scholarly journals Rodgers, Lau, & Zebrowski (preprint) - "Examining the effects of stuttering and social anxiety on interpretations of ambiguous social scenarios among adolescents"

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi Hertsberg Rodgers
Keyword(s):  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Young People ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Social Cues ◽  
Interpretation Bias ◽  
Verbal Interaction ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Speech Sample ◽  
Ambiguous Information ◽  
General Anxiety

PURPOSE: The proclivity to construe ambiguous information in a negative way is known as interpretation bias, which has been implicated in the onset and/or maintenance of social anxiety. The purpose of this study was to examine group and individual differences in interpretation bias among young people who stutter and their typically fluent peers during the adolescent years when social fears and worries tend to escalate. METHODS: A total of 99 adolescents (13 to 19 years old) participated, including 48 adolescents who stutter (67% male) and 51 typically fluent controls (68% male). They completed a computerized vignette-based interpretation bias task in which they first read 14 short ambiguous social scenarios (half including a verbal interaction, half including a non-verbal interaction). They were then presented with four possible interpretations of each scenario including two negative interpretations (one target, one foil) and two positive interpretations (one target, one foil). Participants used a 4-point Likert scale to rate how similar in meaning each interpretation was to the original scenario. Participants also completed self-report measures of social and general anxiety, and provided a speech sample for stuttering analysis. RESULTS: There was no effect of stuttering on interpretations; the adolescents who stutter rated interpretations across both verbal and non-verbal scenarios comparably to the controls, and stuttering severity did not affect interpretation ratings. However, across groups, there was a significant effect of social anxiety such that higher social anxiety was associated with more negative interpretations, and lower social anxiety was associated with more positive interpretations.DISCUSSION: This study provides preliminary evidence that social anxiety may affect how adolescents interpret ambiguous social cues in verbal and non-verbal scenarios more than stuttering, although more research into how people who stutter process social information is warranted.

scholarly journals Cognitive Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder in Adolescents: A Development Case Series

2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanor Leigh ◽  
David M. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Young People ◽  
Cognitive Therapy ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Process Measures ◽  
General Anxiety ◽  
Differential Effectiveness ◽  
End Of Treatment

Background: Social anxiety disorder is common and typically starts in childhood or adolescence. Cognitive Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder (CT-SAD) in adults is a well-established treatment that shows strong evidence of differential effectiveness when compared to other active treatments. In contrast, CBT approaches to social anxiety in young people have yet to demonstrate differential effectiveness and there is some evidence that young people with social anxiety disorder respond less well than those with other anxiety disorders. Aims: To adapt CT-SAD for use with adolescents and conduct a pilot case series. Method: Five adolescents, aged 11–17 years, with a primary DSM-5 diagnosis of social anxiety disorder received a course of CT-SAD adapted for adolescents. Standardized clinical interview and questionnaire assessments were conducted at pre and posttreatment, and 2 to 3-month follow-up. Results: All five participants reported severe social anxiety at baseline and achieved remission by the end of treatment. Significant improvements were also observed in general anxiety, depression, concentration in the classroom, and putative process measures (social anxiety related thoughts, beliefs and safety behaviours). Conclusions: An adapted form of CT-SAD shows promise as a treatment for adolescents.

scholarly journals Social anxiety in a multiple sclerosis clinic population

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 393-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Poder ◽  
K Ghatavi ◽  
JD Fisk ◽  
TL Campbell ◽  
S Kisely ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Research Unit ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Neurological Disability ◽  
General Anxiety ◽  
Neurologic Disability

