John, Mary

    2014-01-01

    Social recovery has become a prominent aspect of mental health service design and delivery in the past decade. Much of the literature on social recovery is derived from first-person accounts or primary research with adult service users experiencing severe mental illness. There is a lack of both theoretical and empirical work that could inform consideration of how the concept of social recovery might apply to adolescents experiencing common (non-psychotic) mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. The current study was conducted to understand the process of experiencing anxiety and depression in young people. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine adolescents with anxiety and depression (seven girls and two boys aged 14-16 years) and 12 mothers who were recruited from a specialist Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service in the South of England. Thematic analysis indicated that young people do experience a process of 'recovery'; the processes participants described have some congruence with the earlier stages of adult recovery models involving biographical disruption and the development of new meanings, in this case of anxiety or depression, and changes in sense of identity. The accounts diverge with regard to later stages of adult models involving the development of hope and responsibility. The findings suggest that services should attend to social isolation and emphasise support for positive aspirations for future selves whilst also attending to young people's and parents' expectations about change. Methodological challenges face enquiry about 'recovery' given its connotations with cure in everyday language. Theoretical and empirical work on social recovery in young people and families is lacking. Using interviews, this study sought to understand the relevance of social recovery for adolescents with anxiety and depression and their mothers. Findings suggest some congruence with the earlier stages of adult recovery models involving

  9. Avoidant personality disorder in individuals with generalized social anxiety disorder: what does it add?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marques, Luana; Porter, Eliora; Keshaviah, Aparna; Pollack, Mark H; Van Ameringen, Michael; Stein, Murray B; Simon, Naomi M

    2012-08-01

    Avoidant personality disorder (AvPD) has a high level of symptom overlap and comorbidity with generalized social anxiety disorder (GSAD). We examined whether the presence of comorbid AvPD adds significant clinically relevant information for individuals seeking treatment for GSAD. Results suggested that AvPD was significantly associated with poorer quality of life and greater disability in univariate, but not multivariate analyses. Endorsement of more AvPD symptoms was associated with increased disability, increased risk of intimacy, and lower social support, even after covariate adjustment. Specifically, AvPD item 3, hard to be "open" even with people you are close to, was most strongly correlated with quality of life and disability. A binary diagnosis of AvPD alone adds little beyond a marker of greater GSAD severity and depression among patients with GSAD, while a specific feature of AvPD not captured by the GSAD diagnosis, namely emotional guardedness, may be associated with greater impairment. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  10. Brief Cognitive Behavior Therapy in Patients with Social Anxiety Disorder: A Preliminary Investigation

    OpenAIRE

    Pinjarkar, Ravikant G; Sudhir, Paulomi M; Math, Suresh Bada

    2015-01-01

    Context: Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is the treatment of choice in anxiety disorders. However, there is little evidence for the effectiveness brief CBT in social anxiety. Aims: We examined the effectiveness of a brief CBT of six sessions in patients with social anxiety disorder. Settings and Design: A single case design study baseline; post and 1 month follow-up was adopted. Materials and Methods: Seven patients with a DSM IV diagnosis of social anxiety underwent 6 weekly sessions of bri...

  11. Social anxiety disorder in the Chinese military: prevalence, comorbidities, impairment, and treatment-seeking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Huaning; Zhang, Ruiguo; Chen, Yunchun; Wang, Huaihai; Zhang, Yahong; Gan, Jingli; Zhang, Liyi; Tan, Qingrong

    2014-12-30

    The objective of this work is To investigate the prevalence, comorbidities, impairment, and treatment-seeking of social anxiety disorder in the Chinese military personnel. Military personnel (n=11,527) were surveyed from May to August 2007 using a multistage whole cohort probability sampling method. A Chinese version of the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) was used for assessment, and a military-related socio-demographic questionnaire was used to describe the prevalence distribution. A unified survey was performed to investigate 11 different social situations. The short-form health survey was used to assess role impairment. The 12-month and lifetime prevalence rates of social anxiety disorder were 3.34% (95% CI: 3.25-3.42%) and 6.22% (95% CI: 6.11-6.32%), respectively. Social anxiety disorder was associated with increased odds of depression, substance abuse, panic attacks/disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. Childhood foster, female, stressful life events, younger age, and being divorced/widowed increase the incidence of social anxiety disorder. Treatment-seeking was relatively rare. Social anxiety disorder is a common disorder in military personnel in China, and it is a risk factor for subsequent depressive illness, substance abuse and other mental disorder. Early detection and treatment of social anxiety disorder are important because of the low rate of treatment-seeking. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Predictors of social anxiety in an opioid dependent sample and a control sample

    OpenAIRE

    Shand, Fiona L.; Degenhardt, Louisa; Nelson, Elliot C.; Mattick, Richard P.

    2010-01-01

    Compared to other mental health problems, social anxiety is under-acknowledged amongst opioid dependent populations. This study aimed to assess levels of social anxiety and identify its predictors in an opioid dependent sample and a matched control group. Opioid dependent participants (n = 1385) and controls (n = 417) completed the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS), the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and a diagnostic interview. Regression analyses were used to test a range of predictors of s...

  13. Anxiety and autonomic response to social-affective stimuli in individuals with Williams syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Rowena; Bellugi, Ursula; Järvinen, Anna

    2016-12-01

    Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic condition characterized by an unusual "hypersocial" personality juxtaposed by high anxiety. Recent evidence suggests that autonomic reactivity to affective face stimuli is disorganised in WS, which may contribute to emotion dysregulation and/or social disinhibition. Electrodermal activity (EDA) and mean interbeat interval (IBI) of 25 participants with WS (19 - 57 years old) and 16 typically developing (TD; 17-43 years old) adults were measured during a passive presentation of affective face and voice stimuli. The Beck Anxiety Inventory was administered to examine associations between autonomic reactivity to social-affective stimuli and anxiety symptomatology. The WS group was characterized by higher overall anxiety symptomatology, and poorer anger recognition in social visual and aural stimuli relative to the TD group. No between-group differences emerged in autonomic response patterns. Notably, for participants with WS, increased anxiety was uniquely associated with diminished arousal to angry faces and voices. In contrast, for the TD group, no associations emerged between anxiety and physiological responsivity to social-emotional stimuli. The anxiety associated with WS appears to be intimately related to reduced autonomic arousal to angry social stimuli, which may also be linked to the characteristic social disinhibition. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  14. The role of empathy in experiencing vicarious anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shu, Jocelyn; Hassell, Samuel; Weber, Jochen; Ochsner, Kevin N; Mobbs, Dean

    2017-08-01

    With depictions of others facing threats common in the media, the experience of vicarious anxiety may be prevalent in the general population. However, the phenomenon of vicarious anxiety-the experience of anxiety in response to observing others expressing anxiety-and the interpersonal mechanisms underlying it have not been fully investigated in prior research. In 4 studies, we investigate the role of empathy in experiencing vicarious anxiety, using film clips depicting target victims facing threats. In Studies 1 and 2, trait emotional empathy was associated with greater self-reported anxiety when observing target victims, and with perceiving greater anxiety to be experienced by the targets. Study 3 extended these findings by demonstrating that trait empathic concern-the tendency to feel concern and compassion for others-was associated with experiencing vicarious anxiety, whereas trait personal distress-the tendency to experience distress in stressful situations-was not. Study 4 manipulated state empathy to establish a causal relationship between empathy and experience of vicarious anxiety. Participants who took an empathic perspective when observing target victims, as compared to those who took an objective perspective using reappraisal-based strategies, reported experiencing greater anxiety, risk-aversion, and sleep disruption the following night. These results highlight the impact of one's social environment on experiencing anxiety, particularly for those who are highly empathic. In addition, these findings have implications for extending basic models of anxiety to incorporate interpersonal processes, understanding the role of empathy in social learning, and potential applications for therapeutic contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  15. Rejection Sensitivity Mediates the Relationship between Social Anxiety and Body Dysmorphic Concerns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Angela; Asnaani, Anu; Gutner, Cassidy; Cook, Courtney; Wilhelm, Sabine; Hofmann, Stefan G.

    2011-01-01

    The goal of this study was to examine the role of rejection sensitivity in the relationship between social anxiety and body dysmorphic concerns. To test our hypothesis that rejection sensitivity mediates the link between social anxiety and body dysmorphic concerns, we administered self-report questionnaires to 209 student volunteers. Consistent with our prediction, rejection sensitivity partially mediated the relationship between social anxiety symptoms and body dysmorphic concerns. The implications of the overlap between these constructs are discussed. PMID:21741203

  16. Emotional Intelligence Construct; a Missing Link in Explanation of Social Physique Anxiety

    OpenAIRE

    Mohammad Abbaszadeh; Marzieh Mokhtari

    2014-01-01

    Introduction In contemporary society, the mass media emphasizes the importance of physical appearance and provides unattainable standards of beauty which may lead to mental health and social problems for people, especially young women. Social physique anxiety is one of these mental disorders which can occur as the result of these social pressures. This anxiety arises when a person thinks that his or her body is evaluated negatively. Various issues may happen because of anxiety, so trying t...

  17. Becoming the center of attention in social anxiety disorder: startle reactivity to a virtual audience during speech anticipation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cornwell, Brian R; Heller, Randi; Biggs, Arter; Pine, Daniel S; Grillon, Christian

    2011-07-01

    A detailed understanding of how individuals diagnosed with social anxiety disorder (SAD) respond physiologically under social-evaluative threat is lacking. Our aim was to isolate the specific components of public speaking that trigger fear in vulnerable individuals and best discriminate between SAD and healthy individuals. Sixteen individuals diagnosed with SAD (DSM-IV-TR criteria) and 16 healthy individuals were enrolled in the study from December 2005 to March 2008. Subjects were asked to prepare and deliver a short speech in a virtual reality (VR) environment. The VR environment simulated standing center stage before a live audience and allowed us to gradually introduce social cues during speech anticipation. Startle eye-blink responses were elicited periodically by white noise bursts presented during anticipation, speech delivery, and recovery in VR, as well as outside VR during an initial habituation phase, and startle reactivity was measured by electromyography. Subjects rated their distress at 4 timepoints in VR using a 0-10 scale, with anchors being "not distressed" to "highly distressed." State anxiety was measured before and after VR with the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Individuals with SAD reported greater distress and state anxiety than healthy individuals across the entire procedure (P values attention toward participants (P attention as speech time approached. Potentiated startle under social-evaluative threat indexes SAD-related fear of negative evaluation. © Copyright 2011 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

  18. Internet-Based Attention Bias Modification for Social Anxiety: A Randomised Controlled Comparison of Training towards Negative and Training Towards Positive Cues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boettcher, Johanna; Leek, Linda; Matson, Lisa; Holmes, Emily A.; Browning, Michael; MacLeod, Colin; Andersson, Gerhard; Carlbring, Per

    2013-01-01

    Biases in attention processes are thought to play a crucial role in the aetiology and maintenance of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). The goal of the present study was to examine the efficacy of a programme intended to train attention towards positive cues and a programme intended to train attention towards negative cues. In a randomised, controlled, double-blind design, the impact of these two training conditions on both selective attention and social anxiety were compared to that of a control training condition. A modified dot probe task was used, and delivered via the internet. A total of 129 individuals, diagnosed with SAD, were randomly assigned to one of these three conditions and took part in a 14-day programme with daily training/control sessions. Participants in all three groups did not on average display an attentional bias prior to the training. Critically, results on change in attention bias implied that significantly differential change in selective attention to threat was not detected in the three conditions. However, symptoms of social anxiety reduced significantly from pre- to follow-up-assessment in all three conditions (dwithin  = 0.63–1.24), with the procedure intended to train attention towards threat cues producing, relative to the control condition, a significantly greater reduction of social fears. There were no significant differences in social anxiety outcome between the training condition intended to induce attentional bias towards positive cues and the control condition. To our knowledge, this is the first RCT where a condition intended to induce attention bias to negative cues yielded greater emotional benefits than a control condition. Intriguingly, changes in symptoms are unlikely to be by the mechanism of change in attention processes since there was no change detected in bias per se. Implications of this finding for future research on attention bias modification in social anxiety are discussed. Trial Registration Clinical

  19. Internet-based attention bias modification for social anxiety: a randomised controlled comparison of training towards negative and training towards positive cues.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johanna Boettcher

    Full Text Available Biases in attention processes are thought to play a crucial role in the aetiology and maintenance of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD. The goal of the present study was to examine the efficacy of a programme intended to train attention towards positive cues and a programme intended to train attention towards negative cues. In a randomised, controlled, double-blind design, the impact of these two training conditions on both selective attention and social anxiety were compared to that of a control training condition. A modified dot probe task was used, and delivered via the internet. A total of 129 individuals, diagnosed with SAD, were randomly assigned to one of these three conditions and took part in a 14-day programme with daily training/control sessions. Participants in all three groups did not on average display an attentional bias prior to the training. Critically, results on change in attention bias implied that significantly differential change in selective attention to threat was not detected in the three conditions. However, symptoms of social anxiety reduced significantly from pre- to follow-up-assessment in all three conditions (dwithin  = 0.63-1.24, with the procedure intended to train attention towards threat cues producing, relative to the control condition, a significantly greater reduction of social fears. There were no significant differences in social anxiety outcome between the training condition intended to induce attentional bias towards positive cues and the control condition. To our knowledge, this is the first RCT where a condition intended to induce attention bias to negative cues yielded greater emotional benefits than a control condition. Intriguingly, changes in symptoms are unlikely to be by the mechanism of change in attention processes since there was no change detected in bias per se. Implications of this finding for future research on attention bias modification in social anxiety are discussed

  20. Employment barriers, skills, and aspirations among unemployed job seekers with and without social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Himle, Joseph A; Weaver, Addie; Bybee, Deborah; O'Donnell, Lisa; Vlnka, Sarah; Laviolette, Wayne; Steinberger, Edward; Golenberg, Zipora; Levine, Debra Siegel

    2014-07-01

    The literature has consistently demonstrated that social anxiety disorder has substantial negative impacts on occupational functioning. However, to date, no empirical work has focused on understanding the specific nature of vocational problems among persons with social anxiety disorder. This study examined the association between perceived barriers to employment, employment skills, and job aspirations and social anxiety among adults seeking vocational rehabilitation services. Data from intake assessments (June 2010-December 2011) of 265 low-income, unemployed adults who initiated vocational rehabilitation services in urban Michigan were examined to assess perceived barriers to employment, employment skills, job aspirations, and demographic characteristics among participants who did or did not screen positive for social anxiety disorder. Bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed. After adjustment for other factors, the multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that perceiving more employment barriers involving experience and skills, reporting fewer skills related to occupations requiring social skills, and having less education were significantly associated with social anxiety disorder. Participants who screened positive for social anxiety disorder were significantly less likely to aspire to social jobs. Employment-related characteristics that were likely to have an impact on occupational functioning were significantly different between persons with and without social anxiety problems. Identifying these differences in employment barriers, skills, and job aspirations revealed important information for designing psychosocial interventions for treatment of social anxiety disorder. The findings underscored the need for vocational services professionals to assess and address social anxiety among their clients.

