The Maintaining Factors of Social Anxiety: A Three-Group Comparison of a Clinical Sample with Highly Socially Anxious Students and Non-Anxious Students

2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 385-396
Author(s):  
Sonja Skocic ◽  
Henry Jackson ◽  
Carol Hulbert ◽  
Christina Faber
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Cognitive Model ◽  
Clinical Samples ◽  
Group Comparison ◽  
Socially Anxious ◽  
Low Levels

Background: Clark and Wells' (1995) cognitive model of social anxiety (CWM) explains the maintenance of social anxiety and has been used as a guide for treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). Few studies have examined the components of the model together across different samples. Aims: This study had two distinct aims: to test the components of CWM and to examine how the variables of CWM may differ between clinical and non-clinical samples with varying levels of social anxiety. Method: Hypothesized relationships between three groups (i.e. a clinical sample of individuals diagnosed with SAD (ClinS), n = 40; socially anxious students (HSA), n = 40; and, non-anxious students (LSA), n = 40) were investigated. Results: Four out of five CWM variables tested were able to distinguish between highly socially anxious and non-anxious groups after controlling for age and depression. Conclusions: CWM variables are able to distinguish between high and low levels of social anxiety and are uniquely related to social anxiety over depression.

The Appraisal of Social Concerns Scale: Psychometric Validation With a Clinical Sample of Patients With Social Anxiety Disorder

2006 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 392-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke T. Schultz ◽  
Richard G. Heimberg ◽  
Thomas L. Rodebaugh ◽  
Franklin R. Schneier ◽  
Michael R. Liebowitz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Psychometric Validation ◽  
Social Concerns

scholarly journals Neuroendocrine models of social anxiety disorder

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-293 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Peptide Hormones ◽  
Social Avoidance ◽  
Socially Anxious ◽  
Submissive Behavior ◽  
Early Trauma ◽  
Developmental Windows

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, often established early in development through the interaction between biological and psychological factors (eg, genetic predisposition x early trauma), predispose to socially fearful, avoidant, and submissive behavior. However, whereas gene variants and histories of trauma persist, hormonal systems can be remodeled over the course of life. Hormones play a key role during the periods of all sensitive developmental windows (ie, prenatal, neonatal, puberty, aging), and are capable of opening up new developmental windows in adulthood. Indeed, the developmental plasticity of our social brain, and thus of social behavior in adulthood, critically depends on steroid hormones such as testosterone and peptide hormones such as oxytocin. These steroid and peptide hormones in interaction with social experiences may have potential for reprogramming the socially anxious brain. Certainly, single administrations of oxytocin and testosterone in humans reduce socially fearful, avoidant, and submissive behavior. Such work may ultimately lead to new approaches to the treatment of SAD.

scholarly journals Cognitive Variables in Social Anxiety Disorder in Children and Adolescents: A Network Analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Vogel ◽  
Julian Reichert ◽  
Daniela Hartmann ◽  
Christina Schwenck
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Cognitive Model ◽  
Cognitive Variables ◽  
Dysfunctional Cognitions ◽  
Strongly Connected ◽  
Negative Expectations

AbstractClark and Wells’ prominent model of social anxiety disorder (SAD) assumes that cognitive variables such as negative expectations or dysfunctional cognitions play a central role in the symptomatology of SAD. In contrast to adults, it is less clear how well the cognitive model can be applied to children and adolescents. A network analysis with seven nodes was conducted to explore the importance of cognitive variables and their interaction with symptoms of SAD based on N = 205 children and adolescents (8–18 years, M = 11.54 years). Cognitive variables had a high but differential impact within the positively connected network of SAD. Dysfunctional cognitions were most strongly connected within the network. Dysfunctional cognitions, as predicted by Clark and Wells’ model, seem to act as a hub affecting several symptoms. The association between negative expectations and avoidance indicates that negative expectations may particularly contribute to the maintenance of SAD.

scholarly journals Inflated sense of responsibility, explanatory style and the cognitive model of social anxiety disorder: a brief report of a case control study

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Jones ◽  
Sarah Rakovshik
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Explanatory Style ◽  
Causal Attribution ◽  
Cognitive Model ◽  
Behavioural Therapy ◽  
List Type ◽  
Cognitive Behavioural ◽  
Inflated Responsibility