Background Little is known about social anxiety in MS. Objective We estimated the prevalence of social anxiety symptoms and their association with demographic and clinical features in a clinic-attending sample of patients with MS. Methods Patients attending the Dalhousie MS Research Unit for regularly scheduled visits completed the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the Health Utilities Index (HUI). Neurological disability was determined by ratings on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). Results A total of 251 patients completed self-report scales of anxiety and depression symptoms. In all, 245 (98%) provided sufficient data for analysis. In all, 30.6% ( n = 75) had clinically significant social anxiety symptoms as defined by a SPIN threshold score of 19. Half of those with social anxiety had general anxiety (HADSA ≥ 11) and a quarter had depression (HADSD ≥ 11). Severity of social anxiety symptoms was associated with reduced health-related quality of life and not related to neurological disability. Conclusions Social anxiety symptoms are common in persons with MS, contribute to overall morbidity, but are unrelated to the overall severity of neurologic disability. Greater awareness and routine systematic inquiry of social anxiety symptoms is an important component of comprehensive care for persons with MS.

scholarly journals Concurrent and Prospective Associations Between Social Anxiety and Responses to Stress in Adolescence

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anke W. Blöte ◽  
Anne C. Miers ◽  
P. Michiel Westenberg
Keyword(s):  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Coping Responses ◽  
General Anxiety ◽  
As Stress ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractSeveral studies have investigated the relationship between adolescents’ responses to stress and general anxiety and depression, but only few studies addressed the relationship between responses to stress and social anxiety. The current three-wave longitudinal study, that covered a period of 5 years with a time interval of on average two years between waves, examined concurrent as well as prospective relations between adolescents’ self-reported stress responses, including coping responses, and self-perceived social anxiety. Both the predictive power of social anxiety for different stress responses and, reversely, of stress responses for social anxiety were evaluated. Participants were 331 youth (170 boys) aged 9 to 17 years old at Wave 1. Self-report questionnaires were used to measure social anxiety, responses to social stress, and depressive symptoms. Results showed significant concurrent relations between social anxiety and maladaptive stress responses. Moreover, the study yielded evidence for social anxiety predicting stress responses across time as well as stress responses predicting social anxiety, although evidence for the former link is stronger. The findings suggest that a relative lack of adaptive stress responses may heighten social anxiety and social anxiety in turn may trigger maladaptive as well as adaptive responses to social problems. The relevance of these findings for social anxiety prevention and intervention purposes are discussed.

scholarly journals College student’s social anxiety: a study of the young people mental health in digital age

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Cahyaning Suryaningrum
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
College Students ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Young People ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Male College ◽  
Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Quantitative Descriptive

Purpose of this study is to analyze whether in the current era social anxiety problems are still developing among college students and whether there are any differences in the level of social anxiety was based on the year of entry (new college students - old college students) and gender. This research is a quantitative-descriptive and comparative studies. Hypotheses are there is no difference in social anxiety level based on the year of entry nor gender. The subjects are undergraduate college students totaled 364 people. Instrument used for data collection is Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale-Self Report (LSAs-SR). Results showed that 76.9% of the subjects experienced social anxiety. There is no difference in the level of social anxiety among new college students and old college college students nor between male college students and college students.

Higher Social Anxiety Severity Predicts Better Cognitive Empathy Performance in Women but Not Men

2020 ◽  
pp. 003329412096549
Author(s):  
Samantha K. Berg ◽  
Jeffrey S. Bedwell ◽  
Robert D. Dvorak ◽  
Erin B. Tone
Keyword(s):  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Path Analysis ◽  
Cognitive Empathy ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Behavioral Measure ◽  
Affective Empathy ◽  
Socially Anxious ◽  
General Anxiety ◽  
Biological Sex ◽  
The Mind

Findings regarding relationships between social anxiety and subtypes of empathy have been mixed, and one study suggested that this may be due to moderation by biological sex. The present study examined whether accounting for general anxiety and biological sex clarifies these relationships. Undergraduates ( N = 701, 76% female) completed online self-report measures of cognitive and affective empathy, social and general anxiety severity, and a behavioral measure of cognitive empathy (Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task; MIE). Path analysis examined relationships among social and general anxiety severity and affective and cognitive empathy. Model modification indices showed a significant influence of sex on the path from social anxiety severity to MIE accuracy. When the model was re-estimated with this path freed, more socially anxious women, but not men, showed greater MIE accuracy. Across both sexes, general anxiety severity related negatively to self-reported and behavioral (MIE) cognitive empathy. Affective empathy did not relate to either type of anxiety. The use of path analysis to simultaneously account for overlapping variance among measures of anxiety and empathy helps clarify earlier mixed findings on relationships between social anxiety and empathy subtypes.