  1. Burnout, anxiety, depression, and social skills in medical residents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pereira-Lima, K; Loureiro, S R

    2015-01-01

    The medical residency is recognized as a risk period for the development of burnout and mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression, which have impact on the physician and clientele alike. There is a need for studies that address conditions of risk and protection for the development of such problems. This study aimed to verify the rates of burnout, anxiety, and depression presented by resident physicians, as well as the associations of these problems with social skills, as potential protective factors. The hypothesis was defined that the problems (burnout, anxiety, and depression) would be negatively associated with social skills. A total of 305 medical residents, of both genders, of different specialties, from clinical and surgical areas of a Brazilian university hospital were evaluated using the following standardized self-report instruments: Burnout Syndrome Inventory, Social Skills Inventory, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-4. High rates of burnout and mental health problems were verified and social skills were negatively associated with burnout dimensions such as emotional exhaustion, emotional detachment, and dehumanization, but positively associated with personal accomplishment. Furthermore, residents with indicators of problems presented significantly lower social skills means than those of residents without indicators of burnout, anxiety, or depression. More studies are needed, which include other types of instruments in addition to self-report ones and evaluate not only social skills but also social competence in the professional practice. These should adopt intervention and longitudinal designs that allow the continuity or overcoming of the problems to be verified. Since social skills can be learned, the results of the study highlight the importance of developing the interpersonal skills of the professionals during the training of resident physicians in order to improve their practice.

  2. Social Skills as a Mediator between Anxiety Symptoms and Peer Interactions among Children and Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Motoca, Luci M.; Williams, Sandra; Silverman, Wendy K.

    2012-01-01

    Objective The present study used a cross-sectional design to examine the relations among youth anxiety symptoms, positive and negative peer interactions, and social skills. Also examined was the mediating role of social skills in the relations between youth anxiety symptoms and positive and negative peer interactions. Youth sex and age were examined as moderators. Method The sample consisted of 397 children and adolescents (M = 10.11 years; 53.4% boys; 74.8% Hispanic Latino) referred to an anxiety disorders clinic. Anxiety symptoms, positive and negative peer interactions, and social skills were assessed using youth and parent ratings. Results Structural equation modeling results indicated that for youth ratings only, youth anxiety symptoms were negatively related to positive peer interactions controlling for primary social phobia and comorbid depressive disorders. For both youth and parent ratings, youth anxiety symptoms were positively related to negative peer interactions and negatively related to social skills. Also for both youth and parent ratings, social skills mediated the relations between youth anxiety symptoms and positive and negative peer interactions. For parent ratings only, the effects of youth anxiety symptoms and social skills on peer interactions were significantly moderated by youth age. Youth sex was not a significant moderator using youth and parent ratings. Conclusions Findings suggest difficulties with social skills and peer interactions are problematic features of youth referred for anxiety problems. Findings highlight the need to improve understanding of anxiety symptoms, social skills, and peer interactions in this population. PMID:22471319

  3. Social skills as a mediator between anxiety symptoms and peer interactions among children and adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Motoca, Luci M; Williams, Sandra; Silverman, Wendy K

    2012-01-01

    The present study used a cross-sectional design to examine the relations among youth anxiety symptoms, positive and negative peer interactions, and social skills. Also examined was the mediating role of social skills in the relations between youth anxiety symptoms and positive and negative peer interactions. Youth sex and age were examined as moderators. The sample consisted of 397 children and adolescents (M = 10.11 years; 53.4% boys; 74.8% Hispanic Latino) referred to an anxiety disorders clinic. Anxiety symptoms, positive and negative peer interactions, and social skills were assessed using youth and parent ratings. Structural equation modeling results indicated that for youth ratings only, youth anxiety symptoms were negatively related to positive peer interactions controlling for primary social phobia and comorbid depressive disorders. For both youth and parent ratings, youth anxiety symptoms were positively related to negative peer interactions and negatively related to social skills. Also for both youth and parent ratings, social skills mediated the relations between youth anxiety symptoms and positive and negative peer interactions. For parent ratings only, the effects of youth anxiety symptoms and social skills on peer interactions were significantly moderated by youth age. Youth sex was not a significant moderator using youth and parent ratings. Findings suggest that difficulties with social skills and peer interactions are problematic features of youth referred for anxiety problems. Findings highlight the need to improve understanding of anxiety symptoms, social skills, and peer interactions in this population.

  4. The Dutch Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and the Social Phobia Scale: Reliability, Validity, and Clinical Utility

    OpenAIRE

    de Beurs, Edwin; Tielen, Deirdre; Wollmann, Lisa

    2014-01-01

    The social interaction anxiety scale (SIAS) and the social phobia scale (SPS) assess anxiety in social interactions and fear of scrutiny by others. This study examines the psychometric properties of the Dutch versions of the SIAS and SPS using data from a large group of patients with social phobia and a community-based sample. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the SIAS is unidimensional, whereas the SPS is comprised of three subscales. The internal consistency of the scales and subsc...

  5. A weighty issue: explaining the association between body mass index and appearance-based social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Titchener, Kristen; Wong, Quincy J J

    2015-01-01

    Research has indicated that individuals who are overweight or obese are more likely to experience mental health difficulties. One line of research has indicated that body mass index (BMI) is positively associated with appearance-based social anxiety, rather than social anxiety more generally. However, there is a lack of research that has attempted to explain this association. Thus, the current study recruited an undergraduate sample (N=90) and aimed (a) to replicate previous research by examining the associations between BMI, social anxiety, and appearance-based social anxiety and (b) to extend previous research by examining two potential mediators in the relationship between BMI and appearance-based social anxiety suggested in the literature (i.e., body image dissatisfaction and emotional eating). Analyses indicated that BMI was not associated with social anxiety but positively associated with appearance-based social anxiety. The association between BMI and appearance-based social anxiety was only mediated by body image dissatisfaction, and the model of these relationships emerged as the best fitting model relative to a plausible alternative model. The findings replicate and extend previous research on weight status and psychological factors and highlight the need for future longitudinal research on BMI, appearance-based social anxiety, and body image dissatisfaction so that interventions for obesity and weight loss maintenance programs can be ultimately enhanced. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Social anxiety and negative early life events in university students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Binelli, Cynthia; Ortiz, Ana; Muñiz, Armando; Gelabert, Estel; Ferraz, Liliana; S Filho, Alaor; Crippa, José Alexandre S; Nardi, Antonio E; Subirà, Susana; Martín-Santos, Rocío

    2012-06-01

    There is substantial evidence regarding the impact of negative life events during childhood on the aetiology of psychiatric disorders. We examined the association between negative early life events and social anxiety in a sample of 571 Spanish University students. In a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2007, we collected data through a semistructured questionnaire of sociodemographic variables, personal and family psychiatric history, and substance abuse. We assessed the five early negative life events: (i) the loss of someone close, (ii) emotional abuse, (iii) physical abuse, (iv) family violence, and (v) sexual abuse. All participants completed the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale. Mean (SD) age was 21 (4.5), 75% female, LSAS score was 40 (DP = 22), 14.2% had a psychiatric family history and 50.6% had negative life events during childhood. Linear regression analyses, after controlling for age, gender, and family psychiatric history, showed a positive association between family violence and social score (p = 0.03). None of the remaining stressors produced a significant increase in LSAS score (p > 0.05). University students with high levels of social anxiety presented higher prevalence of negative early life events. Thus, childhood family violence could be a risk factor for social anxiety in such a population.

  7. Tranio Transformed: Social Anxieties and Social Metamorphosis in The Taming of the Shrew

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sonya L. Brockman

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The article discusses Elizabethan anxieties about the increasing fluidity of social status through an examination of the servant Tranio in Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. It argues that Tranio’s informed and willing participation in this social performance embodies the anxieties about social mobility held by members of the Elizabethan elite. In contrast to other figures of social metamorphosis in the play, Tranio’s social transformation is temporary, even though, like Christopher Sly, he is transformed into a gentleman at the behest of his Lord. He must return to his servile status in the final act, however, not only because he can so successfully perform the role of master, but because he knowingly participates in his own social metamorphosis. The article suggests, in conclusion, that it is the servant’s knowledge of his own performative power that makes him a threat in Elizabethan society. 

  8. Situation-based social anxiety enhances the neural processing of faces: evidence from an intergroup context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ofan, Renana H.; Rubin, Nava

    2014-01-01

    Social anxiety is the intense fear of negative evaluation by others, and it emerges uniquely from a social situation. Given its social origin, we asked whether an anxiety-inducing social situation could enhance the processing of faces linked to the situational threat. While past research has focused on how individual differences in social anxiety relate to face processing, we tested the effect of manipulated social anxiety in the context of anxiety about appearing racially prejudiced in front of a peer. Visual processing of faces was indexed by the N170 component of the event-related potential. Participants viewed faces of Black and White males, along with nonfaces, either in private or while being monitored by the experimenter for signs of prejudice in a ‘public’ condition. Results revealed a difference in the N170 response to Black and Whites faces that emerged only in the public condition and only among participants high in dispositional social anxiety. These results provide new evidence that anxiety arising from the social situation modulates the earliest stages of face processing in a way that is specific to a social threat, and they shed new light on how anxiety effects on perception may contribute to the regulation of intergroup responses. PMID:23709354

  9. Media multitasking is associated with symptoms of depression and social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becker, Mark W; Alzahabi, Reem; Hopwood, Christopher J

    2013-02-01

    We investigated whether multitasking with media was a unique predictor of depression and social anxiety symptoms. Participants (N=318) completed measures of their media use, personality characteristics, depression, and social anxiety. Regression analyses revealed that increased media multitasking was associated with higher depression and social anxiety symptoms, even after controlling for overall media use and the personality traits of neuroticism and extraversion. The unique association between media multitasking and these measures of psychosocial dysfunction suggests that the growing trend of multitasking with media may represent a unique risk factor for mental health problems related to mood and anxiety. Further, the results strongly suggest that future research investigating the impact of media use on mental health needs to consider the role that multitasking with media plays in the relationship.

  10. The direct and indirect benefits of dispositional mindfulness on self-esteem and social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rasmussen, Michael K; Pidgeon, Aileen M

    2011-03-01

    The current study investigated relationships between dispositional mindfulness, self-esteem, and social anxiety using self-report measures. Correlational data were collected from 205 Australian undergraduate students who completed the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS). Mindfulness significantly predicted high levels of self-esteem and low levels of social anxiety. Mediation analysis supported the role of self-esteem as a partial mediator between mindfulness and social anxiety. Clinical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

  11. Socializing Anxiety through Narrative: A Case Study

    OpenAIRE

    Capps, Lisa

    1996-01-01

    paper examines the socialization of anxiety based interactions between an agoraphobic woman daughter, who has been diagnosed with separation characterized by irrational fear of panic, feelings of situations outside the home. Although children of developing anxiety, little is known about the storytelling interactions in the Logan family suggest in the children as I) Meg portrays herself or others as protagonists helpless in a world spinning out of control; 2) the children re- mom...

  12. On the context dependency of implicit self-esteem in social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hiller, Thomas S; Steffens, Melanie C; Ritter, Viktoria; Stangier, Ulrich

    2017-12-01

    Cognitive models assume that negative self-evaluations are automatically activated in individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) during social situations, increasing their individual level of anxiety. This study examined automatic self-evaluations (i.e., implicit self-esteem) and state anxiety in a group of individuals with SAD (n = 45) and a non-clinical comparison group (NC; n = 46). Participants were randomly assigned to either a speech condition with social threat induction (giving an impromptu speech) or to a no-speech condition without social threat induction. We measured implicit self-esteem with an Implicit Association Test (IAT). Implicit self-esteem differed significantly between SAD and NC groups under the speech condition but not under the no-speech condition. The SAD group showed lower implicit self-esteem than the NC group under the speech-condition. State anxiety was significantly higher under the speech condition than under the no-speech condition in the SAD group but not in the NC group. Mediation analyses supported the idea that for the SAD group, the effect of experimental condition on state anxiety was mediated by implicit self-esteem. The causal relation between implicit self-esteem and state anxiety could not be determined. The findings corroborate hypotheses derived from cognitive models of SAD: Automatic self-evaluations were negatively biased in individuals with SAD facing social threat and showed an inverse relationship to levels of state anxiety. However, automatic self-evaluations in individuals with SAD can be unbiased (similar to NC) in situations without social threat. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Vicarious learning of children's social-anxiety-related fear beliefs and emotional Stroop bias.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Askew, Chris; Hagel, Anna; Morgan, Julie

    2015-08-01

    Models of social anxiety suggest that negative social experiences contribute to the development of social anxiety, and this is supported by self-report research. However, there is relatively little experimental evidence for the effects of learning experiences on social cognitions. The current study examined the effect of observing a social performance situation with a negative outcome on children's (8 to 11 years old) fear-related beliefs and cognitive processing. Two groups of children were each shown 1 of 2 animated films of a person trying to score in basketball while being observed by others; in 1 film, the outcome was negative, and in the other, it was neutral. Children's fear-related beliefs about performing in front of others were measured before and after the film and children were asked to complete an emotional Stroop task. Results showed that social fear beliefs increased for children who saw the negative social performance film. In addition, these children showed an emotional Stroop bias for social-anxiety-related words compared to children who saw the neutral film. The findings have implications for our understanding of social anxiety disorder and suggest that vicarious learning experiences in childhood may contribute to the development of social anxiety. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  14. Pre-treatment Social Anxiety Severity Moderates the Impact of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and Aerobic Exercise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jazaieri, Hooria; Lee, Ihno A.; Goldin, Philippe R.; Gross, James J.

    2015-01-01

    We examined whether social anxiety severity at pre-treatment would moderate the impact of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) or Aerobic Exercise (AE) for generalized social anxiety disorder. MBSR and AE produced equivalent reductions in weekly social anxiety symptoms. Improvements were moderated by pre-treatment social anxiety severity. PMID:25684277

  15. [Effects of Group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Social Anxiety Disorders].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yu-Chen; Meng, Ya-Jing; Yuan, Min-Lan; Zhu, Hong-Ru; Ren, Zheng-Jia; Qiu, Chang-Jian; Zhang, Wei

    2017-11-01

    To evaluate the effect of group cognitive behavioral therapy (GCBT) on social anxiety disorders (SAD). A total of 50 patients with SAD were recruited in this study. A survey containing the Liebowitz social anxiety scale (LSAS),the automatic thoughts questionnaire (ATQ),the fear of negative evaluation questionnaire (FNE),the social support rating scale (SSRS),the tridimensional personality questionnaire (TPQ),and the egna minnen barndoms uppfostran (EMBU) was administered before and (one week) after the GCBT,including in the 50 healthy controls. About 21 patients completed the eight-week GCBT (once a week,2 h a session). Follow-up surveys were conducted on 40 patients (22 patients treated with GCBT and 18 untreated) over a 1-5 year period. Significant differences were found between the SAD patients and healthy controls in thinking mode,personality characteristics,social support,parental rearing styles,and social anxiety symptoms. Significant decrease in social anxiety symptom ( t =4.06, P =0.000) , negative automatic thoughts ( t =4.58, P =0.000) and fear for rejection ( t =3.85, P =0.000) were observed after the GCBT therapy. Such improvement was positively correlated with subjective social support ( r =0.361, P =0.022) ,and negatively correlated with rejection of father ( r =-0.431, P =0.005) . There was also statistical difference between the patients with and without the GCBT therapy ( P =0.033) . GCBT treatment can relieve SAD symptoms by changing the negative cognitive of SAD patients. Social support and rejection of father affects the prognosis of SAD.

