Social Anxiety Disorder: Associations with Peer-Liking, Discrimination, and Prejudicial Feelings in Early Adolescent Girls

Ruth Brookman,Fay Bird,Celia B Harris,Kerry-Ann Grant

doi:10.1007/s10578-022-01336-5

Abstract

Social anxiety can have an adverse effect on social connections, educational achievement, and wellbeing. However, the extent to which students stigmatize their peers with social anxiety disorder (SAD) in female educational settings remains unknown. This study investigated the relationship between SAD, peer-liking and stigma in a cohort of early adolescent girls. The sample was 103 sixth and seventh graders attending three girls’ schools in Australia. The students, aged between 10- and 13-years, were randomly allocated to either a control (n = 52) or experimental (n = 51) group. Participants completed an online survey while at school to examine their responses to one of two age-and-gender matched vignettes: a hypothetical peer with SAD (experimental condition), or without SAD (control condition). Contrary to expectations, group comparisons revealed that students with the SAD vignette liked their peer more than students with the non-SAD vignette. Also, students endorsed higher levels of pity, lower levels of fear, but similar levels of anger when considering their SAD (versus non-SAD) peer. In the SAD group, higher levels of pity were associated with greater peer-liking. The opposite pattern was evident in response to the non-SAD peer. Importantly, students discriminated less (preferred less social distance) in response to their peer with SAD. This points to the potential benefit of adolescent peer programs that aim to promote positive peer-relationships as a protective factor for students with SAD. Future research may examine gender and socio-economically diverse students to increase the confidence with which findings can be generalized to other educational settings.

Highlights

Mental health difficulties in adolescents are prevalent and have reportedly risen in recent years with the prevalence of anxiety disorders surpassing that of depression [1, 2]
We examined whether there were between group differences in peer-liking, discrimination and prejudical feelings based on whether or not the hypothical peer ‘Sarah’ exhibited symptoms of social anxiety
In the social anxiety disorder (SAD) group higher levels of pity were associated with greater peer-liking

Summary

Introduction

Mental health difficulties in adolescents are prevalent and have reportedly risen in recent years with the prevalence of anxiety disorders surpassing that of depression [1, 2]. The onset of social anxiety, usually during adolescence, has been linked with adverse developmental outcomes in social, academic, physical and mental health domains [3]. Social anxiety exists on a continuum from subclinical feelings of nervousness to a clinical diagnosis of Social anxiety is most prevalent in western societies, females, and adolescents, with almost 1 in 10 adolescents affected [11]. Age-of-onset data identifies early adolesence is a developmentally sensitive time period for the onset of SAD [12]. Prevalence data suggest social anxiety is most common amongst young females and young cohorts [1].

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Conclusion