A Cognitive Model of Social Phobia: Applicability in a Large Adolescent Sample

Abstract

Clark and Wells's (1995) cognitive model of social phobia has been extensively evaluated in adults. However, very little data is available on the applicability to social anxiety in adolescence. This study examines the model's applicability in a large adolescent sample. 581 students (aged 14–20) completed questionnaires assessing social anxiety, depression, and variables of the cognitive model (namely safety behaviors, negative social cognitions and social attitudes, self-focused attention, recurrent self-images, pre- and post-event processing). The results revealed that high and low socially anxious youths differed significantly on all cognitive variables. Sequential regression analysis indicated that social attitudes, social cognitions, safety behaviors, and self-imagery were predictive for social anxiety, after controlling for depression and gender. Additionally, a path analysis model examining the relationships between the cognitive variables supported the model's applicability, yielding differential m...