  16. The Focus of Intervention for Adolescent Social Anxiety: Communication Skills or Self-Esteem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowles, Terence V.

    2017-01-01

    Social skills training is a long-standing intervention for adolescents with social anxiety, while self-esteem is often ignored. However, there is little evidence suggesting that those with social anxiety require social skills training or interventions associated with self-esteem. The aim of the research was to investigate whether social skills and…

  17. Evaluation of the psychometric properties of two short forms of the social interaction anxiety scale and the social phobia scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Le Blanc, Allura L; Bruce, Laura C; Heimberg, Richard G; Hope, Debra A; Blanco, Carlos; Schneier, Franklin R; Liebowitz, Michael R

    2014-06-01

    The Social Interaction Anxiety Scale and Social Phobia Scale are widely used measures of social anxiety. Using data from individuals with social anxiety disorder (n = 435) and nonanxious controls (n = 86), we assessed the psychometric properties of two independently developed short forms of these scales. Indices of convergent and discriminant validity, diagnostic specificity, sensitivity to treatment, and readability were examined. Comparisons of the two sets of short forms to each other and the original long forms were conducted. Both sets of scales demonstrated adequate internal consistency in the patient sample, showed expected patterns of correlation with measures of related and unrelated constructs, adequately discriminated individuals with social anxiety disorder from those without, and showed decreases in scores over the course of cognitive-behavioral therapy and/or pharmacotherapy. However, some significant differences in scale performance were noted. Implications for the clinical assessment of social anxiety are discussed. © The Author(s) 2014.

  18. Individual Day-to-Day Process of Social Anxiety in Vulnerable College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Cynthia G.; Bierman, Karen L.; Molenaar, Peter C. M.

    2016-01-01

    Transitions requiring the creation of new social networks may be challenging for individuals vulnerable to social anxiety, which may hinder successful adjustment. Using person-specific methodology, this study examined social anxiety in vulnerable university freshman away from home during their first semester of college to understand how day-to-day…

  19. Influence of alcohol on social anxiety: an investigation of attentional, physiological and behavioral effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevens, Stephan; Cludius, Barbara; Bantin, Trisha; Hermann, Christiane; Gerlach, Alexander L

    2014-02-01

    Social anxiety disorder and alcohol use disorders are highly comorbid. It remains unclear, however, if and how alcohol influences attentional processes and physical symptoms in social anxiety. In a balanced-placebo-design, high and normally socially anxious participants gave a speech while performing a task, which simultaneously measures internal and external attention. Only high anxious participants showed a preferential processing of external probes, which was eliminated by alcohol or the mere expectation of drinking alcohol. Furthermore, alcohol reduced facial blushing as well as self-reported social anxiety during public speaking. Decreases in anxiety were significantly associated with a reduction of the external focus in the high anxious group. Understanding alcohol as a substance influencing cognitive processes as well as physiological symptoms of anxiety further contributes to our understanding of alcohol use as a safety behavior in social anxiety disorder. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Depression and Social Anxiety in Children: Differential Links with Coping Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, Mark; Banerjee, Robin; Hoek, Willemijn; Rieffe, Carolien; Novin, Sheida

    2010-01-01

    Strategies that children use for coping with stressors are known to be related to emotional adjustment, but not enough is understood about specific links with social anxiety and depression. The present investigation tested differentiated associations of social anxiety and depression with specific types of coping strategies, and evaluated the…

  1. Verbal Ability, Social Stress, and Anxiety in Children with Autistic Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lanni, Kimberly E.; Schupp, Clayton W.; Simon, David; Corbett, Blythe A.

    2012-01-01

    The aims of this study were to evaluate the physiological stress and anxiety responses in children with autism following completion of a standardized, social-evaluative stressor (Trier Social Stress Test-Child version), document the relationship between verbal ability, stress, and anxiety, and determine the association between stress and anxiety…

  2. Factor solutions of the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) in a Swedish population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mörtberg, Ewa; Reuterskiöld, Lena; Tillfors, Maria; Furmark, Tomas; Öst, Lars-Göran

    2017-06-01

    Culturally validated rating scales for social anxiety disorder (SAD) are of significant importance when screening for the disorder, as well as for evaluating treatment efficacy. This study examined construct validity and additional psychometric properties of two commonly used scales, the Social Phobia Scale and the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, in a clinical SAD population (n = 180) and in a normal population (n = 614) in Sweden. Confirmatory factor analyses of previously reported factor solutions were tested but did not reveal acceptable fit. Exploratory factor analyses (EFA) of the joint structure of the scales in the total population yielded a two-factor model (performance anxiety and social interaction anxiety), whereas EFA in the clinical sample revealed a three-factor solution, a social interaction anxiety factor and two performance anxiety factors. The SPS and SIAS showed good to excellent internal consistency, and discriminated well between patients with SAD and a normal population sample. Both scales showed good convergent validity with an established measure of SAD, whereas the discriminant validity of symptoms of social anxiety and depression could not be confirmed. The optimal cut-off score for SPS and SIAS were 18 and 22 points, respectively. It is concluded that the factor structure and the additional psychometric properties of SPS and SIAS support the use of the scales for assessment in a Swedish population.

  3. A meta-analysis and scoping review of social cognition performance in social phobia, posttraumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plana, India; Lavoie, Marie-Audrey; Battaglia, Marco; Achim, Amélie M

    2014-03-01

    Social cognition deficits are observed in a variety of psychiatric illnesses. However, data concerning anxiety disorders are sparse and difficult to interpret. This meta-analysis aims at determining if social cognition is affected in social phobia (SP) or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared to non-clinical controls and the specificity of such deficits relatively to other anxiety disorders. The scoping review aims to identify research gaps in the field. Forty studies assessing mentalizing, emotion recognition, social perception/knowledge or attributional style in anxiety disorders were included, totalizing 1417 anxious patients and 1321 non-clinical controls. Results indicate distinct patterns of social cognition impairments: people with PTSD show deficits in mentalizing (effect size d = -1.13) and emotion recognition (d = -1.6) while other anxiety disorders including SP showed attributional biases (d = -0.53 to d = -1.15). The scoping review identified several under investigated domains of social cognition in anxiety disorders. Some recommendations are expressed for future studies to explore the full range of social cognition in anxiety disorders and allow direct comparisons between different disorders. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Psychotherapy in the overall management strategy for social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shear, M K; Beidel, D C

    1998-01-01

    Cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBTs) are effective treatments for social anxiety disorder/social phobia. Although a variety of procedures are included under the term cognitive-behavioral treatment, it is, however, clear that the key factor influencing treatment outcome for social anxiety disorder is exposure to feared situations. Two formalized CBT programs are cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBGT) and social effectiveness training (SET). They both involve exposure, but differ in that CBGT focuses on correction of cognitive errors, whereas SET uses social skills training in addition to exposure to feared social situations. CBGT is more efficacious than a psychological placebo and has shown efficacy comparable to that of phenelzine in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. The onset of effect of phenelzine was more rapid, whereas the effect of CBGT was more sustained. The major component of SET, imaginal and/or in vivo exposure, has been demonstrated to be more effective than pill placebo or the beta-blocker atenolol. Many questions remain regarding CBT strategies and their place in the overall management of patients with social anxiety disorder. Depending upon the particular patient profile, various combinations of drug and/or CBT may prove to be the optimal treatment strategy.

  5. Social anxiety in the general population: introducing abbreviated versions of SIAS and SPS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kupper, Nina; Denollet, Johan

    2012-01-01

    Social anxiety is characterized by the experience of stress, discomfort and fear in social situations, and is associated with substantial personal and societal burden. Two questionnaires exist that assess the aspects of social anxiety, i.e. social interaction anxiety (SIAS) and social phobia (SPS). There is no agreement in literature on the dimensionality of social anxiety. Further, the length of a questionnaire may negatively affect response rates and participation at follow-up occasions. To explore the structure of social anxiety in the general population, and to examine psychosocial and sociodemographic correlates. Our second aim was to construct abbreviated versions of SIAS and SPS that can be easily used and with minimal burden. A total of 1598 adults from the general Dutch population completed a survey asking information on social anxiety, mood and demographics. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses as well as reliability analysis with item-total statistics were performed. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a 3-factor structure for social phobia, and a 2-factor structure for the SIAS, with the second factor containing both reversely scored items. The abbreviated versions of SPS (11 items) and SIAS (10 items) show excellent discriminant and construct validity (Cronbach's α=.90 and .92), while specificity analysis showed that gender, marital status and educational level (SIAS(10): pSIAS, reducing the questionnaire burden for participants in epidemiological and biobehavioral research. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Social Anxiety Predicts Aggression in Children with ASD: Clinical Comparisons with Socially Anxious and Oppositional Youth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pugliese, Cara E.; White, Bradley A.; White, Susan W.; Ollendick, Thomas H.

    2013-01-01

    The present study examined the degree to which social anxiety predicts aggression in children with high functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASD, n = 20) compared to children with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD, n = 20) or with Oppositional Defiant Disorder or Conduct Disorder (ODD/CD, n = 20). As predicted, children with HFASD reported levels…

  7. Fear of eyes: triadic relation among social anxiety, trypophobia, and discomfort for eye cluster.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaya, Kengo; Xue, Yuting; Uto, Yusuke; Yao, Qirui; Yamada, Yuki

    2016-01-01

    Imagine you are being gazed at by multiple individuals simultaneously. Is the provoked anxiety a learned social-specific response or related to a pathological disorder known as trypophobia? A previous study revealed that spectral properties of images induced aversive reactions in observers with trypophobia. However, it is not clear whether individual differences such as social anxiety traits are related to the discomfort associated with trypophobic images. To investigate this issue, we conducted two experiments with social anxiety and trypophobia and images of eyes and faces. In Experiment 1, participants completed a social anxiety scale and trypophobia questionnaire before evaluation of the discomfort experienced upon exposure to pictures of eye. The results showed that social anxiety had a significant indirect effect on the discomfort associated with the eye clusters, and that the effect was mediated by trypophobia. Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1 using images of human face. The results showed that, as in Experiment 1, a significant mediation effect of trypophobia was obtained, although the relationship between social anxiety and the discomfort rating was stronger than in Experiment 1. Our findings suggest that both social anxiety and trypophobia contribute to the induction of discomfort when one is gazed at by many people.

  8. Fear of eyes: triadic relation among social anxiety, trypophobia, and discomfort for eye cluster

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kengo Chaya

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Imagine you are being gazed at by multiple individuals simultaneously. Is the provoked anxiety a learned social-specific response or related to a pathological disorder known as trypophobia? A previous study revealed that spectral properties of images induced aversive reactions in observers with trypophobia. However, it is not clear whether individual differences such as social anxiety traits are related to the discomfort associated with trypophobic images. To investigate this issue, we conducted two experiments with social anxiety and trypophobia and images of eyes and faces. In Experiment 1, participants completed a social anxiety scale and trypophobia questionnaire before evaluation of the discomfort experienced upon exposure to pictures of eye. The results showed that social anxiety had a significant indirect effect on the discomfort associated with the eye clusters, and that the effect was mediated by trypophobia. Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1 using images of human face. The results showed that, as in Experiment 1, a significant mediation effect of trypophobia was obtained, although the relationship between social anxiety and the discomfort rating was stronger than in Experiment 1. Our findings suggest that both social anxiety and trypophobia contribute to the induction of discomfort when one is gazed at by many people.

  9. Evaluating a Web-Based Social Anxiety Intervention Among University Students: Randomized Controlled Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCall, Hugh Cameron; Richardson, Chris G; Helgadottir, Fjola Dogg; Chen, Frances S

    2018-03-21

    Treatment rates for social anxiety, a prevalent and potentially debilitating condition, remain among the lowest of all major mental disorders today. Although computer-delivered interventions are well poised to surmount key barriers to the treatment of social anxiety, most are only marginally effective when delivered as stand-alone treatments. A new, Web-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention called Overcome Social Anxiety was recently created to address the limitations of prior computer-delivered interventions. Users of Overcome Social Anxiety are self-directed through various CBT modules incorporating cognitive restructuring and behavioral experiments. The intervention is personalized to each user's symptoms, and automatic email reminders and time limits are used to encourage adherence. The purpose of this study was to conduct a randomized controlled trial to investigate the effectiveness of Overcome Social Anxiety in reducing social anxiety symptoms in a nonclinical sample of university students. As a secondary aim, we also investigated whether Overcome Social Anxiety would increase life satisfaction in this sample. Following eligibility screening, participants were randomly assigned to a treatment condition or a wait-list control condition. Only those assigned to the treatment condition were given access to Overcome Social Anxiety; they were asked to complete the program within 4 months. The social interaction anxiety scale (SIAS), the fear of negative evaluation scale (FNE), and the quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction questionnaire-short form (Q-LES-Q-SF) were administered to participants from both conditions during baseline and 4-month follow-up lab visits. Over the course of the study, participants assigned to the treatment condition experienced a significant reduction in social anxiety (SIAS: Psocial anxiety in the 2 conditions over the course of the study showed that those assigned to the treatment condition experienced significantly

  10. Social anxiety symptoms and suicidal ideation in a clinical sample of early adolescents: examining loneliness and social support as longitudinal mediators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, Michelle; Prinstein, Mitchell J; Simon, Valerie; Spirito, Anthony

    2014-08-01

    Recent research has shown that social anxiety may be related to increased risk for suicidal ideation in teens, although this research largely has been cross-sectional and has not examined potential mediators of this relationship. A clinical sample of 144 early adolescents (72 % female; 12-15 years old) was assessed during psychiatric inpatient hospitalization and followed up at 9 and 18 months post-baseline. Symptoms of social anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, loneliness, and perceived social support were assessed via structured interviews and self-report instruments. Structural equation modeling revealed a significant direct relationship between social anxiety symptoms at baseline and suicidal ideation at 18 months post-baseline, even after controlling for baseline depressive symptoms and ideation. A second multiple mediation model revealed that baseline social anxiety had a significant indirect effect on suicidal ideation at 18 months post-baseline through loneliness at 9 months post-baseline. Social anxiety did not have a significant indirect effect on suicidal ideation through perceived social support from either parents or close friends. Findings suggest that loneliness may be particularly implicated in the relationship between social anxiety and suicidality in teens. Clinicians should assess and address feelings of loneliness when treating socially anxious adolescents.

