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.

scholarly journals Learning from other people's fear: amygdala-based social reference learning in social anxiety disorder

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (14) ◽  
pp. 2943-2953 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. S. Blair ◽  
M. Otero ◽  
C. Teng ◽  
M. Geraci ◽  
E. Lewis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Comparison Group ◽  
Social Referencing ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Anxiety Group ◽  
Amygdala Activation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Reference

BackgroundSocial anxiety disorder involves fear of social objects or situations. Social referencing may play an important role in the acquisition of this fear and could be a key determinant in future biomarkers and treatment pathways. However, the neural underpinnings mediating such learning in social anxiety are unknown. Using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined social reference learning in social anxiety disorder. Specifically, would patients with the disorder show increased amygdala activity during social reference learning, and further, following social reference learning, show particularly increased response to objects associated with other people's negative reactions?MethodA total of 32 unmedicated patients with social anxiety disorder and 22 age-, intelligence quotient- and gender-matched healthy individuals responded to objects that had become associated with others’ fearful, angry, happy or neutral reactions.ResultsDuring the social reference learning phase, a significant group × social context interaction revealed that, relative to the comparison group, the social anxiety group showed a significantly greater response in the amygdala, as well as rostral, dorsomedial and lateral frontal and parietal cortices during the social, relative to non-social, referencing trials. In addition, during the object test phase, relative to the comparison group, the social anxiety group showed increased bilateral amygdala activation to objects associated with others’ fearful reactions, and a trend towards decreased amygdala activation to objects associated with others’ happy and neutral reactions.ConclusionsThese results suggest perturbed observational learning in social anxiety disorder. In addition, they further implicate the amygdala and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex in the disorder, and underscore their importance in future biomarker developments.

New perspectives on the assessment of the Social Anxiety Disorder: The Formal Psychological Assessment

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-58
Author(s):  
Umberto Granziol ◽  
◽  
Gioia Bottesi ◽  
Francesca Serra ◽  
Andrea Spoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Psychological Assessment ◽  
The Social

scholarly journals Coping with negative mental images in social anxiety disorder: Investigating the potential benefits of image morphing

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 204380871881375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanja Vidovic ◽  
Mia Romano ◽  
David A. Moscovitch
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Positive Affect ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Daily Practice ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Image Morphing ◽  
Healthy Control ◽  
Potential Benefits

Negative mental imagery contributes to symptom maintenance in social anxiety disorder (SAD). Here, we investigated the effects of image morphing, a brief mental strategy designed to facilitate access to positive images. Participants with SAD and healthy control (HC) participants were randomly assigned to receive either image morphing or supportive counseling. Although initial training and 1-week daily practice were successful in equipping morphing participants across groups with the required skill, those assigned to morphing failed to demonstrate differential improvements in positive affect, negative affect, or self-perception relative to control participants during a subsequent social stress task. Ancillary analyses revealed that the number of positive details contained in retrieved or morphed images prior to the task significantly predicted the level of positive affect reported after the task, but this effect was observed only for HC participants. We discuss the need for future research to refine innovative imagery-based psychotherapeutic strategies for social anxiety.

scholarly journals Assessing Client Progress Session by Session in the Treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder: The Social Anxiety Session Change Index

2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah A. Hayes ◽  
Nathan A. Miller ◽  
Debra A. Hope ◽  
Richard G. Heimberg ◽  
Harlan R. Juster
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Session Change ◽  
The Social ◽  
Client Progress

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 Social phobia: relevance and perspectives

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. e0401151
Author(s):  
Oleksandr Avramchuk
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Phobia ◽  
Social Functioning ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Clinical Picture ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
The Social

Background Epidemiological studies indicate that social anxiety disorder is one of the most common mental health disorders. However, despite the prevalence of social anxiety disorder, a large amount of information, the possibilities of psychotherapy and medical treatment, many patients for various reasons do not receive or do not seek help. Aim Generalization of actual knowledge and research on the aetiology and pathogenetic mechanisms of social phobias and coverage of the actual issues of low referral of people suffering from social phobia Methods For review, the following databases, such as ScienceDirect, ResearchGate, PubMed and Google Scholar, were used. The search was performed using the keywords: social anxiety disorder, sociophobia, social anxiety, cognitive-behavioral model, neurobiology, mental health. Results The general information about social anxiety disorder, its prevalence and its consequences were covered. The main etiological mechanisms, modern views on the neurobiological and psychological basis of the disorder are considered. In addition, the peculiarities of the clinical picture and its influence on the social functioning of the individual, including the referral of help, were analyzed. The aspects that are useful to consider during the development of recommendations for specialists in general medical practice and centers of public mental health were suggested. Conclusion A social anxiety disorder should be considered as a complex mental health disorder. Recognition of signs of social anxiety disorder in their component often leads to a false interpretation of clinical signs as manifestations of depression or other neurotic disorders among primary care professionals. Informing general practitioners and specialists of public mental health centers about the traits of the clinical picture and the social functioning of patients with this disorder can help to overcome the stigma and improve the referral of qualified assistance.

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