Adolescent Safety Behaviors and Social Anxiety: Links to Psychosocial Impairments and Functioning with Unfamiliar Peer Confederates

2021 ◽  
pp. 014544552110540
Author(s):  
Hide Okuno ◽  
Taylor Rezeppa ◽  
Tabitha Raskin ◽  
Andres De Los Reyes
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Eye Contact ◽  
Safety Behaviors ◽  
Socially Anxious ◽  
Research Personnel ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Social Skills Deficits ◽  
Multiple Domains

Socially anxious adolescents often endure anxiety-provoking situations using safety behaviors: strategies for minimizing in-the-moment distress (e.g., avoiding eye contact, rehearsing statements before entering a conversation). Studies linking safety behaviors to impaired functioning have largely focused on adults. In a sample of one hundred thirty-four 14 to 15 year-old adolescents, we tested whether levels of safety behaviors among socially anxious adolescents relate to multiple domains of impaired functioning. Adolescents, parents, and research personnel completed survey measures of safety behaviors and social anxiety, adolescents and parents reported about adolescents’ evaluative fears and psychosocial impairments, and adolescents participated in a set of tasks designed to simulate social interactions with same-age, unfamiliar peers. Relative to other adolescents in the sample, adolescents high on both safety behaviors and social anxiety displayed greater psychosocial impairments, evaluative fears, and observed social skills deficits within social interactions. These findings have important implications for assessing and treating adolescent social anxiety.

scholarly journals Autistic Traits Predict Social-Contact Uncertainty in University Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Bertrams ◽  
Myriam Zäch
Keyword(s):  
Social Anxiety ◽  
University Students ◽  
Social Contact ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Socially Anxious ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The University

Social anxiety (alternatively: social-contact uncertainty) in the university context can lead to reduced health, well-being, and performance, and can even cause premature leaving of education. With the present study, we intended to supplement cross-sectional studies on students' autistic traits and social anxiety with longitudinal findings. We measured autistic traits and social-contact uncertainty of 118 university students on two occasions, roughly 1 year apart. Correlation, multiple regression, and cross-lagged analyses showed that more pronounced autistic traits predicted higher future social-contact uncertainty. Social-contact uncertainty did not predict autistic traits. We conclude that university students who are high in autistic traits tend not only to be more socially anxious at the moment but have a heightened risk of still being so in the future.

Social Anxiety, Recall of Interpersonal Information, and Social Impact on Others

1998 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 303-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debra A. Hope ◽  
Karen D. Sigler ◽  
David L. Penn ◽  
Valerie Meier
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
The Other ◽  
Socially Anxious ◽  
Cognitive Theories ◽  
Interpersonal Information

This study sought to replicate and extend a previous study in which social anxiety was associated with poorer recall of the details of a social interaction as well as to test various hypotheses derived from Trower and Gilbert’s (1989) psychobiological/ethological theory of social anxiety. Socially anxious and nonanxious undergraduate students participated in a heterosocial conversation with a confederate under the observation of a second subject. Consistent with the previous study, there was some evidence that social anxiety was associated with poorer recall of interaction details for women. Social anxiety and recall were unrelated for men. Men demonstrated poorer recall than women overall. The hypotheses derived from Trower and Gilbert’s theory were largely supported, suggesting socially anxious individuals view social interactions as competitive endeavors in which they are ill equipped to challenge the other person. Rather, they adopt self-effacing strategies, but still doubt their success. Finally, the judgments of nonanxious individuals about their impact on others appeared to be positively biased. Implications for cognitive theories of social anxiety are discussed.

The Assessment of Social Skills Deficits in the Elderly

1983 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Furnham ◽  
David Pendleton
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Older People ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Social Situations ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Difficulty Scale ◽  
Social Skills Deficits ◽  
And Training

This paper tested the hypothesis that a sample of elderly people compared to a matched sample of younger people reports an increase in difficulty and social anxiety in dealing with a wide range of everyday social situations. The literature on assertiveness and social skills training with the elderly was first reviewed. Then an assertiveness and social difficulty scale was administered to a group of eighty participants divided by age and sex. It was found that older people experienced less discomfort in situations requiring assertiveness, yet were less likely to respond assertively. Older people reported higher incidence of social anxiety across forty everyday situations. In general females reported more difficulty than males, though there were no interaction effects. The results are discussed in terms of the assessment and training of social skills in the elderly.

scholarly journals Social Anxiety and Social Behavior: A Test of Predictions From an Evolutionary Model

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin B. Tone ◽  
Eddy Nahmias ◽  
Roger Bakeman ◽  
Trevor Kvaran ◽  
Sarah F. Brosnan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Evolutionary Model ◽  
Social Cognitions ◽  
Socially Anxious ◽  
Submissive Behavior ◽  
Anxious Behavior ◽  
And Behavior

An influential evolutionary model proposed that social anxiety biases people to treat social interactions as competitive struggles with the primary goal of avoiding status loss. Among subordinate nonhuman primates in highly hierarchical social groups, this goal leads to adaptive submissive behavior; for humans, however, affiliative responses may be more effective. We tested three predictions about social anxiety and social cognitions, emotions, and behavior that Trower and Gilbert advanced. College students ( N = 122) whose self-reported social anxiety ranged from minimal to extremely high played the Prisoner’s Dilemma game three times. Consistent with two model-based predictions, social anxiety was positively associated with self-reported competitive goals and with nervousness during game play. Unexpectedly, however, social anxiety was associated with a tendency to engage with coplayers in an ostensibly hostile, rather than appeasing, manner. We discuss implications of these findings for updated models of socially anxious behavior.

Social Skills Deficits and Self-appraisal Biases in Children with Social Anxiety Disorder

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Lau ◽  
Anna M. Zhou ◽  
Amanda Yuan ◽  
Ryan Parigoris ◽  
Abby R. Rosenberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Skills Deficits

Treatment Utility of Response Class Assessment in Heterosocial Difficulties

1987 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 816-818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosemery O. Nelson ◽  
Steven C. Hayes ◽  
Robin B. Jarrett ◽  
Sandra T. Sigmon ◽  
Dennis L. McKnight
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
College Student ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Response Class ◽  
Treatment Utility ◽  
Self Monitoring ◽  
Social Skills Deficits ◽  
Questionnaire Measures

College-student males ( n = 27) with self-reported heterosocial difficulties received treatment that was either matched or mismatched to their identified (by questionnaires) problematic response class of social anxiety, social skills deficits, or irrational cognitions. Both matched and mismarched treatments produced significant pre-post changes on the questionnaire measures, but only marched treatment produced significant pre-post changes on the role-playing and self-monitoring measures.

Behavioral Assessment of Social Interactions in Natural Settings

1996 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Santoyo
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Behavioral Assessment ◽  
Behavioral Observation ◽  
Social Responsiveness ◽  
Social Agents ◽  
Social Effectiveness ◽  
Natural Settings

The present paper deals with behavioral assessment of social interaction in natural settings. The design of observational systems that allow the identification of the direction, contents, quality and social agents involved in a social interchange is an aim of social interaction assessment and research. In the first part a description of a system of behavioral observation of social interaction is presented. This system permits the identification of the above mentioned aspects. Secondly a strategy for the behavioral assessment of social skills is described. This strategy is based on the consequences and effects of social interaction, and it is supported by three basic processes: social effectiveness, social responsiveness and reciprocity.

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