  11. Paroxetine reduces social anxiety in individuals with a co-occurring alcohol use disorder

    OpenAIRE

    Book, Sarah W.; Thomas, Suzanne E.; Randall, Patrick K.; Randall, Carrie L.

    2007-01-01

    Patients with social anxiety disorder who are seen in clinical practice commonly have additional psychiatric comorbidity, including alcohol use disorders. The first line treatment for social anxiety disorder is selective-serotonin-reuptake-inhibitors (SSRIs), such as paroxetine. However, the efficacy of SSRIs has been determined with studies that excluded alcoholics. Forty two subjects with social anxiety and a co-occurring alcohol use disorder participated in a 16-week, double-blind, placebo...

  12. Parameters for screening music performance anxiety

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana E. Barbar

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To assess the discriminative capacity of the Kenny Music Performance Anxiety Inventory (K-MPAI, in its version adapted for Brazil, in a sample of 230 Brazilian adult musicians. Method: The Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN was used to assess the presence of social anxiety indicators, adopting it as the gold standard. The Mann-Whitney U test and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC curve were used for statistical analysis, with p ≤ 0.05 set as the significance level. Results: Subjects with social anxiety indicators exhibited higher mean total K-MPAI scores, as well as higher individual scores on 62% of its items. The area under the ROC curve was 0.734 (p = 0.001, and considered appropriate. Within the possible cutoff scores presented, the score -15 had the best balance of sensitivity and specificity values. However, the score -7 had greater specificity and accuracy. Conclusion: The K-MPAI showed appropriate discriminant validity, with a marked association between music performance anxiety and social anxiety. The cutoff scores presented in the study have both clinical and research value, allowing screening for music performance anxiety and identification of possible cases.

  13. Does prior psychotherapy experience affect the course of cognitive-behavioural group therapy for social anxiety disorder?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delsignore, Aba

    2008-08-01

    To examine whether and how different patterns of psychotherapy history (no prior therapy, successful therapy experience, and unsuccessful therapy experience) affect the outcome of future treatment among patients undergoing cognitive-behavioural group therapy for social anxiety disorder. Fifty-seven patients with varying histories of psychotherapy participating in cognitive-behavioural group treatment for social anxiety disorder were included in the study. Symptom severity (including anxiety, depression, self-efficacy, and global symptom severity) was assessed at pre- and posttreatment. A therapist-rated measure of patient therapy engagement was included as a process variable. First-time therapy patients showed more favourable pretreatment variables and achieved greater benefit from group therapy. Among patients with unsuccessful therapy experience, substantial gains were attained by those who were able to actively engage in the therapy process. Patients rating previous therapies as successful could benefit the least and tended to stagnate. Possible explanations for group differences and clinical implications are discussed. Prior psychotherapy experience affects the course of cognitive-behavioural group therapy in patients with social phobias. While patients with negative therapy experience may need extensive support in being and remaining actively engaged, those rating previous therapies as successful should be assessed very carefully and may benefit from a major focus on relational aspects.

  14. Digital Media, Anxiety, and Depression in Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoge, Elizabeth; Bickham, David; Cantor, Joanne

    2017-11-01

    There are growing concerns about the impact of digital technologies on children's emotional well-being, particularly regarding fear, anxiety, and depression. The 2 mental health categories of anxiety and depression will be discussed together because there is significant symptom overlap and comorbidity. Early research has explored the impact of traditional media (eg, television, movies) on children's acute fears, which can result in anxieties and related sleep disturbances that are difficult to remedy. More recent research deals with the interactive nature of newer media, especially social media, and their impacts on anxiety and depression. Key topics of inquiry include the following: anxiety and depression associated with technology-based negative social comparison, anxiety resulting from lack of emotion-regulation skills because of substituted digital media use, social anxiety from avoidance of social interaction because of substituted digital media use, anxiety because of worries about being inadequately connected, and anxiety, depression, and suicide as the result of cyberbullying and related behavior. A growing body of research confirms the relationship between digital media and depression. Although there is evidence that greater electronic media use is associated with depressive symptoms, there is also evidence that the social nature of digital communication may be harnessed in some situations to improve mood and to promote health-enhancing strategies. Much more research is needed to explore these possibilities. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  15. Specificity of peer difficulties to social anxiety in early adolescence: categorical and dimensional analyses with clinical and community samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Early, Martha C; Biggs, Bridget K; Makanui, Kalani P; Legerski, John Paul; Van Allen, Jason; Elledge, Allison R; Whiteside, Stephen P

    2017-11-01

    We investigated the specificity of social difficulties to social anxiety by testing associations of social anxiety and other anxiety presentations with peer acceptance and victimization in community and treatment-seeking samples of adolescents aged 12-14 years. Cross-sectional, quantitative survey. Adolescents from the community (n = 116) and a clinical setting (n = 154) completed ratings of anxiety symptoms, perceived social acceptance, and peer victimization. Their parents also completed ratings of the adolescents' anxiety and social acceptance. Social acceptance was lowest among adolescents with social anxiety disorder (SAD) and lower among adolescents with other anxiety disorders than in the community sample. Anxiety symptoms were negatively correlated with social acceptance, but these associations were not unique to social anxiety symptoms. Girls in the community sample reported more overt victimization than girls with SAD and with other anxiety diagnoses. Relational victimization was associated with social and nonsocial anxiety symptoms only in the community sample. Our findings supplement recent laboratory-based observational studies on social functioning among adolescents with SAD and other anxiety disorders. Although social anxiety may be associated with unique social skill deficits and impairment, concerns about peer relations should also be considered among adolescents with other anxiety symptoms.

  16. Social anxiety and work status: the role of negative metacognitive beliefs, symptom severity and cognitive-behavioural factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nordahl, Henrik; Wells, Adrian

    2017-06-24

    Psychological health has a profound effect on personal and occupational functioning with Social Anxiety Symptoms in particular having a major effect on ability to work. Recent initiatives have focused on treating psychological illness with cognitive-behavioural models with a view to increasing return to work. However, the psychological correlates of work status amongst individuals with elevated mental health symptoms such as social anxiety are under-explored. This study reports a test of unique predictors of work status drawing on variables that have been given centre stage in cognitive-behavioural models and in the metacognitive model of psychological disorder. The sample consisted of high socially anxious individuals who reported to be working (n = 102) or receiving disability benefits (n = 102). A comparison of these groups showed that those out of work and receiving benefits had greater symptom severity, higher avoidance and use of safety behaviours, greater self-consciousness, and elevated negative metacognitive beliefs and beliefs about the need to control thoughts. However, when the covariance's between these variables were controlled, only negative metacognitive beliefs significantly predicted out-of-work status. Our finding might be important because CBT does not focus on metacognitive beliefs, but targets components that in our analysis had no unique predictive value for work status.

  17. College Adjustment of First Year Students: the Role of Social Anxiety

    OpenAIRE

    Luh Putu S. Kusumaningsih, Ruseno Arjanggi

    2016-01-01

    This research aims to analyze the correlation between social anxiety and college adjustment. 436 undergraduate psychology students of five universities in Central Java were involved in this study. All respondents completed a questionnaire about student adjustment to college, and social anxiety scale. Canonical correlation was conducted to analyze the data. The result showed that fear of negative evaluation correlates with academic and personal-emotional adjustment, but not with social adjustm...

  18. Sleep quality predicts treatment outcome in CBT for social anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zalta, Alyson K; Dowd, Sheila; Rosenfield, David; Smits, Jasper A J; Otto, Michael W; Simon, Naomi M; Meuret, Alicia E; Marques, Luana; Hofmann, Stefan G; Pollack, Mark H

    2013-11-01

    Sleep quality may be an important, yet relatively neglected, predictor of treatment outcome in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety disorders. Specifically, poor sleep quality may impair memory consolidation of in-session extinction learning. We therefore examined sleep quality as a predictor of treatment outcome in CBT for social anxiety disorder and the impact of d-cycloserine (DCS) on this relationship. One hundred sixty-nine participants with a primary diagnosis of DSM-IV generalized social anxiety disorder were recruited across three sites. Participants were enrolled in 12 weeks of group CBT. Participants randomly received 50 mg of DCS (n = 87) or pill placebo (n = 82) 1 hr prior to sessions 3-7. Participants completed a baseline measure of self-reported sleep quality and daily diaries recording subjective feelings of being rested upon wakening. Outcome measures including social anxiety symptoms and global severity scores were assessed at each session. Poorer baseline sleep quality was associated with slower improvement and higher posttreatment social anxiety symptom and severity scores. Moreover, patients who felt more "rested" after sleeping the night following a treatment session had lower levels of symptoms and global severity at the next session, controlling for their symptoms and severity scores the previous session. Neither of these effects were moderated by DCS condition. Our findings suggest that poor sleep quality diminishes the effects of CBT for social anxiety disorder and this relation is not attenuated by DCS administration. Therapeutic attention to sleep quality prior to initiation of CBT and during the acute treatment phase may be clinically indicated. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  19. Association between social support, functional status, and change in health-related quality of life and changes in anxiety and depression in colorectal cancer patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez-Saenz de Tejada, M; Bilbao, A; Baré, M; Briones, E; Sarasqueta, C; Quintana, J M; Escobar, A

    2017-09-01

    The aim of this study was to explore the association between baseline social support, functional status, and change in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in colorectal cancer patients and change in anxiety and depression measured by Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) at 1 year after surgery. Consecutive patients who were due to undergo therapeutic surgery for the first time for colon or rectal cancer in 9 hospitals in Spain were eligible for the study. Patients completed the following questionnaires before surgery and 12 months afterward: 1 HRQoL instrument, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionnaire; a social support questionnaire, the Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire; the Barthel Index, to assess functional status; the HADS, to assess anxiety and depression; and questions about sociodemographic information. General linear models were built to explore the association between social support, functional status, and change in HRQoL and changes in anxiety and depression 12 months after surgery. A total of 947 colorectal cancer patients took part in the study. Patients' functional status, social support, and change in HRQoL were associated with changes in anxiety and depression. Greater social support and improvements in physical, cognitive, and social functioning and in insomnia resulted in improvements in anxiety and depression. No functionally independent patients were associated with lesser improvements in anxiety and depression. Colorectal cancer patients who have more social support, are functionally independent and have higher improvements in HRQoL may have better results in anxiety and depression at 1 year after surgery, adjusting for age, gender, location, occupation, and baseline HADS scores. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  20. Cognitive Biases and the Link between Shyness and Social Anxiety in Early Adolescence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weeks, Murray; Ooi, Laura L.; Coplan, Robert J.

    2016-01-01

    Shy children display wariness in unfamiliar social situations and often experience feelings of social anxiety. This study explored the potential mediating role of cognitive biases in the link between shyness and social anxiety in early adolescence. In particular, we focused on judgments of the probability and cost of negative social situations…

  1. Social Anxiety and Alcohol Use across the University Years: Adaptive and Maladaptive Groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brook, Christina A.; Willoughby, Teena

    2016-01-01

    University/college can be a challenging time as students face developmental tasks such as building new social networks and achieving academically. Social anxiety may be disadvantageous in this setting given that social situations often include drinking and individuals with social anxiety tend to self-medicate through alcohol use. However, findings…

  2. Reducing children's social anxiety symptoms: exploring a novel parent-administered cognitive bias modification training intervention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Jennifer Y F; Pettit, Eleanor; Creswell, Cathy

    2013-07-01

    Social fears and worries in children are common and impairing. Yet, questions have been raised over the efficacy, suitability and accessibility of current frontline treatments. Here, we present data on the effectiveness of a novel parent-administered Cognitive Bias Modification of Interpretations (CBM-I) training tool. CBM-I capitalises on findings demonstrating an association between anxiety symptoms and biased interpretations, the tendency to interpret ambiguous situations negatively. Through CBM-I training, participants are exposed to benign resolutions, and reinforced for selecting these. In adults and adolescents, CBM-I training is effective at reducing symptoms and mood reactivity. In the present study, we developed a novel, child-appropriate form of CBM-I training, by presenting training materials within bedtime stories, read by a parent to the child across three consecutive evenings. Compared to a test-retest control group (n = 17), children receiving CBM-I (n = 19) reported greater endorsement of benign interpretations of ambiguous situations post-training (compared to pre-training). These participants (but not the test-retest control group) also showed a significant reduction in social anxiety symptoms. Pending replication and extensions to a clinical sample, these data may implicate a cost-effective, mechanism-driven and developmentally-appropriate resource for targeting social anxiety problems in children. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Differentiating Anxiety and Depression in Relation to the Social Functioning of Young Adolescents With ADHD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becker, Stephen P; Langberg, Joshua M; Evans, Steven W; Girio-Herrera, Erin; Vaughn, Aaron J

    2015-01-01

    The present study examined anxiety and depressive symptoms in relation to the social functioning of young adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and builds upon prior work by incorporating youths' self-reports of internalizing symptoms and examining distinct anxiety and depression dimensions to increase specificity. Participants were 310 young adolescents (ages 10-14; 71% male, 78% Caucasian) diagnosed with ADHD. Youth provided ratings of anxiety/depression, and parents provided ratings of their own depression. Parents and youth both reported on youths' social skills and perceived social acceptance. Path analyses indicated that above and beyond child demographics, ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder symptom severity, and parents' own depression, self-reported social anxiety and anhedonia were both associated with lower youth-reported social skills and both parent- and youth-reported social acceptance. Negative self-evaluation was associated with poorer parent-reported social skills. Finally, harm avoidance was positively associated with both youth- and parent-reported social skills. A path analysis using comorbid diagnoses (rather than symptom dimensions) indicated that that having a comorbid disruptive behavior disorder or depression diagnosis (but not a comorbid anxiety diagnosis) was associated with poorer parent-reported social functioning. Results demonstrate that the relation between internalizing symptoms and social functioning among young adolescents with ADHD is nuanced, with social anxiety and anhedonia symptoms associated with lower social skills and social acceptance in contrast to harm avoidance being associated with higher ratings of social skills (and unrelated to social acceptance). In terms of comorbid diagnoses, depression is more clearly related than anxiety to poorer social functioning among young adolescents with ADHD. These results point to the importance of attending to specific facets of anxiety and depression in

  4. Does respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) predict anxiety reduction during cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD)?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathewson, Karen J; Schmidt, Louis A; Miskovic, Vladimir; Santesso, Diane L; Duku, Eric; McCabe, Randi E; Antony, Martin M; Moscovitch, David A

    2013-05-01

    Modifying dysfunctional emotion regulation is an important goal in psychological treatments for social anxiety disorder (SAD). Antecedent-focused strategies learned in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), such as cognitive reappraisal, have proven more effective in reducing social anxiety than response-focused strategies, such as expressive suppression. Still, not all patients with SAD respond well to CBT. Medications and physiological factors may also influence the clinical response. The purpose of the present study was to examine the role that these factors play in determining treatment response following CBT for SAD. Using multilevel modeling, we examined associations across four separate laboratory visits between change in self-reported anxiety and indices of reappraisal, suppression, medication status, and resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a proxy measure of self-regulatory capacity, in 23 socially anxious adults during a 12-week program of CBT. Most participants were ultimately classified as responders to CBT (n=15), but in some, anxiety levels remained unchanged (n=8). Medication use explained substantial variance related to individual differences in anxiety among participants. When modeled separately, reappraisal, suppression, and RSA each accounted for significant variance related to anxiety. However, the best-fitting model included reappraisal and RSA. Moreover, RSA reactivity (change in RSA levels over time) was more important for predicting anxiety reduction than were baseline levels of RSA. These findings suggest that reappraisal and parasympathetic responsiveness may be important in reducing anxiety in adults with SAD who respond well to CBT. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Modern theories of social anxiety in childhood and adolescence ages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pavlova T.S.

