Social Anxiety Disorder: An Update on Diagnostics, Epidemiology, Etiology, Assessment, Treatment, Unanswered Questions, and Future Directions

This study was designed to clarify the discrepancy between data showing higher self-reported levels of social anxiety in Asian Americans (Horng, 2004; Okazaki, 1997, 2000, 2002) but lower lifetime prevalence rates of social anxiety disorder (SAD) in Asian Americans compared to Caucasian Americans (Hwu, Yeh, & Chang, 1989; Lee et al., 1990b; Takeuchi et al., 1998). Results revealed that based on responses on the self-report Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN), Asian Americans endorsed higher levels of social anxiety symptoms and were more likely to meet a threshold for “high social anxiety,” using the diagnostic cutoff score of 19 or higher on the SPIN. However, when clinician-formulated diagnoses were assigned, there was no evidence for significant differences in the prevalence of SAD in Asian Americans versus Caucasian Americans. Explanation of the results, their implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

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Examining Facets of Depression and Social Anxiety: The Relation among Lack of Positive Affect, Negative Cognitions, and Emotion Dysregulation

The Spanish Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1017/sjp.2017.43 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 20 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ivan Blanco ◽

Jutta Joormann

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Social Anxiety ◽

Positive Affect ◽

Social Anxiety Disorder ◽

Emotion Dysregulation ◽

Negative Cognitions ◽

Future Directions ◽

Socially Anxious ◽

Anxiety Group ◽

The Social

AbstractDepression and Social Anxiety Disorder are commonly conceptualized by the presence of negative affect. However, these disorders are also characterized by lack of positive affect, presence of negative cognitions, and emotion dysregulation which may play an important role in the onset and maintenance of these disorders. The present study explored differences among these variables in 189 clinical patients diagnosed with Major Depression, Social Anxiety Disorder, or both. Results showed differences in lack of positivity F(2, 185) = 18.92, p = .0001, η2 = .17, presence of negative cognitions F(2, 185) = 13.97, p = .0001, η2 = .13, and the use of rumination F(2, 185) = 14.63, p = .0001, η2 = .14 and punishment F(2, 181) = 7.64, p = .001, η2 = .08 among groups. Overall, lack of positivity, negative cognitions, and emotion dysregulation were elevated in the comorbid group, whereas lack of positivity and negative cognitions were specifically found for patients diagnosed with depression compared to socially anxious patients. In addition, the study examined the relation of both, lack of positivity and negative cognitions, to emotion regulation processes among groups. Overall, lack of positivity was associated with fear and avoidance in the social anxiety group (all r > .417, p < .01), whereas lack of positivity and negative cognitions were associated with rumination across the three groups (all r > .370, p < .01). Limitations of the present study and future directions are discussed.

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