scholarly journals Online Social anxiety Cognitive therapy for Adolescents (OSCA): protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Trials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanor Leigh ◽  
David M. Clark
Keyword(s):  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Cognitive Therapy ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Large Population ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
General Anxiety ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Randomised Controlled

Abstract Background Adolescent social anxiety disorder (SAD) is common, impairing and persistent. There is a need to intervene early to avert its long-term consequences. Cognitive Therapy for SAD is the leading treatment for adults and shows promise for adolescents. However, given the scale of the problem of adolescent SAD and the limited availability of psychological therapists in child and adolescent mental health services, there is a substantial gap in service provision. Delivering therapy via the Internet may provide part of the solution to this problem. An Internet version of adult Cognitive Therapy for SAD has been developed, with outcomes similar to face-to-face therapy. We have recently adapted this treatment for use with adolescents with SAD. Here, we describe a randomised controlled trial designed to test the efficacy of Internet Cognitive Therapy for adolescent SAD compared to waitlist. Methods/design Forty adolescents aged 14–18 years with a diagnosis of SAD will be recruited via schools. Participants will be randomly allocated to Internet Cognitive Therapy or to waitlist. All participants will be assessed three times during the study—at baseline (pretreatment/wait), midtreatment/wait (week 8) and posttreatment/wait (week 15). Participants in the experimental arm will also complete weekly measures as part of the online program and they will be assessed at 3 and 6 months. Postwait, participants in the waitlist arm will be offered Internet Cognitive Therapy, and weekly and posttreatment data will also be collected for them. The trial aims to test whether Internet Cognitive Therapy is superior to waitlist in reducing social anxiety symptoms and in reducing the proportion of adolescents meeting criteria for SAD. Other outcomes of interest include depression and general anxiety symptoms. Acceptability of the online treatment will also be evaluated. Discussion This randomised controlled trial will provide preliminary evidence on whether this intervention, requiring relatively low levels of therapist input, is safe and clinically effective. If this is shown to be the case, Internet Cognitive Therapy for adolescents has the potential to provide a service to the large population of adolescents with untreated SAD. Trial registration ISRCTN Registry, ISRCTN15079139. Version 1 registered on 06/02/2019.

scholarly journals Online Social anxiety Cognitive therapy for Adolescents (OSCA): a randomised controlled trial

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanor Leigh ◽  
David M Clark
Keyword(s):  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Cognitive Therapy ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Large Population ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
General Anxiety ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Randomised Controlled

Abstract Background Adolescent social anxiety disorder (SAD) is common, impairing and persistent. There is a need to intervene early to avert its long-term consequences. Cognitive Therapy for SAD is the leading treatment for adults and shows promise for adolescents. However, given the scale of the problem of adolescent SAD and the limited availability of psychological therapists in child and adolescent mental health services, there is a substantial gap in service provision. Delivering therapy via the Internet may provide part of the solution to this problem. An Internet version of adult Cognitive Therapy for SAD has been developed, with outcomes similar to face-to-face therapy. We have recently adapted this treatment for use with adolescents with SAD. Here, we describe a randomised controlled trial designed to test the efficacy of Internet Cognitive Therapy for adolescent SAD compared to waitlist. Methods and Design Forty adolescents aged 14-18 years old with a diagnosis of SAD will be recruited via schools. Participants will be randomly allocated to Internet Cognitive Therapy or to waitlist. All participants will be assessed three times during the study – at baseline (pretreatment/wait), midtreatment/wait (week 8), and at posttreatment/wait (week 15). Participants in the experimental arm will also complete weekly measures as part of the online program and they will be assessed at 3 and 6 months follow-up. Postwait, participants in the waitlist arm will be offered Internet Cognitive Therapy, and weekly and posttreatment data will also be collected for them. The trial aims to test whether Internet Cognitive Therapy is superior to waitlist in reducing social anxiety symptoms and in reducing the proportion of adolescents meeting criteria for SAD. Other outcomes of interest include depression and general anxiety symptoms. Acceptability of the online treatment will also be evaluated. Discussion This RCT will provide preliminary evidence on whether this intervention, requiring relatively low levels of therapist input, is safe and clinically effective. If this is shown to be the case, Internet Cognitive Therapy for adolescents has the potential to provide a service to the large population of adolescents with untreated SAD.