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available This article describes the various modern approaches to the study of social anxiety in children. Social anxiety is examined in terms of the following approaches: in age-related psychology from the standpoint of behavioral inhibition and its biological sources; in developmental psychology as an affective-behavioral profile of loneliness/isolation and its sources in the child-parent relationship and interaction with peers; in clinical psychology within the Avoidant Personality Disorder (social phobia, its diagnosis, treatment and etiology. The article presents the results of current and future possible research.

  6. The role of social support in anxiety and depression among Parkinson's disease patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghorbani Saeedian, Radka; Nagyova, Iveta; Krokavcova, Martina; Skorvanek, Matej; Rosenberger, Jaroslav; Gdovinova, Zuzana; Groothoff, Johan W; van Dijk, Jitse P

    2014-01-01

    To explore how social support is associated with anxiety and depression in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients controlling for gender, disease duration and disease severity. The sample consisted of 124 patients (52.4% male; mean age 68.1 ± 8.4 years; mean disease duration 6.3 ± 5.5 years). Anxiety and depression were measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, social support with the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and disease severity with the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale. Data were analyzed using linear regression. Gender, disease duration, disease severity and social support explained 31% of the total variance in anxiety in younger PD patients but did not significantly contribute to the explanation of depression. In the older group, this model explained 41% of the variance in depression but did not significantly contribute to the explanation of anxiety. PD patients experience the positive influence of social support differently according to age. In the younger group, disease duration plays the primary role regarding anxiety. In the older group, poor social support especially from friends is associated with more depression after controlling for the relevant variables. Implications of Rehabilitation PD is a disease of older age with a neurodegenerative character and treatment should focus on increasing quality of life. Anxiety and depression are common co-morbidities in PD patients. The support network should also be screened regularly and involved in enhancing the quality of life.

  7. Social anxiety, alcohol expectancies, and self-efficacy as predictors of heavy drinking in college students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilles, Donna M; Turk, Cynthia L; Fresco, David M

    2006-03-01

    Burke and Stephens (1999) [Burke, R.S., Stephens, R.S. Social anxiety and drinking in college students: A social cognitive theory analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 19, (1999) 513-530.] proposed a social cognitive theory of heavy drinking in college students. According to this theory, alcohol expectancies for social facilitation and self-efficacy for refusing heavy drinking in anxiety-producing social situations moderate the relationship between social anxiety and drinking. In the current study, a significant three-way interaction was observed among social anxiety, expectancies, and self-efficacy when amount and frequency of drinking was the dependent variable. As predicted by the model, socially anxious college students with low self-efficacy for avoiding heavy drinking in social situations and high positive expectancies for social facilitation reported more alcohol consumption than other socially anxious individuals.

  8. Social Anxiety and the Severity and Typography of Stuttering in Adolescents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mulcahy, Kylie; Hennessey, Neville; Beilby, Janet; Byrnes, Michelle

    2008-01-01

    The present study examined the relationship between anxiety, attitude toward daily communication, and stuttering symptomatology in adolescent stuttering. Adolescents who stuttered (n = 19) showed significantly higher levels of trait, state and social anxiety than fluent speaking controls (n = 18). Trait and state anxiety was significantly…

  9. Response to emotional expressions in generalized social phobia and generalized anxiety disorder: evidence for separate disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blair, Karina; Shaywitz, Jonathan; Smith, Bruce W; Rhodes, Rebecca; Geraci, Marilla; Jones, Matthew; McCaffrey, Daniel; Vythilingam, Meena; Finger, Elizabeth; Mondillo, Krystal; Jacobs, Madeline; Charney, Dennis S; Blair, R J R; Drevets, Wayne C; Pine, Daniel S

    2008-09-01

    Generalized social phobia involves fear/avoidance, specifically of social situations, whereas generalized anxiety disorder involves intrusive worry about diverse circumstances. It remains unclear the degree to which these two, often comorbid, conditions represent distinct disorders or alternative presentations of a single, core underlying pathology. Functional magnetic resonance imaging assessed the neural response to facial expressions in generalized social phobia and generalized anxiety disorder. Individuals matched on age, IQ, and gender with generalized social phobia without generalized anxiety disorder (N=17), generalized anxiety disorder (N=17), or no psychopathology (N=17) viewed neutral, fearful, and angry expressions while ostensibly making a simple gender judgment. The patients with generalized social phobia without generalized anxiety disorder showed increased activation to fearful relative to neutral expressions in several regions, including the amygdala, compared to healthy individuals. This increased amygdala response related to self-reported anxiety in patients with generalized social phobia without generalized anxiety disorder. In contrast, patients with generalized anxiety disorder showed significantly less activation to fearful relative to neutral faces compared to the healthy individuals. They did show significantly increased response to angry expressions relative to healthy individuals in a lateral region of the middle frontal gyrus. This increased lateral frontal response related to self-reported anxiety in patients with generalized anxiety disorder. These results suggest that neural circuitry dysfunctions differ in generalized social phobia and generalized anxiety disorder.

  10. Social Anxiety Symptoms and Suicidal Ideation in a Clinical Sample of Early Adolescents: Examining Loneliness and Social Support as Longitudinal Mediators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prinstein, Mitchell J.; Simon, Valerie; Spirito, Anthony

    2014-01-01

    Recent research has shown that social anxiety may be related to increased risk for suicidal ideation in teens, although this research largely has been cross-sectional and has not examined potential mediators of this relationship. A clinical sample of 144 early adolescents (72 % female; 12–15 years old) was assessed during psychiatric inpatient hospitalization and followed up at 9 and 18 months post-baseline. Symptoms of social anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, loneliness, and perceived social support were assessed via structured interviews and self-report instruments. Structural equation modeling revealed a significant direct relationship between social anxiety symptoms at baseline and suicidal ideation at 18 months post-baseline, even after controlling for baseline depressive symptoms and ideation. A second multiple mediation model revealed that baseline social anxiety had a significant indirect effect on suicidal ideation at 18 months post-baseline through loneliness at 9 months post-baseline. Social anxiety did not have a significant indirect effect on suicidal ideation through perceived social support from either parents or close friends. Findings suggest that loneliness may be particularly implicated in the relationship between social anxiety and suicidality in teens. Clinicians should assess and address feelings of loneliness when treating socially anxious adolescents. PMID:24390470

  11. Social anxiety symptoms and drinking behaviors among college students: the mediating effects of drinking motives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villarosa, Margo C; Madson, Michael B; Zeigler-Hill, Virgil; Noble, Jeremy J; Mohn, Richard S

    2014-09-01

    The impact of social anxiety on negative alcohol-related behaviors among college students has been studied extensively. Drinking motives are considered the most proximal indicator of college student drinking behavior. The current study examined the mediating role of drinking motives in the relationship that social anxiety symptoms have with problematic (alcohol consumption, harmful drinking, and negative consequences) and safe (protective behavioral strategies) drinking behaviors. Participants were 532 undergraduates who completed measures of social anxiety, drinking motives, alcohol use, harmful drinking patterns, negative consequences of alcohol use, and protective behavioral strategy use. Our results show that students with higher levels of social anxiety symptoms who were drinking for enhancement motives reported more harmful drinking and negative consequences, and used fewer protective behavioral strategies. Thus, students who were drinking to increase their positive mood were participating in more problematic drinking patterns compared with students reporting fewer social anxiety symptoms. Further, conformity motives partially mediated the relationship between social anxiety symptoms and negative consequences. Thus, students with more symptoms of social anxiety who were drinking in order to be accepted by their peers were more likely than others to experience negative consequences. Clinical and research implications are discussed.

  12. Cognitive bias modification versus CBT in reducing adolescent social anxiety: a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sportel, B Esther; de Hullu, Eva; de Jong, Peter J; Nauta, Maaike H

    2013-01-01

    Social anxiety is a common mental disorder among adolescents and is associated with detrimental long term outcomes. Therefore, this study investigated the efficacy of two possible early interventions for adolescent social anxiety and test anxiety. An internet-based cognitive bias modification (CBM; n = 86) was compared to a school-based cognitive behavioral group training (CBT; n = 84) and a control group (n = 70) in reducing symptoms of social and test anxiety in high socially and/or test anxious adolescents aged 13-15 years. Participants (n = 240) were randomized at school level over the three conditions. CBM consisted of a 20-session at home internet-delivered training; CBT was a 10-session at school group training with homework assignments; the control group received no training. Participants were assessed before and after the intervention and at 6 and 12 month follow-up. At 6 month follow-up CBT resulted in lower social anxiety than the control condition, while for CBM, this effect was only trend-significant. At 12 month follow-up this initial benefit was no longer present. Test anxiety decreased more in the CBT condition relative to the control condition in both short and long term. Interestingly, in the long term, participants in the CBM condition improved more with regard to automatic threat-related associations than both other conditions. The results indicate that the interventions resulted in a faster decline of social anxiety symptoms, whereas the eventual end point of social anxiety was not affected. Test anxiety was influenced in the long term by the CBT intervention, and CBM lead to increased positive automatic threat-related associations. TrialRegister.nl NTR965.

  13. A standalone Internet cognitive behavior therapy treatment for social anxiety in adults who stutter: CBTpsych.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helgadóttir, Fjóla Dögg; Menzies, Ross G; Onslow, Mark; Packman, Ann; O'Brian, Sue

    2014-09-01

    Social anxiety is common for those who stutter and efficacious cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for them appears viable. However, there are difficulties with provision of CBT services for anxiety among those who stutter. Standalone Internet CBT treatment is a potential solution to those problems. CBTpsych is a fully automated, online social anxiety intervention for those who stutter. This report is a Phase I trial of CBTpsych. Fourteen participants were allowed 5 months to complete seven sections of CBTpsych. Pre-treatment and post-treatment assessments tested for social anxiety, common unhelpful thoughts related to stuttering, quality of life and stuttering frequency. Significant post-treatment improvements in social anxiety, unhelpful thoughts, and quality of life were reported. Five of seven participants diagnosed with social anxiety lost those diagnoses at post-treatment. The two participants who did not lose social anxiety diagnoses did not complete all the CBTpsych modules. CBTpsych did not improve stuttering frequency. Eleven of the fourteen participants who began treatment completed Section 4 or more of the CBTpsych intervention. CBTpsych provides a potential means to provide CBT treatment for social anxiety associated with stuttering, to any client without cost, regardless of location. Further clinical trials are warranted. At the end of this activity the reader will be able to: (a) describe that social anxiety is common in those who stutter; (b) discuss the origin of social anxiety and the associated link with bullying; (c) summarize the problems in provision of effective evidence based cognitive behavior therapy for adults who stutter; (d) describe a scalable computerized treatment designed to tackle the service provision gap; (e) describe the unhelpful thoughts associated with stuttering that this fully automated computer program was able to tackle; (f) list the positive outcomes for individuals who stuttered that participated in this trial such as the

  14. Familial and Temperamental Risk Factors for Social Anxiety Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirshfeld-Becker, Dina R.

    2010-01-01

    Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a common disorder that can lead to significant impairment. In this chapter, the author provides background on the disorder and reviews hypothesized familial and temperamental risk factors. In particular, it highlights the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Longitudinal Study of Children at Risk for Anxiety, now…

  15. Adolescent social isolation does not lead to persistent increases in anxiety- like behavior or ethanol intake in female long-evans rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butler, Tracy R; Carter, Eugenia; Weiner, Jeffrey L

    2014-08-01

    Clinically, early life stress and anxiety disorders are associated with increased vulnerability for alcohol use disorders. In male rats, early life stress, imparted by adolescent social isolation, results in long-lasting increases in a number of behavioral risk factors for alcoholism, including greater anxiety-like behaviors and ethanol (EtOH) intake. Several recent studies have begun to use this model to gain insight into the relationships among anxiety measures, stress, EtOH intake, and neurobiological correlates driving these behaviors. As prior research has noted significant sex differences in the impact of adolescent stress on anxiety measures and EtOH drinking, the current study was conducted to determine if this same model produces an "addiction vulnerable" phenotype in female rodents. Female Long Evans rats were socially isolated (SI; 1/cage) or group housed (GH; 4/cage) for 6 weeks during adolescence. After this housing manipulation, behavioral assessment was conducted using the elevated plus maze, response to novelty in an open field environment, and the light/dark box. After behavioral testing, home cage EtOH drinking was assessed across an 8-week period. No group differences were detected in any of the behavioral measures of unconditioned anxiety-like behavior. Greater EtOH intake and preference were observed in SI females but these differences did not persist. The SI/GH model, which results in robust and enduring increases in anxiety measures and EtOH self-administration in male Long Evans rats, did not result in similar behavioral changes in female rats. These data, and that of others, suggest that adolescent social isolation is not a useful model with which to study neurobiological substrates linking antecedent anxiety and addiction vulnerability in female rats. Given the compelling epidemiological evidence that the relationship between chronic adolescent stress and alcohol addiction is particularly strong in women, there is clearly an urgent need

  16. Looks can be deceiving: body image dissatisfaction relates to social anxiety through fear of negative evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pawijit, Yada; Likhitsuwan, Watcharaphon; Ludington, Jason; Pisitsungkagarn, Kullaya

    2017-07-06

    Introduction Emerging adults are particularly vulnerable to body image dissatisfaction and social anxiety. These bring about a host of negative outcomes, including compromised social adjustment and well-being. Fear of negative evaluation has been shown to be a core element of social anxiety, but it is rarely considered in studies of body image and its effects on social anxiety. This study aimed to bridge this gap by examining the role of fear of negative evaluation in the association between body image dissatisfaction and social anxiety. Methods A cross-sectional study using 80 Thai undergraduates (mean age of 21 years) was conducted by self-reported (questionnaire) measures. Body image dissatisfaction was measured with the short version of the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ-8C), fear of negative evaluation with the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, and social anxiety with the Interaction Anxiousness Scale (IAS). Correlation and mediation analyses were conducted to assess how these constructs were related to one another. Results The key hypothesis was supported: positive associations were found among body image dissatisfaction, fear of negative evaluation and social anxiety, and the association between body image dissatisfaction and social anxiety was mediated by fear of negative evaluation. Discussion Generalizing from the current findings, ideas for possible amelioration of social anxiety are discussed.