AbstractWe sought to investigate situation-specific inflated sense of responsibility and explanatory style in social anxiety disorder (SAD) according to the cognitive model. Participants aged 17–68 years (mean = 31.9, SD = 11.1) included waiting list patients referred to a primary care mental health service for cognitive behavioural therapy for SAD (n = 18) and non-anxious control participants (n = 65). A battery of psychometric measures, including a bespoke measure of responsibility beliefs, was used. Compared with controls, participants with SAD were more likely to demonstrate an inflated sense of responsibility (p ≤ 0.001), and to adopt a negative explanatory style specific to social interaction (p ≤ 0.01). Inflated sense of responsibility was found to correlate with SAD symptomatology (r = 0.47, p ≤ 0.05), and with increased usage of safety behaviours (r = 0.47, p ≤ 0.05). Caseness (β = 1.45, p ≤ 0.01) and stability of causal attribution (β = 0.25, p ≤ 0.001) were found to predict inflated responsibility in our sample. To our knowledge this study represents the first attempt to investigate inflated responsibility within the context of SAD. Our results support the notion of inflated responsibility as a feature of SAD.Key learning aims(1)To understand the cognitive behavioural components of Clark and Wells’ model of SAD, and their bi-directional nature.(2)To understand what the term ‘inflated sense of responsibility’ refers to, and how it relates to CBT.(3)To understand what the term ‘explanatory style’ refers to, and how this concept can also relate to CBT.

scholarly journals A Novel Attention Bias Modification Single Session Training Improves Eye Gaze Behaviour in Social Anxiety Disorder: A Pilot Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-27
Author(s):  
Louise F. Carey ◽  
Giles M. Anderson ◽  
Sanjay Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Attentional Bias ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Attention Bias ◽  
Socially Anxious ◽  
Attention Bias Modification ◽  
Attentional Deployment ◽  
Gaze Behaviour ◽  
Bias Modification

AbstractBackgroundAttention bias modification (ABM) can reduce anxiety and attentional bias towards threatening stimuli, but evidence of its usefulness as a potential intervention for socially anxious individuals has been mixed. Eye contact avoidance, a maladaptive attentional strategy in social anxiety disorder (SAD), has yet to be targeted by ABM research.AimsThis study sought to establish whether a new ABM training paradigm could increase attentional deployment towards eyes and what effect this would have on social and gaze-related anxiety.MethodParticipants (n = 23) recruited through adverts calling for people who felt anxious in social situations completed either a novel ABM training task designed to induce attentional bias towards images of eyes over images of noses, or control training. Data on response times (RTs), accuracy of responses, gaze behaviour (using an eye tracker) and scores on clinical measures of social and gaze-related anxiety were collected before and after both training tasks.ResultsABM training produced a greater number of initial saccades towards eye images than did the control task, indicating an induced shift in early attentional deployment. ABM training was also associated with a marginal increase in fixation durations on eye images. No effect was observed on RTs or social and gaze-related anxiety.ConclusionsOur results indicate that ABM can alter the gaze behaviour of socially anxious individuals. They also highlight the importance of eye tracking to ABM research, because it was more sensitive than analyses of RTs to changes in early attentional deployment.

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

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
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.

Dating With Social Anxiety: An Empirical Examination of Momentary Anxiety and Desire for Future Interaction

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maya Asher ◽  
Idan M. Aderka
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Empirical Examination ◽  
Socially Anxious ◽  
Small Talk ◽  
Interaction Partners ◽  
Opposite Sex

Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) have substantial difficulties in romantic relationships. The aim of the present study was to examine initial, opposite-sex interactions of individuals with SAD and their interaction partners. Specifically, we investigated gender and social context (small talk vs. closeness-generating conversations) and their effects on momentary social anxiety during the interaction, as well as on participants’ desire for future interaction. Participants in this study ( N = 160) formed 42 experimental dyads, each comprising one individual with SAD and another non–socially anxious (NSA) individual, and 38 control dyads of two NSA individuals. We found that men with SAD benefitted significantly from closeness-generating interactions such that levels of momentary social anxiety were greatly reduced and both members of the dyad reported increased desire for future interaction. This effect was not found in small-talk conversations and not found for women with SAD. Implications for psychopathology and treatment are discussed.

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