Impact of Face Masks and Viewers’ Anxiety on Ratings of First Impressions from Faces

Face mask is now a common feature in our social environment. Although face covering reduces our ability to recognize other's face identity and facial expressions, little is known about its impact on the formation of first impressions from faces. In two online experiments, we presented unfamiliar faces displaying neutral expressions with and without face masks, and participants rated the perceived approachableness, trustworthiness, attractiveness, and dominance from each face on a 9-point scale. Their anxiety levels were measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Social Interaction Anxiety Scale. In comparison with mask-off condition, wearing face masks (mask-on) significantly increased the perceived approachableness and trustworthiness ratings, but showed little impact on increasing attractiveness or decreasing dominance ratings. Furthermore, both trait and state anxiety scores were negatively correlated with approachableness and trustworthiness ratings in both mask-off and mask-on conditions. Social anxiety scores, on the other hand, were negatively correlated with approachableness but not with trustworthiness ratings. It seems that the presence of a face mask can alter our first impressions of strangers. Although the ratings for approachableness, trustworthiness, attractiveness, and dominance were positively correlated, they appeared to be distinct constructs that were differentially influenced by face coverings and participants’ anxiety types and levels.

Measurement Invariance of Two Different Short Forms of Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) and Social Phobia Scale (SPS) in Chinese and US Samples

The goal of this study was to examine the measurement invariance of two different commonly used short forms of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) and the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) across Chinese and US samples. Participants were 850 (52% females) Chinese and 399 (57% females) US undergraduate students. A two-factor model was identified as the best fitting baseline model for both short-forms of the SIAS and SPS. Full scalar invariance was established for the Peters short form, whereas the Fergus short form only achieved partial scalar invariance. Results of structured means analysis indicated that Chinese participants scored higher than US participants in social anxiety. Some cultural implications for the use of these two sets of short forms are discussed.

Meaning in Life During Covid-19 Pandemic and Social Interaction Anxiety : The Relevant Facets

The meaning of life is steadily altering in the Covid-19 pandemic scenario. Since birth, life and living have been the major preoccupation of every human being. However, there remains a constant possibility of death owing to a pandemic breakout. The ways of social interaction and associated psychosocial issues are also of great importance in the present condition. This study thus aimed at finding out the interrelationship between meaning in life and social interaction anxiety among young adults. The study used a quantitative research method with the help of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire by Steger and Social Interaction Anxiety Scale by Mattick and Clarke on 100 samples of both the Gender, i.e., male and female aged between 21 to 25 years. The findings showed that meaning in life has a significant negative correlation with social interaction anxiety. And social interaction anxiety is found out to be negatively predicted by meaning in life.

Validity of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) Measurement Tool

Social phobia adalah ketakutan seseorang ketika beraktivitas di depan orang lain, seperti makan, minum, gemetar, memerah, berbicara, menulis atau muntah. Aktivitas ini merujuk kepada kecemasan dalam diri seseorang. Terdapat dua aspek yang dapat digunakan untuk mengidentifikasi kecemasan yaitu performance dan social. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji validasi alat ukur Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kuantitatif dengan kriteria subjek mahasiswa aktif strata 1 usia 17-25 tahun. Subjek penelitian berjumlah 177 mahasiswa dari berbagai perguruan tinggi di Indonesia. Data diperoleh melalui google form yang disebarkan secara online dan data diolah menggunakan aplikasi SPSS. Teknik sampling yang digunakan adalah accidental sampling sehingga subjek yang dibutuhkan adalah subjek yang memenuhi kriteria di atas. Validasi alat ukur pada penelitian ini menggunakan sumber bukti berdasarkan struktur internal dan korelasi dengan alat ukur lain (Beck Depression Inventory dan Social Interaction Anxiety Scale). Hasil yang diperoleh dari penelitian ini membuktikan bahwa alat ukur LSAS valid dan dapat digunakan untuk mengukur kecemasan sosial.

Ansiedade social: adaptação e evidências de validade da forma curta da Social Interaction Anxiety Scale e da Social Phobia Scale para o Brasil