  17. Social exclusion anxiety

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Søndergaard, Dorte Marie

    2014-01-01

    . The concepts I work with are the need for belonging, social exclusion anxiety and the production of contempt and dignity by both children and adults. I develop a new definition of bullying, drawing upon Judith Butler’s (1999) concept of ‘abjection’ as well as Karen Barad’s concept of ‘intra-acting forces......’ (Barad 2007). My definition in this chapter contributed to the shorter definition of bullying in the Introduction (see page XX), but it is more fully developed here in relation to the types of mechanisms and processes involved. Barad’s term ‘intra-action’ helps draw attention to the mutually...

  18. Social Physique Anxiety, Obligation to Exercise, and Exercise Choices among College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chu, Hui-Wen; Bushman, Barbara A.; Woodard, Rebecca J.

    2008-01-01

    Objective: The authors examined relationships among social physique anxiety, obligation to exercise, and exercise choices. Participants and Methods: College students (N = 337; 200 women, 137 men) volunteered to complete 3 questionnaires: the Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS), Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire (OEQ), and Physical Activity…

  19. Heterocentric language in commonly used measures of social anxiety: recommended alternate wording.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weiss, Brandon J; Hope, Debra A; Capozzoli, Michelle C

    2013-03-01

    A number of self-report measures of social anxiety contain language that appears to assume heterosexuality. It is unclear how such items should be answered by individuals who are not exclusively heterosexual, which may lead to inaccurate measurement of symptoms, perpetuation of stigma, and alienation of respondents. More specific wording could improve measurement accuracy for sexual minorities as well as heterosexual respondents. Gender-neutral wording was developed for items containing the phrase "opposite sex" in commonly used self-report measures of social anxiety (Interaction Anxiousness Scale [Leary, 1983], Social Avoidance and Distress Scale [Watson & Friend, 1969], Social Interaction Anxiety Scale [Mattick & Clarke, 1998], and Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory [Turner, Beidel, Dancu, & Stanley, 1989]). Undergraduate college students (N=405; mean age=19.88, SD=2.05) completed measures containing original and revised items. Overall, results indicated that the alternate-worded items demonstrated equivalent or slightly stronger psychometric properties compared to original items. Select alternate-worded items are recommended for clinical and research use, and directions for future research are recommended. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  20. Intensified neuronal investment in the processing of chemosensory anxiety signals in non-socially anxious and socially anxious individuals.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bettina M Pause

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The ability to communicate anxiety through chemosensory signals has been documented in humans by behavioral, perceptual and brain imaging studies. Here, we investigate in a time-sensitive manner how chemosensory anxiety signals, donated by humans awaiting an academic examination, are processed by the human brain, by analyzing chemosensory event-related potentials (CSERPs, 64-channel recording with current source density analysis. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In the first study cerebral stimulus processing was recorded from 28 non-socially anxious participants and in the second study from 16 socially anxious individuals. Each individual participated in two sessions, smelling sweat samples donated from either female or male donors (88 sessions; balanced session order. Most of the participants of both studies were unable to detect the stimuli olfactorily. In non-socially anxious females, CSERPs demonstrate an increased magnitude of the P3 component in response to chemosensory anxiety signals. The source of this P3 activity was allocated to medial frontal brain areas. In socially anxious females chemosensory anxiety signals require more neuronal resources during early pre-attentive stimulus processing (N1. The neocortical sources of this activity were located within medial and lateral frontal brain areas. In general, the event-related neuronal brain activity in males was much weaker than in females. However, socially anxious males processed chemosensory anxiety signals earlier (N1 latency than the control stimuli collected during an ergometer training. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: It is concluded that the processing of chemosensory anxiety signals requires enhanced neuronal energy. Socially anxious individuals show an early processing bias towards social fear signals, resulting in a repression of late attentional stimulus processing.

  1. Association between Social Anxiety and Visual Mental Imagery of Neutral Scenes: The Moderating Role of Effortful Control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun Moriya

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available According to cognitive theories, verbal processing attenuates emotional processing, whereas visual imagery enhances emotional processing and contributes to the maintenance of social anxiety. Individuals with social anxiety report negative mental images in social situations. However, the general ability of visual mental imagery of neutral scenes in individuals with social anxiety is still unclear. The present study investigated the general ability of non-emotional mental imagery (vividness, preferences for imagery vs. verbal processing, and object or spatial imagery and the moderating role of effortful control in attenuating social anxiety. The participants (N = 231 completed five questionnaires. The results showed that social anxiety was not necessarily associated with all aspects of mental imagery. As suggested by theories, social anxiety was not associated with a preference for verbal processing. However, social anxiety was positively correlated with the visual imagery scale, especially the object imagery scale, which concerns the ability to construct pictorial images of individual objects. Further, it was negatively correlated with the spatial imagery scale, which concerns the ability to process information about spatial relations between objects. Although object imagery and spatial imagery positively and negatively predicted the degree of social anxiety, respectively, these effects were attenuated when socially anxious individuals had high effortful control. Specifically, in individuals with high effortful control, both object and spatial imagery were not associated with social anxiety. Socially anxious individuals might prefer to construct pictorial images of individual objects in natural scenes through object imagery. However, even in individuals who exhibit these features of mental imagery, effortful control could inhibit the increase in social anxiety.

  2. Association between Social Anxiety and Visual Mental Imagery of Neutral Scenes: The Moderating Role of Effortful Control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moriya, Jun

    2017-01-01

    According to cognitive theories, verbal processing attenuates emotional processing, whereas visual imagery enhances emotional processing and contributes to the maintenance of social anxiety. Individuals with social anxiety report negative mental images in social situations. However, the general ability of visual mental imagery of neutral scenes in individuals with social anxiety is still unclear. The present study investigated the general ability of non-emotional mental imagery (vividness, preferences for imagery vs. verbal processing, and object or spatial imagery) and the moderating role of effortful control in attenuating social anxiety. The participants ( N = 231) completed five questionnaires. The results showed that social anxiety was not necessarily associated with all aspects of mental imagery. As suggested by theories, social anxiety was not associated with a preference for verbal processing. However, social anxiety was positively correlated with the visual imagery scale, especially the object imagery scale, which concerns the ability to construct pictorial images of individual objects. Further, it was negatively correlated with the spatial imagery scale, which concerns the ability to process information about spatial relations between objects. Although object imagery and spatial imagery positively and negatively predicted the degree of social anxiety, respectively, these effects were attenuated when socially anxious individuals had high effortful control. Specifically, in individuals with high effortful control, both object and spatial imagery were not associated with social anxiety. Socially anxious individuals might prefer to construct pictorial images of individual objects in natural scenes through object imagery. However, even in individuals who exhibit these features of mental imagery, effortful control could inhibit the increase in social anxiety.

  3. Autistic Traits and Symptoms of Social Anxiety Are Differentially Related to Attention to Others' Eyes in Social Anxiety Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kleberg, Johan Lundin; Högström, Jens; Nord, Martina; Bölte, Sven; Serlachius, Eva; Falck-Ytter, Terje

    2017-01-01

    Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) have partly overlapping symptoms. Gaze avoidance has been linked to both SAD and ASD, but little is known about differences in social attention between the two conditions. We studied eye movements in a group of treatment-seeking adolescents with SAD (N = 25), assessing SAD and ASD…

  4. Social Anxiety Mediates the Effect of Autism Spectrum Disorder Characteristics on Hostility in Young Adults

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Susan Williams; Kreiser, Nicole L.; Pugliese, Cara; Scarpa, Angela

    2012-01-01

    Problems with social anxiety are frequently reported in people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). It is possible that social anxiety, when present, exacerbates the experience of hostility and other forms of aggression in relation to ASD symptoms. This study sought to determine if social anxiety symptoms mediate the relationship between features…

  5. Anxiety, Anxiety Sensitivity, and Perceived Stress as Predictors of Recent Drinking, Alcohol Craving, and Social Stress Response in Heavy Drinkers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCaul, Mary E; Hutton, Heidi E; Stephens, Mary Ann C; Xu, Xiaoqiang; Wand, Gary S

    2017-04-01

    Stress and anxiety are widely considered to be causally related to alcohol craving and consumption, as well as development and maintenance of alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, numerous preclinical and human studies examining effects of stress or anxiety on alcohol use and alcohol-related problems have been equivocal. This study examined relationships between scores on self-report anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, and stress measures and frequency and intensity of recent drinking, alcohol craving during early withdrawal, as well as laboratory measures of alcohol craving and stress reactivity among heavy drinkers with AUD. Media-recruited, heavy drinkers with AUD (N = 87) were assessed for recent alcohol consumption. Anxiety and stress levels were characterized using paper-and-pencil measures, including the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (ASI-3), and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Eligible subjects (N = 30) underwent alcohol abstinence on the Clinical Research Unit; twice daily measures of alcohol craving were collected. On day 4, subjects participated in the Trier Social Stress Test; measures of cortisol and alcohol craving were collected. In multivariate analyses, higher BAI scores were associated with lower drinking frequency and reduced drinks/drinking day; in contrast, higher ASI-3 scores were associated with higher drinking frequency. BAI anxiety symptom and ASI-3 scores also were positively related to Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test total scores and AUD symptom and problem subscale measures. Higher BAI and ASI-3 scores but not PSS scores were related to greater self-reported alcohol craving during early alcohol abstinence. Finally, BAI scores were positively related to laboratory stress-induced cortisol and alcohol craving. In contrast, the PSS showed no relationship with most measures of alcohol craving or stress reactivity. Overall, clinically oriented measures of anxiety compared with perceived stress were more

  6. Electrocortical measures of information processing biases in social anxiety disorder: A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrewijn, Anita; Schmidt, Louis A; Westenberg, P Michiel; Tang, Alva; van der Molen, Melle J W

    2017-10-01

    Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by information processing biases, however, their underlying neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. The goal of this review was to give a comprehensive overview of the most frequently studied EEG spectral and event-related potential (ERP) measures in social anxiety during rest, anticipation, stimulus processing, and recovery. A Web of Science search yielded 35 studies reporting on electrocortical measures in individuals with social anxiety or related constructs. Social anxiety was related to increased delta-beta cross-frequency correlation during anticipation and recovery, and information processing biases during early processing of faces (P1) and errors (error-related negativity). These electrocortical measures are discussed in relation to the persistent cycle of information processing biases maintaining SAD. Future research should further investigate the mechanisms of this persistent cycle and study the utility of electrocortical measures in early detection, prevention, treatment and endophenotype research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Social appearance anxiety of staff in youth services and sport provincial directorate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ömer Faruk YAZICI

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the social appearance anxiety of staff in Youth Services and Sport Provincial Directorate. Material and Methods: Totally 300 staff who were working in Youth Services and Sport Provincial Directorates of Malatya, Trabzon and Istanbul had participated to the study. As data collection tools; “Social Appearance Anxiety Scale” which developed by Hart et al. (2008 and modified to Turkish with reliability and validity study by Doğan (2010 and “Personal Data Form” created by the researchers were used. In analyzing the data; descriptive analysis, t-test and one way Anova were used. Results: Social anxiety concerns of personnel has been found to be the low level. After the analysis it was determined that there was a significant difference in age, income, doing sports and city that working according to the staff’s social appearance anxiety. Conclusion: In this context, the studies should be included in studying of staff in other cities.

  8. Social Activities and Manifest Anxiety among Freshmen in Tertiary ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ) in tertiary institutions in Lagos state of Nigeria were analysed to determine the relationship between social activities and manifest anxiety. Social activities in the study were measured in terms of freshmen adjustment to religious activities and ...

  9. Social anxiety and drinking game participation among university students: the moderating role of drinking to cope.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mulligan, Ellen J; George, Amanda M; Brown, Patricia M

    2016-11-01

    Few studies have examined the relationship of social anxiety with drinking game participation. Drinking games represent a popular form of drinking in university settings. Due to their structure, games may appeal to socially anxious drinkers, particularly among those seeking to fit in or cope with the social setting. To examine the relationship of social anxiety with frequency of drinking game participation among a university undergraduate sample and to investigate if drinking motives moderate this association. A total of 227 undergraduate students aged 18-24 years (73% female) who had consumed alcohol in the prior year were included in the current investigation. Hierarchical regression examined the influences of social anxiety and drinking motives on frequency of drinking game participation, as well the interactions of social anxiety with drinking for coping motives and conformity motives. Social anxiety failed to emerge as a significant predictor of frequency of drinking game participation. However, drinking to cope moderated the relationship of social anxiety with frequency of drinking game participation. Socially anxious students who drank to cope were more likely to participate in drinking games on occasions when they consumed alcohol than those who did not endorse this drinking motive. Results demonstrated the influence of drinking to cope in the relationship of social anxiety with frequency of drinking game participation. Future work should examine the relationship with other indicators of drinking game activity. Intervention efforts addressing social anxiety and drinking should consider motives for drinking, as well as drinking patterns.

  10. Emotional Variability and Clarity in Depression and Social Anxiety

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Renee J.; Boden, Matthew Tyler; Gotlib, Ian H.

