Abstract
Background: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by a fear of humiliation and/or embarrassment in social situations, which may lead to significant avoidance and distress. A preponderance of research suggests that the prevalence of SAD is higher in females than in males and that gender differences of SAD varies cross-culturally. According to numerous studies, attention to the diagnosis and adequate assessment of anxiety disorders in primary care settings is lacking. A deficiency of easily administered well-validated diagnostic tools and limited time for thorough (i.e., structured clinical interview) evaluation may contribute to the above finding. Procedure: Our principal aims were two-fold: 1) to focus on emergent gender differences in self- reported social anxiety (SA) symptoms, and 2) to evaluate newly translated Finnish versions of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI) and Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale -Straightforward Items (BFNE-S) in a general Finnish parent sample (N = 597). Results and Conclusions: Results from our sample using the SPAI estimated that 6.7% of females and 5.0% of males met criteria for a probable diagnosis of SAD. Non socially-anxious females scored significantly higher than did their male counterparts on social interaction and focus of attention fears, whereas socially-anxious males scored higher than socially-anxious females on behavioural avoidance. The SPAI and BFNE-S are useful additions to Finnish screening tools to detect SA symptoms in adults.
Highlights
List of Abbreviations AG Agoraphobiaanalysis of variance (ANOVA) Analysis of Variance analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) Analysis of Covariance BFNEBrief Fear of Negative Evaluation ScaleHow to cite this article Kuusikko-gauffin S, Pollock wurman R, Mattila M, et al (December 20, 2012) Gender Differences in Social Anxiety Symptoms: A Novel Use of Two Self-Report Measures in a Finnish Sample
Results from our sample using the SPAI estimated that 6.7% of females and 5.0% of males met criteria for a probable diagnosis of Social anxiety disorder (SAD)
Non socially-anxious females scored significantly higher than did their male counterparts on social interaction and focus of attention fears, whereas socially-anxious males scored higher than socially-anxious females on behavioural avoidance
Summary
List of Abbreviations AG AgoraphobiaANOVA Analysis of Variance ANCOVA Analysis of Covariance BFNEBrief Fear of Negative Evaluation ScaleHow to cite this article Kuusikko-gauffin S, Pollock wurman R, Mattila M, et al (December 20, 2012) Gender Differences in Social Anxiety Symptoms: A Novel Use of Two Self-Report Measures in a Finnish Sample. ANOVA Analysis of Variance ANCOVA Analysis of Covariance BFNE. How to cite this article Kuusikko-gauffin S, Pollock wurman R, Mattila M, et al (December 20, 2012) Gender Differences in Social Anxiety Symptoms: A Novel Use of Two Self-Report Measures in a Finnish Sample. BFNE-S Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale -Straightforward Items MANCOVA Multivariate Analysis of Covariance SA Social Anxiety SAD. Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by a fear of humiliation and/or embarrassment in social situations, which may lead to significant avoidance and distress. A preponderance of research suggests that the prevalence of SAD is higher in females than in males and that gender differences of SAD varies cross-culturally. Attention to the diagnosis and adequate assessment of anxiety disorders in primary care settings is lacking. A deficiency of administered well-validated diagnostic tools and limited time for thorough (i.e., structured clinical interview) evaluation may contribute to the above finding
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