Symptom Accommodation Related to Social Anxiety Symptoms in Adults: Phenomenology, Correlates, and Impairment

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nayana Joogoolsingh ◽  
Monica S. Wu ◽  
Adam B. Lewin ◽  
Eric A. Storch
Keyword(s):  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Anxiety Sensitivity ◽  
Anxiety Symptom ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Negative Evaluation ◽  
Fear Of Negative Evaluation ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Socially Anxious ◽  
General Anxiety

Background and Objectives: Socially anxious individuals often engage in various safety and avoidant behaviors to temporarily decrease distress. Similarly, friends or family members may engage in accommodating behaviors, commonly manifesting through the facilitation of avoidance, completion of tasks, or schedule modifications. Studies examining symptom accommodation in adult social anxiety are lacking, so this study seeks to better understand symptom accommodation and its consequent impairment in socially anxious adults. Design and Methods: There were 380 undergraduate students who completed a battery of self-report questionnaires through an online system. Constructs assessed include social anxiety, symptom accommodation, and impairment as well as related variables such as general anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, alcohol use, and anxiety sensitivity. Results: Symptom accommodation was positively correlated with social anxiety symptoms, functional impairment, general anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, fear of negative evaluation, and alcohol use. Individuals with considerable social anxiety reported significantly higher levels of symptom accommodation than individuals who reported lower levels of social anxiety. Anxiety sensitivity predicted symptom accommodation beyond the contribution of social anxiety. Symptom accommodation mediated the relationship between social anxiety and impairment. Conclusions: These data help elucidate the presentation and impact of symptom accommodation related to social anxiety. Implications for assessment, treatment, and future directions are presented.

scholarly journals Understanding mechanisms that may underlie the development and maintenance of anxiety in children and adolescents: Cognitive biases and parenting behaviours

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Lauren Bryce
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Interpretation Bias ◽  
Memory Bias ◽  
Ambiguous Information ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Interpretation Biases ◽  
Parental Autonomy ◽  
Negative Memories ◽  
Parenting Behaviours