    2016-01-01

    Recent research has underscored the importance of elucidating specific patterns of emotion that characterize mental disorders. We examined two emotion traits, emotional variability and emotional clarity, in relation to both categorical (diagnostic interview) and dimensional (self-report) measures of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) in women diagnosed with MDD only (n=35), SAD only (n=31), MDD and SAD (n=26), or no psychiatric disorder (n=38). Results of the categorical analyses suggest that elevated emotional variability and diminished emotional clarity are transdiagnostic of MDD and SAD. More specifically, emotional variability was elevated for MDD and SAD diagnoses compared to no diagnosis, showing an additive effect for co-occurring MDD and SAD. Similarly diminished levels of emotional clarity characterized all three clinical groups compared to the healthy control group. Dimensional findings suggest that whereas emotional variability is associated more consistently with depression than with social anxiety, emotional clarity is associated more consistently with social anxiety than with depression. Results are interpreted using a threshold- and dose-response framework. PMID:26371579

  11. The Relationship of Peer Victimization to Social Anxiety and Loneliness in Adolescent Females

    Science.gov (United States)

    Storch, Eric A.; Masia-Warner, Carrie

    2004-01-01

    This study examined the relationship of overt and relational victimization to social anxiety, loneliness, and prosocial behaviours in a sample of female adolescents. The Social Experience Questionnaire, Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents, and Asher Loneliness Scale were administered to 561 girls in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh grades of an…

  12. Social Anxiety Disorder and Social Skills: A Critical Review of the Literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angelico, Antonio Paulo; Crippa, Jose Alexandre S.; Loureiro, Sonia Regina

    2013-01-01

    The objective of this article is to present a critical analysis of the research outlines used in empirical studies published between the years 2000 and March of 2007 about social anxiety disorder and its associations with social skills. Seventeen papers were identified and grouped into two classes for analysis, namely: Characterization of Social…

  13. Social anxiety in first-episode psychosis: the role of childhood trauma and adult attachment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michail, Maria; Birchwood, Max

    2014-07-01

    Social anxiety is among the most prevalent affective disturbances among people with psychosis. The developmental pathways associated with its emergence in psychosis, however, remain unclear. The aim of this study is to identify the developmental risk factors associated with social anxiety disorder in first-episode psychosis and to investigate whether social anxiety in psychosis and non-psychosis is associated with similar or different adult attachment styles. This is a cross-sectional study. A sample of individuals with social anxiety disorder (with or without psychosis) was compared with a sample with psychosis only and healthy controls on childhood trauma, dysfunctional parenting and adult attachment. Childhood trauma and dysfunctional parenting (pchildhood trauma and dysfunctional parenting between socially anxious people with and without psychosis. Higher levels of insecure adult attachment (x(2)1=38.5, pChildhood adversities were not associated with insecure adult attachment in people with social anxiety (with or without psychosis). Due to the cross-sectional nature of the study we cannot infer causal relationships between early risk factors, including childhood trauma and dysfunctional parenting, and social anxiety. Also, the use of self-report measures of attachment could be subject to biases. Shared developmental risk factors are implicated in the emergence of affective disorders in psychosis and non-psychosis. Social anxiety in psychosis is associated with insecurity in adult attachments which does not arise a result of adverse developmental pathways. Understanding the bio-psycho-social risk factors for affective dysregulation in psychosis could inform psychological interventions about the role of developmental anomaly and trauma in the emergence of affective dysregulation in psychosis. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Online Communication about Depression and Anxiety among Twitter Users with Schizophrenia: Preliminary Findings to Inform a Digital Phenotype Using Social Media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hswen, Yulin; Naslund, John A; Brownstein, John S; Hawkins, Jared B

    2018-01-12

    Digital technologies hold promise for supporting the detection and management of schizophrenia. This exploratory study aimed to generate an initial understanding of whether patterns of communication about depression and anxiety on popular social media among individuals with schizophrenia are consistent with offline representations of the illness. From January to July 2016, posts on Twitter were collected from a sample of Twitter users who self-identify as having a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (n = 203) and a randomly selected sample of control users (n = 173). Frequency and timing of communication about depression and anxiety were compared between groups. In total, the groups posted n = 1,544,122 tweets and users had similar characteristics. Twitter users with schizophrenia showed significantly greater odds of tweeting about depression compared with control users (OR = 2.69; 95% CI 1.76-4.10), and significantly greater odds of tweeting about anxiety compared with control users (OR = 1.81; 95% CI 1.20-2.73). This study offers preliminary insights that Twitter users with schizophrenia may express elevated symptoms of depression and anxiety in their online posts, which is consistent with clinical characteristics of schizophrenia observed in offline settings. Social media platforms could further our understanding of schizophrenia by informing a digital phenotype and may afford new opportunities to support early illness detection.

  15. Thinking while drinking: Fear of negative evaluation predicts drinking behaviors of students with social anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villarosa-Hurlocker, Margo C; Whitley, Robert B; Capron, Daniel W; Madson, Michael B

    2018-03-01

    College students with social anxiety disorder experience more alcohol-related negative consequences, regardless of the amount of alcohol they consume. Social anxiety refers to psychological distress and physiological arousal in social situations due to an excessive fear of negative evaluation by others. The current study examined within-group differences in alcohol-related negative consequences of students who met or exceeded clinically-indicated social anxiety symptoms. In particular, we tested a sequential mediation model of the cognitive (i.e., fear of negative evaluation) and behavioral (protective behavioral strategies) mechanisms for the link between social anxiety disorder subtypes (i.e., interaction and performance-type) and alcohol-related negative consequences. Participants were 412 traditional-age college student drinkers who met or exceeded the clinically-indicated threshold for social anxiety disorder and completed measures of fear of negative evaluation, protective behavioral strategies (controlled consumption and serious harm reduction), and alcohol-related negative consequences. Fear of negative evaluation and serious harm reduction strategies sequentially accounted for the relationship between interaction social anxiety disorder and alcohol-related negative consequences, such that students with more severe interaction social anxiety symptoms reported more fear of negative evaluation, which was related to more serious harm reduction strategies, which predicted fewer alcohol-related negative consequences. Future directions and implications are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. The Factor Structure and Screening Utility of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodebaugh, Thomas L.; Woods, Carol M.; Heimberg, Richard G.; Liebowitz, Michael R.; Schneier, Franklin R.

    2006-01-01

    The widely used Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS; R. P. Mattick & J. C. Clarke, 1998) possesses favorable psychometric properties, but questions remain concerning its factor structure and item properties. Analyses included 445 people with social anxiety disorder and 1,689 undergraduates. Simple unifactorial models fit poorly, and models that…

  17. Anxiety and Social Stress Related to Adolescent Gambling Behavior and Substance Use

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ste-Marie, Chantal; Gupta, Rina; Derevensky, Jeffrey L.

    2006-01-01

    The relationship between anxiety, social stress, substance use, and gambling behavior was examined in a sample of 1,044 high school students from grades 7-11. Adolescents completed several instruments assessing their state, trait, and generalized anxiety, social stress, substance use, and gambling behavior. Results reveal that probable…

  18. Body self-discrepancies and women's social physique anxiety: the moderating role of the feared body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodman, Tim; Steer, Rebecca

    2011-05-01

    We explored ideal, ought, and feared body image self-discrepancies as predictors of social physique anxiety within Carver, Lawrence, and Scheier's and Woodman and Hemmings' interaction frameworks. One hundred women completed actual, ideal, ought, and feared body self-discrepancy visual analogue scales, the Social Physique Anxiety Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Moderated hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the relationship between ought body fat discrepancies and social physique anxiety was moderated by proximity to the feared fat self. Specifically, the positive relationship between ought fat discrepancies and social physique anxiety was stronger when women were far from their feared body self. The results highlight the importance of considering the feared self in order to more fully understand the relationship between body image and social physique anxiety. ©2010 The British Psychological Society.

  19. Social anxiety disorder. A guide for primary care physicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliott, H W; Reifler, B

    2000-01-01

    Social anxiety disorder is prevalent, potentially disabling, but quite treatable. A thorough and directed history can distinguish social phobia from depression, panic disorder, and OCD. It can also screen for and identify possible substance abuse. Once the diagnosis is made, a combination of pharmacologic and psychotherapy is indicated. The SSRIs, MAOIs, benzodiazepines, and beta-blockers--as well as CBT--can effectively treat social anxiety symptoms. Primary care physicians may well want to begin by prescribing an SSRI like paroxetine, along with a high potency benzodiazepine to be taken on a regular or an as-needed basis, and a beta-blocker to take as needed in anticipation of stressful social situations. A referral for CBT should be considered. If the patient has marked side effects from drug treatment or a lack of adequate response to medication, psychiatric referral is definitely indicated.

  20. An Examination of Women's Self-Presentation, Social Physique Anxiety, and Setting Preferences during Injury Rehabilitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hall, Craig R.

    2017-01-01

    Objectives. This study investigated whether women experience self-presentational concerns related to rehabilitation settings and explored preferences for characteristics of the social and physical treatment environment in relation to women's Social Physique Anxiety (SPA). Methods. Two cross-sectional studies were conducted. In Study 1, female undergraduate students (n = 134) completed four questionnaires (Social Physique Anxiety Scale; three bespoke questionnaires assessing self-presentation in rehabilitation and social and physical environment preferences) with respect to hypothetical rehabilitation scenarios. Study 2 recruited injured women who were referred for physiotherapy (n = 62) to complete the same questionnaires regarding genuine rehabilitation scenarios. Results. Women with high SPA showed less preference for physique salient clothing than women with low SPA in both hypothetical (p = 0.001) and genuine settings (p = 0.01). In Study 2, women with high SPA also preferred that others in the clinic were female (p = 0.01) and reported significantly greater preference for private treatment spaces (p = 0.05). Conclusions. Self-presentational concerns exist in rehabilitation as in exercise settings. Results indicated inverse relationships between women's SPA and preference for the presence of men, physique-enhancing clothing, and open-concept treatment settings. Future studies to determine the effect of self-presentational concerns on treatment adherence are needed. PMID:28386484

  1. The role of social support in anxiety for persons with COPD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dinicola, Gia; Julian, Laura; Gregorich, Steven E; Blanc, Paul D; Katz, Patricia P

    2013-02-01

    This study examined the contribution of perceived social support to the presence of anxiety in persons with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A cross-sectional survey sample of 452 persons with COPD (61.3% female; 53.5% older than 65; 70.8% without a college degree or higher educational achievement, and 54.8% with household income of $40,000 or less) completed a telephone survey. Measures included the anxiety subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-A), 5 social support subscales from the Positive and Negative Social Exchanges (PANSE) Scale, a COPD Severity Score (CSS; a weighted algorithmic combination of symptoms and the need for various COPD medical interventions), and the Geriatric Depression Scale, Short Form (GDS-SF). Zero order correlations and a series of multiple regression analyses were calculated. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the receipt of instrumental support, feeling let down by the failure of others to provide needed help, and unsympathetic or insensitive behavior from others each positively predicted a higher level of patient anxiety in COPD patients, after controlling for demographic variables, smoking status, comorbid depression (GDS) and severity of illness (CSS). Additionally, the control variable of depression was the strongest predictor of anxiety, suggesting a high degree of co-morbidity in this sample. Anxiety and depression are serious co-morbid mental health concerns for persons with COPD. It is important to examine both positive and negative aspects of perceived social support for COPD patients and how they may impact or interact with these mental health concerns. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Psychometric properties of the social anxiety subscale of the Youth Anxiety Measure for DSM-5 (YAM-5-I-SAD) in a clinical sample of Spanish-speaking adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuentes-Rodriguez, Gema; Saez-Castillo, Antonio J; Garcia-Lopez, Luis-Joaquin

    2018-08-01

    The Youth Anxiety Measure-I for DSM-5 has recently been developed to assess youth's anxiety symptomatology. As social anxiety is one of the most common disorders in adolescence, this scale includes a subscale measuring social anxiety. However, psychometric properties of the YAM-5-I social anxiety subscale (YAM-5-I-SAD) in clinical samples are lacking. This paper aims to bridge the gap. The sample comprised 24 clinically diagnosed and 24 healthy control Spanish-speaking adolescents aged 14-17 years. Data revealed that the YAM-5- I-SAD yielded excellent sensitivity, which makes it particularly useful as a screening tool to early detect socially anxious adolescents. In addition, the YAM-5-I-SAD evidenced good internal consistency and construct validity. Data are limited to the social anxiety subscale. The YAM-5-I-SAD is a sensitive and specific measure to screen for adolescents with social anxiety. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. The moderating role of avoidance behavior on anxiety over time: Is there a difference between social anxiety disorder and specific phobia?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rudaz, M.; Ledermann, T.; Margraf, J.; Becker, E.S.; Craske, M.G.

    2017-01-01

    Theories of anxiety disorders and phobias have ascribed a critical role to avoidance behavior in explaining the persistence of fear and anxiety, but knowledge about the role of avoidance behavior in the maintenance of anxiety in social anxiety disorder relative to specific phobia is lacking. This

  4. Safety aid use and social anxiety symptoms: The mediating role of perceived control.

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    Korte, Kristina J; Unruh, Amanda S; Oglesby, Mary E; Schmidt, Norman B

    2015-08-30

    The use of safety aids, cognitive or behavioral strategies used to reduce or cope with anxiety, has emerged as a key construct of interest in anxiety disorders due to their role in the development and maintenance of anxiety symptoms. It has been suggested that individuals with anxiety engage in safety aid use to reduce their anxiety and feel more in control of a situation; however, no studies to date have examined the association between perceived control, that is, perceived level of control over internal events in anxiety provoking situations, and the use of safety aids. The purpose of the present study was to examine the association of perceived control, the use of safety aids, and symptoms of social anxiety. It was predicted that the association between safety aid use and social anxiety symptoms would be mediated by perceived control. This prediction was examined in a large sample of 281 participants. As predicted, perceived control was a significant mediator of the association between the use of safety aids and social anxiety symptoms. This effect remained significant after running a multiple mediation model with distress tolerance added as a competing mediator. Implications for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. The influence of social anxiety on the body checking behaviors of female college students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Emily K; Warren, Cortney S

    2014-09-01

    Social anxiety and eating pathology frequently co-occur. However, there is limited research examining the relationship between anxiety and body checking, aside from one study in which social physique anxiety partially mediated the relationship between body checking cognitions and body checking behavior (Haase, Mountford, & Waller, 2007). In an independent sample of 567 college women, we tested the fit of Haase and colleagues' foundational model but did not find evidence of mediation. Thus we tested the fit of an expanded path model that included eating pathology and clinical impairment. In the best-fitting path model (CFI=.991; RMSEA=.083) eating pathology and social physique anxiety positively predicted body checking, and body checking positively predicted clinical impairment. Therefore, women who endorse social physique anxiety may be more likely to engage in body checking behaviors and experience impaired psychosocial functioning. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  6. A Comparison of Active and Passive Virtual Reality Exposure Scenarios to Elicit Social Anxiety

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoones A. Sekhavat

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Social phobia is an anxiety disorder that results in an excessive and unreasonable fear of social situations. As a safe and controlled tool, Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET has been used to treat anxiety disorders and phobias. This paper aims to study whether VRET with active scenarios can challenge a person more than passive scenarios. By comparing participants who were exposed to active and passive scenarios in VRET, we show that active scenarios are more effective than passive scenarios to elicit social anxiety in healthy participants. We focus on eliciting social anxiety and creating the sense of presence as two parameters enhancing the efficacy of VRET scenarios.