RESUMO Objetivo A ansiedade social é um transtorno psicológico pouco publicizado, mas com importante distribuição epidemiológica. O presente estudo teve como objetivo adaptar para o contexto brasileiro as versões reduzidas da Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) e da Social Phobia Scale (SPS) (SIAS-6 e SPS-6) e produzir evidências de validade. Essas escalas avaliam ansiedade em interações sociais e ansiedade social diante da possibilidade de escrutínio por outras pessoas, sendo complementares. Métodos Como são escalas com reconhecido uso internacional, a adaptação para o Brasil pode trazer contribuições para as investigações clínicas e científicas acerca do transtorno de ansiedade social. Foram realizados processos criteriosos para a adaptação (tradução, avaliação por juízes, retrotradução, avaliação pelo público-alvo) e conduzido um levantamento on-line com 1.049 pessoas, maiores de 18 anos, com média de idade de 25,98 anos (DP = 7,55). Resultados Utilizaram-se Análises Fatoriais Confirmatórias e, desse modo, constatou-se que os índices de ajuste produzidos são, em geral, adequados (SRMR < 0,04, CFI > 0,96, TLI > 0,94 e RMSEA < 0,05) e que os itens possuem cargas fatoriais adequadas (entre 0,441 e 0,837). As evidências de validade discriminante também se mostraram satisfatórias, conseguindo diferenciar grupos por renda e orientação sexual, como esperado pela literatura. Conclusões Os resultados sugerem que as escalas são adequadas para uso no Brasil, tanto para uso em separado como para uso combinado, como fatores correlacionados.

Psychometric properties of the social interaction anxiety scale and the social phobia scale in Hungarian adults and adolescents

Background Although social anxiety disorder is one of the most frequent disorders, it often remained unrecognized. Utilizing brief, yet reliable screening tools, such as the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS-6) and the Social Phobia Scale (SPS-6) are helping to solve this problem in parts of Western Europe and the US. Still some countries, like Hungary, lag behind. For this purpose, previous studies call for further evidence on the applicability of the scales in various populations and cultures, as well as the elaborative validity of the short forms. Here, we aimed to provide a thorough analysis of the scales in five studies. We employed item response theory (IRT) to explore the psychometric properties of the SIAS-6 and the SPS-6 in Hungarian adults (n = 3213, age range:19–80) and adolescents (n = 292, age range:14–18). Results In both samples, IRT analyses demonstrated that the items of SIAS-6 and SPS-6 had high discriminative power and cover a wide range of the latent trait. Using various subsamples, we showed that (1) the scales had excellent convergent and divergent validity in relation to domains of anxiety, depression, and cognitive emotion regulation in both samples. Further, that (2) the scales discriminated those with a history of fainting or avoidance from those without such history. Lastly, (3) the questionnaires can discriminate people diagnosed with social anxiety disorder (n = 30, age range:13–71) and controls. Conclusions These findings suggest that the questionnaires are suitable for screening for SAD in adults and adolescents. Although the confirmation of the two-factor structure may be indicative of the validity of the “performance only” specifier of SAD in DSM-V, the high correlation between the factors and the similar patter of convergent validity might indicate that it is not a discrete entity but rather a part of SAD; and that SAD is latently continuous.

Associations of Problematic Binge-Watching with Depression, Social Interaction Anxiety, and Loneliness

Background: Binge-watching refers to the watching of several episodes of a TV series or program in rapid succession. This study aims to investigate the associations of binge-watching behavior with depression, social interaction anxiety, and loneliness risks among adults in Taiwan. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in October 2018, in which data from 1488 participants were collected using a self-administered questionnaire comprising four valid and reliable scales: the Center for Epidemiologic Studied Depression Scale (CES-D), the Chinese version of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS-C), the UCLA Loneliness Scale (version 3), and the Problematic Series Watching Scale (PSWS). Results: Among the surveyed participants, the mean age was 28.3, and most participants were women who had completed undergraduate education. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that, after adjustments for sociodemographic characteristics and self-reported health statuses, the score on the problematic binge-watching scale was positively associated with the scores on the depression, social interaction anxiety, and loneliness scales (p < 0.001 for each model). Conclusions: Problematic binge-watching was associated with increased depression, social interaction anxiety, and loneliness risks among adults in Taiwan. Additional studies on the relationship between problematic binge-watching and mental health problems, as well as its potential mechanism, are warranted.

The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy on Sleep Quality of Students with Social Anxiety Disorder

Background and Objective: Anxiety disorders are usually accompanied with sleep disorders. Since limited studies have focused on the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on anxiety-related problems such as sleep disorders, the current research was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of this intervention on sleep problems. Materials and Methods: This study was a clinical trial with control and treatment groups. The sample consisted of 24 university students diagnosed with social anxiety disorder (SAD). Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) and Pitts-burgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were used to assess the dependent variables. There were measurements during pre-test, post-test, and follow-up stages. Results: The treatment could significantly improve the anxiety and sleeping problems in patients with social anxiety. Assessing the aspects of sleep quality showed that the intervention could improve the subjective aspects, latency, dis-turbance, and daily dysfunctions of sleep effectively; however, there was no significant effect on the duration of sleep, taking sleep medications, or sleep efficiency. Conclusion: Mindfulness treatment could be used for improving sleep quality in patients with social anxiety. This treatment could also improve the aspects of sleep quality which are related to sleep threshold.