<p>Anxiety is one of the most common forms of psychopathology in children and adolescents. Understanding the mechanisms that underlie the development and maintenance of this disorder is therefore critical. A variety of factors that interact with one another are likely to contribute to the risk and perpetuation of anxiety in young people. Moreover, risk and maintaining factors can occur at both an individual and environmental level. Cognitive biases are one such factor occurring at an individual level that are investigated in Study 1 and Study 2 of this thesis. Cognitive biases are also predicted to have associations with particular kinds of parenting behaviours, and Study 3 investigated these parenting behaviours. Study 3, therefore, provides a bridge between individual level cognitive mechanisms and possible environmental contexts that may contribute to the risk and maintenance of anxiety in young people.  In Study 1, the relationships amongst anxiety, interpretation bias, and memory bias were investigated in children (M = 10.1 years, SD = 0.8). Children with higher levels of anxiety exhibit interpretation biases; a tendency to interpret ambiguous information in a negative manner. Moreover, interpretation biases are predicted to create negative memories for ambiguous information. In Study 1, 62 children heard ambiguous information about a novel animal and their interpretation and recall for this information was assessed. Interpretation bias was significantly associated with memory bias; children who interpreted the ambiguous information in a negative way also reported a greater number of negative memories for this information. Children with higher levels of anxiety also reported a greater number of negative memories.  In Study 2 the relationship between interpretation bias and memory bias was investigated within an experimental paradigm, to understand whether there was evidence for a causal relationship between these cognitive biases. Children (M = 9.7 years, SD = 1.1) heard a series of ambiguous vignettes, and each vignette was followed by either a negative or a benign interpretation. Children were subsequently asked to recall the vignettes and children who had heard negative interpretations reported a greater number of negative memories. Children with higher levels of anxiety also reported a greater number of negative memories in their recall of the ambiguous vignettes.  In Study 3, I investigated parental autonomy restriction and support in the context of parent-adolescent (M = 15.3 years, SD = 0.8) conversations, and their associations with anxiety, interpretation biases, and parental attributions. Higher levels of parental autonomy restriction may contribute to the risk and maintenance of anxiety in young people by signalling that the world is dangerous. Sixty-four mother-adolescent dyads were asked to discuss a recent conflict, and from this interaction maternal autonomy restriction and autonomy support were assessed. Adolescents with higher levels of anxiety and adolescents who exhibited interpretation biases to a greater extent, had mothers who demonstrated a greater amount of autonomy restriction within the conversations. Yet maternal variables were not significantly associated with either autonomy restriction or support. The results support predictions that these characteristics of young people may determine the extent of autonomy restriction parents engage in. In turn, autonomy restrictive parenting behaviours potentially play a role in the risk and maintenance of cognitive biases and anxiety.  Overall this thesis contributes to an understanding of the complex and multiple relationships amongst factors that may be involved in the aetiology and perpetuation of anxiety in young people.</p>

scholarly journals Online Social anxiety Cognitive therapy for Adolescents (OSCA): a randomised controlled trial

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleanor Leigh ◽  
David M Clark
Keyword(s):  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Cognitive Therapy ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Large Population ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
General Anxiety ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Randomised Controlled

Abstract Background Adolescent social anxiety disorder (SAD) is common, impairing and persistent. There is a need to intervene early to avert its long-term consequences. Cognitive Therapy for SAD is the leading treatment for adults and shows promise for adolescents. However, given the scale of the problem of adolescent SAD and the limited availability of psychological therapists in child and adolescent mental health services, there is a substantial gap in service provision. Delivering therapy via the Internet may provide part of the solution to this problem. An Internet version of adult Cognitive Therapy for SAD has been developed, with outcomes similar to face-to-face therapy. We have recently adapted this treatment for use with adolescents with SAD. Here, we describe a randomised controlled trial designed to test the efficacy of Internet Cognitive Therapy for adolescent SAD compared to waitlist. Methods and Design Forty adolescents aged 14-18 years old with a diagnosis of SAD will be recruited via schools. Participants will be randomly allocated to Internet Cognitive Therapy or to waitlist. All participants will be assessed three times during the study – at baseline (pretreatment/wait), midtreatment/wait (week 8), and at posttreatment/wait (week 15). Participants in the experimental arm will also complete weekly measures as part of the online program and they will be assessed at 3 and 6 months follow-up. Postwait, participants in the waitlist arm will be offered Internet Cognitive Therapy, and weekly and posttreatment data will also be collected for them. The trial aims to test whether Internet Cognitive Therapy is superior to waitlist in reducing social anxiety symptoms and in reducing the proportion of adolescents meeting criteria for SAD. Other outcomes of interest include depression and general anxiety symptoms. Acceptability of the online treatment will also be evaluated. Discussion This RCT will provide preliminary evidence on whether this intervention, requiring relatively low levels of therapist input, is safe and clinically effective. If this is shown to be the case, Internet Cognitive Therapy for adolescents has the potential to provide a service to the large population of adolescents with untreated SAD. Trial Registration: ISRCTN15079139 (version 1; dated: 06/02/2019), http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN15079139

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