  7. The prevalence and correlates of adult separation anxiety disorder in an anxiety clinic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wagner Renate

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Adult separation anxiety disorder (ASAD has been identified recently, but there is a paucity of data about its prevalence and associated characteristics amongst anxiety patients. This study assessed the prevalence and risk factor profile associated with ASAD in an anxiety clinic. Methods Clinical psychologists assigned 520 consecutive patients to DSM-IV adult anxiety subcategories using the SCID. We also measured demographic factors and reports of early separation anxiety (the Separation Anxiety Symptom Inventory and a retrospective diagnosis of childhood separation anxiety disorder. Other self-report measures included the Adult Separation Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire (ASA-27, the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales (DASS-21, personality traits measured by the NEO PI-R and the Work and Social Adjustment Scale. These measures were included in three models examining for overall differences and then by gender: Model 1 compared the conventional SCID anxiety subtypes (excluding PTSD and OCD because of insufficient numbers; Model 2 divided the sample into those with and without ASAD; Model 3 compared those with ASAD with the individual anxiety subtypes in the residual group. Results Patients with ASAD had elevated early separation anxiety scores but this association was unique in females only. Except for social phobia in relation to some comparisons, those with ASAD recorded more severe symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, higher neuroticism scores, and greater levels of disability. Conclusions Patients with ASAD attending an anxiety clinic are highly symptomatic and disabled. The findings have implications for the classification, clinical identification and treatment of adult anxiety disorders.

  8. The Relation between Self-Esteem, Parenting Style and Social Anxiety in Girls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yousaf, Saira

    2015-01-01

    This study is an attempt to explore the relationship between self-esteem, parenting style and social anxiety in girls. A sample of 100 female students selected from different schools. For data collection Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, Parental Authority Questionnaire and Rosenberg's Self Esteem Scales were used together with demographic sheet.…

  9. Impacto de la ansiedad social, las habilidades sociales y la cibervictimización en la comunicación online (Impact of Social Anxiety, Social Skills and Cyberbullying on Online Communication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raúl Navarro

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The present research examined online communication behaviour in a sample of preadolescents (10-12 years, n= 812. In addition, we examined the effect of social anxiety, social skills and experiences of cyberbullying on online communication behaviour. Online communication measures included items related to time online, platforms used, relationships and motives to go online. Social anxiety was assessed using the Social Anxiety Scale of Children Revised, social skills were measured using the Matson Questionnaire subscale and cyberbullying using the Victimization Scale via Internet. The results show that the group with high social skills and low levels of anxiety spend more time communicating online and use instant messages to talk to friends. In contrast, the online behaviour of the group with high levels of anxiety and low social skills are more motivated to communicate online by their desire to make new friends. Cybervictims spend more time online, use chat rooms and communicate more with strangers than those who do not suffer cyberbullying. These findings suggest that the Internet offers opportunities to maintain and extend social networks but also exposes young people to online risks.

  10. Bullying and Social Anxiety in Chinese Children: Moderating Roles of Trait Resilience and Psychological Suzhi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Lili; Zhang, Dajun; Cheng, Gang; Hu, Tianqiang

    2018-02-01

    Research examining the relationship between bullying victimization and social anxiety has mainly been conducted in Western countries, and little is known about the mechanisms underlying this relationship. This study explores the correlation between bullying victimization and social anxiety in a Chinese context and determines the moderating roles of psychological suzhi (a mental quality characterized by being steady, essential and implicit that affects adaptive, developmental, and creative behavior) and trait resilience among victims of bullying. Data were obtained from a stratified sample of 1903 children in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. All participants completed measures of bullying victimization, social anxiety, trait resilience, and psychological suzhi. The results indicated that, after controlling for grade, residential area, and parental marital status, bullying victimization positively predicted children's social anxiety. In addition, multi-group analysis suggested that the association in girls was stronger relative to that observed in boys. Regarding underlying processes, trait resilience moderated the effect of bullying victimization on social anxiety only in girls. Further assessment of the latent interaction effects indicated that the protective effect of trait resilience was stronger for girls experiencing high, relative to low, levels of bullying victimization, and psychological suzhi buffered against the detrimental effects of bullying on children's social anxiety. Most notably, unlike the moderating effect of resilience, the buffering effect of psychological suzhi against social anxiety was most prominent when bullying victimization was low. Findings underscore the importance of enhancing trait resilience and psychological suzhi in interventions designed to reduce children's social anxiety. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Social and academic functioning in adolescents with anxiety disorders: A systematic review

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Lijster, Jasmijn M.; Dieleman, Gwen C.; Utens, Elisabeth M. W. J.; Dierckx, Bram; Wierenga, Milou; Verhulst, Frank C.; Legerstee, Jeroen S.

    2018-01-01

    Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent during adolescence. Although literature points out that anxiety symptoms are related to problems in social and academic functioning, the extent of these problems among adolescents with clinical anxiety disorders has not been systematically reviewed before.

  12. Context counts! Social anxiety modulates the processing of fearful faces in the context of chemosensory anxiety signals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dirk eAdolph

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available During emotion perception, context is an important source of information. Whether contextual cues from modalities other than vision or audition influence the perception of social emotional information has not been investigated.Thus, the present study aimed at testing emotion perception and regulation in response to fearful facial expressions presented in the context of chemosensory stimuli derived from sweat of anxious individuals. In groups of high (HSA and low socially anxious (LSA participants we recorded the startle reflex (Experiment I, and analysed event-related potentials (ERPs; Experiment II while they viewed anxious facial expressions in the context of chemosensory anxiety signals and chemosensory control stimuli. Results revealed that N1/P1 and N170 amplitudes were larger while Late Positive Potential (LPP activity was smaller for facial expressions presented in the context of the anxiety and the chemosensory control stimulus as compared to facial expressions without a chemosensory context. Furthermore, HSA participants were highly sensitive to the contextual anxiety signals. They showed enhanced motivated attention allocation (LPP, Study II, as well as larger startle responses towards faces in the context of chemosensory anxiety signals than did LSA participants (Study I. Chemosensory context had no effect on emotion regulation, and both LSA and HSA participants showed effective emotion regulation (Study I and II. In conclusion, both anxiety and chemosensory sport context stimuli enhanced early attention allocation and structural encoding, but diminished motivated attention allocation to the facial expressions. The current results show that visual and chemosensory information is integrated on virtually all levels of stimulus processing and that socially anxious individuals might be especially sensitive to chemosensory contextual social information.

  13. Mothering and anxiety: Social support and competence as mitigating factors for first-time mothers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chavis, Llena

    2016-07-01

    This study investigated anxiety as a phenomenon distinct from depression and evaluated several variables that influence anxiety in first-time mothers. This explored the relationship between maternal sense of competence (both of mothering and efficacy) and perceived social support (from family, friends, and significant others) and first-time mothers' postpartum anxiety, when depression, socioeconomic status (SES), and marital status were controlled for. The population studied were 86 first-time mothers made up of women with children 24 months or younger in two populations of Kentucky and Michigan. The constructs of maternal sense of competence and perceived social support were found to be significant in explaining first-time mothers' anxiety. The study concluded that a combined association of perceived social support and maternal sense of competence were associated with a 34% (change in R-squared = .339) decrease of a first-time mothers' anxiety. However, not all types of social support, or maternal competence appeared to be equally important with regards to maternal anxiety: social support from friends and family and maternal sense of competence in regard to productivity appeared to be most significant. Lastly, some recommendations for health practitioners who work with mothers are provided.

  14. Linking Temperamental Shyness and Social Anxiety in Childhood and Adolescence: Moderating Influences of Sex and Age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsui, Tiffany Y L; Lahat, Ayelet; Schmidt, Louis A

    2017-10-01

    Although childhood shyness has been linked to social anxiety problems, the factors playing a role in this association have gone largely unexplored. Here we examined the potential moderating roles of sex and age on this relation in a sample of 119 (75 girls) children (10-12 years) and adolescents (14-16 years). As predicted, shyness was positively associated with social anxiety symptoms. Sex, but not age, served as a moderating factor in linking shyness and social anxiety. Specifically, shyness was more strongly associated with social anxiety symptoms among girls than boys. These results suggest the importance of considering sex differences when examining the relation between shyness and social anxiety in childhood and adolescence.

  15. Reduced heart rate variability in social anxiety disorder: associations with gender and symptom severity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gail A Alvares

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Polyvagal theory emphasizes that autonomic nervous system functioning plays a key role in social behavior and emotion. The theory predicts that psychiatric disorders of social dysfunction are associated with reduced heart rate variability, an index of autonomic control, as well as social inhibition and avoidance. The purpose of this study was to examine whether heart rate variability was reduced in treatment-seeking patients diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, a disorder characterized by social fear and avoidance. METHODS: Social anxiety patients (n = 53 were recruited prior to receiving psychological therapy. Healthy volunteers were recruited through the University of Sydney and the general community and were matched by gender and age (n = 53. Heart rate variability was assessed during a five-minute recording at rest, with participants completing a range of self-report clinical symptom measures. RESULTS: Compared to controls, participants with social anxiety exhibited significant reductions across a number of heart rate variability measures. Reductions in heart rate variability were observed in females with social anxiety, compared to female controls, and in patients taking psychotropic medication compared to non-medicated patients. Finally, within the clinical group, we observed significant associations between reduced heart rate variability and increased social interaction anxiety, psychological distress, and harmful alcohol use. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study confirm that social anxiety disorder is associated with reduced heart rate variability. Resting state heart rate variability may therefore be considered a marker for social approach-related motivation and capacity for social engagement. Additionally, heart rate variability may provide a useful biomarker to explain underlying difficulties with social approach, impaired stress regulation, and behavioral inhibition, especially in disorders associated with

  16. Social anxiety and self-concept in children with epilepsy: a pilot intervention study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Jana E; Blocher, Jacquelyn B; Jackson, Daren C; Sung, Connie; Fujikawa, Mayu

    2014-10-01

    The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) anxiety intervention on social phobia, social skill development, and self-concept. Fifteen children with epilepsy and a primary anxiety disorder participated in a CBT intervention for 12 weeks plus a 3-month follow-up visit. Children were assessed at baseline, week 7, week 12, and 3 months post treatment to measure changes in social phobia using the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED). Self-concept was also assessed by using the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale II (Piers-Harris 2). There was a significant reduction in symptoms of social phobia and improved self-concept at the end of the 12-week intervention and at the 3 month follow-up. Repeated measures ANOVA's of child ratings revealed significant change over time on the SCARED-Social Phobia/Social Anxiety subscale score (p=0.024). In terms of self-concept, significant change over time was detected on the Piers-Harris 2-Total score (p=0.015) and several subscale scores of Piers-Harris 2, including: Physical Appearance and Attributes (p=0.016), Freedom from Anxiety (p=0.005), and Popularity (p=0.003). This pilot investigation utilized an evidenced based CBT intervention to reduce symptoms of social phobia, which in turn provided a vehicle to address specific social skills improving self-concept in children with epilepsy. Copyright © 2014 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Effects of rehabilitation services on anxiety, depression, care-giving burden and perceived social support of stroke caregivers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karahan, Ali Yavuz; Kucuksen, Sami; Yilmaz, Halim; Salli, Ali; Gungor, Tayfun; Sahin, Muhammed

    2014-01-01

    Few data are available on the specific care giving-related problems of stroke patient's caregivers and factors that influence the burden of these caregivers. To study the influences of the active rehabilitation process on anxiety, depression, care burden and perceived social support level of stroke patients caregivers. A prospective clinical trial. Patients and caregivers entering a rehabilitation program at a university hospital in Turkey. Ninety patients with a first episode of stroke and 90 caregivers responsible for their care were recruited for our study. Patients and caregivers were assessed before and after the active rehabilitation process. The functional disability level of the patients was assessed by Functional Independence Measure (FIM). The Beck Anxiety Scale (BAS) and the Beck Depression Scale (BDS) were used for anxiety and depression assessment, the Zarit Care Burden Scale (ZCBS) for care burden assessment and the Multi-Dimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MDSPSS) for perceived social support assessment. A statistically significant rise is observed in the special person sub-assessment of MDSPSS in both female and male caregivers. Also, a significant decrease in care burden, anxiety and depression levels of caregivers was noted after the rehabilitation program (p social support in addition to the support provided by family and friends. Also, our positive results were associated with an improvement in the patients' functional level and an increase in the acquisition of knowledge and skill required of caregivers in order to provide care during rehabilitation. The rehabilitation team should be aware of the fact that the perceived care burden may be greater due to the lack of knowledge concerning available resources and due to the inability to cope with stress effectively.

  18. Posttraumatic stress and social anxiety: the interaction of traumatic events and interpersonal fears

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Collimore, K.C.; Carleton, R.N.; Hofmann, S.G.; Asmundson, G.J.G.

    2010-01-01

    Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) are frequently camorbid among veteran and community samples. Several studies have demonstrated significant camorbidity between trauma, PTSD, and social anxiety (SA), and a growing number of studies have explored the nature of

  19. Do self-report measures of social anxiety reflect cultural bias or real difficulties for Asian American college students?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Lorinda Y; Lau, Anna S

    2011-01-01

    Construal of the self as independent or interdependent in relation to others has been found to correlate significantly with social anxiety symptom ratings, raising concerns about possible cultural bias in these measures for Asian Americans. To investigate the validity of self-reported social anxiety symptoms, we examined the role of ethnicity in the associations among social anxiety, self-construal, and adaptive social functioning in a sample of 229 Asian- and European American college students. Results revealed that ethnicity moderated the relationship between self-construal and social anxiety such that interdependent self-construal was associated with higher social anxiety only for first generation Asian Americans. However, there were no significant ethnic differences in the associations between social anxiety self-reports and several measures of social functioning.

  20. Social Interpretation Bias in Children and Adolescents with Anxiety Disorders: Psychometric Examination of the Self-report of Ambiguous Social Situations for Youth (SASSY) Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez, Araceli; Rozenman, Michelle; Langley, Audra K; Kendall, Philip C; Ginsburg, Golda S; Compton, Scott; Walkup, John T; Birmaher, Boris; Albano, Anne Marie; Piacentini, John

    2017-06-01

    Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health problems in youth, and faulty interpretation bias has been positively linked to anxiety severity, even within anxiety-disordered youth. Quick, reliable assessment of interpretation bias may be useful in identifying youth with certain types of anxiety or assessing changes on cognitive bias during intervention. This study examined the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Self-report of Ambiguous Social Situations for Youth (SASSY) scale, a self-report measure developed to assess interpretation bias in youth. Participants (N=488, age 7 to 17) met diagnostic criteria for Social Phobia, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and/or Separation Anxiety Disorder. An exploratory factor analysis was performed on baseline data from youth participating in a large randomized clinical trial. Exploratory factor analysis yielded two factors (Accusation/Blame, Social Rejection). The SASSY full scale and Social Rejection factor demonstrated adequate internal consistency, convergent validity with social anxiety, and discriminant validity as evidenced by non-significant correlations with measures of non-social anxiety. Further, the SASSY Social Rejection factor accurately distinguished children and adolescents with Social Phobia from those with other anxiety disorders, supporting its criterion validity, and revealed sensitivity to changes with treatment. Given the relevance to youth with social phobia, pre- and post-intervention data were examined for youth social phobia to test sensitivity to treatment effects; results suggested that SASSY scores reduced for treatment responders. Findings suggest the potential utility of the SASSY Social Rejection factor as a quick, reliable, and efficient way of assessing interpretation bias in anxious youth, particularly as related to social concerns, in research and clinical settings.