Socially Inhibited Research Articles

Hope for all? Investigating the moderating effect of social inhibition on the association between hope and outcome in an integrative group therapy program.

Existing research supports the therapeutic value of hope in different therapies and for diverse patient groups. Patients who are socially inhibited tend to have a particularly difficult time in group therapy, and the experience of hope in that context may be especially poignant for them. The present study investigated the impact of hope on the outcome of a group-based treatment and whether this impact differed for patients depending on their level of social inhibition. The sample consisted of 49 consecutively admitted patients who completed treatment in an intensive, integrative group therapy program. Patients completed four self-report measures to assess hope, social inhibition, quality of life, and depression. Regression with moderation analysis was employed. The analyses revealed that social inhibition significantly moderated the impact of hope on treatment outcome, indicating that hope had a more pronounced effect among those patients with relatively higher levels of social inhibition.

Patterns of neuronal activation following ethanol-induced social facilitation and social inhibition in adolescent cFos-LacZ male and female rats

Alcohol-associated social facilitation together with attenuated sensitivity to adverse alcohol effects play a substantial role in adolescent alcohol use and misuse, with adolescent females being more susceptible to adverse consequences of binge drinking than adolescent males. Adolescent rodents also demonstrate individual and sex differences in sensitivity to ethanol-induced social facilitation and social inhibition, therefore the current study was designed to identify neuronal activation patterns associated with ethanol-induced social facilitation and ethanol-induced social inhibition in male and female adolescent cFos-LacZ rats. Experimental subjects were given social interaction tests on postnatal day (P) 34, 36, and 38 after an acute challenge with 0, 0.5 and 0.75 g/kg ethanol, respectively, and β-galactosidase (β-gal) expression was assessed in brain tissue of subjects socially facilitated and socially inhibited by 0.75 g/kg ethanol. In females, positive correlations were evident between overall social activity and neuronal activation of seven out of 13 ROIs, including the prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens, with negative correlations evident in males. Assessments of neuronal activation patterns revealed drastic sex differences between ethanol responding phenotypes. In socially inhibited males, strong correlations were evident among almost all ROIs (90 %), with markedly fewer correlations among ROIs (38 %) seen in socially facilitated males. In contrast, interconnectivity in females inhibited by ethanol was only 10 % compared to nearly 60 % in facilitated subjects. However, hub analyses revealed convergence of brain regions in males and females, with the nucleus accumbens being a hub region in socially inhibited subjects. Taken together, these findings demonstrate individual and sex-related differences in responsiveness to acute ethanol in adolescent rats, with sex differences more evident in socially inhibited by ethanol adolescents than their socially facilitated counterparts.

Validity of the 15-item social inhibition questionnaire in outpatients receiving psychological or psychiatric treatment: The association between social inhibition and affective symptoms

ObjectiveSocial inhibition may promote symptoms of depression and anxiety in adults from an outpatient hospital population. The current work builds on a previously corroborated construct of social inhibition and examines the psychometric properties of this assessment tool and its predictive validity in the adult outpatient hospital population. MethodsA total of 350 adult outpatients receiving treatment at the department of Medical Psychology or Psychiatry completed measures of social inhibition and symptoms of anxiety (7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale) and depression (9-item Patient Health Questionnaire). Factor analyses, reliability estimates, and regression analyses were used to replicate the robustness of the model of social inhibition, and the 15-item Social Inhibition Questionnaire (SIQ15). ResultsIn the current sample (N = 350; Mage = 45 years; 67.4% women), factor analyses confirmed the previously suggested three-factor model of social inhibition as measured by the SIQ15. The subscales of behavioral inhibition, interpersonal sensitivity and social withdrawal proved to be internally consistent (Cronbach's α between 0.87/0.95) and stable over time (test-retest reliability between r = 0.76/0.83). At baseline, interpersonal sensitivity and social withdrawal were associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms. At three months follow-up, only interpersonal sensitivity was related to depressive symptoms. ConclusionsSocial inhibition is associated with anxiety and depression at baseline and can be reliably assessed with the SIQ15 in an outpatient hospital population. The association of interpersonal sensitivity with depressive symptoms at three-month follow-up suggests an important aim for future research on the development of preventive methods for affective symptoms in socially inhibited outpatients.

Emotion regulation in social interaction: Physiological and emotional responses associated with social inhibition

Social inhibition may be associated with individual differences in emotion regulation. Mechanisms relating emotion regulation to social inhibition are largely unknown. We therefore examined how social inhibition is associated with emotional, sympathetic, and parasympathetic responses during sadness induction, and while employing emotion regulation strategies during social interaction after sadness induction. Undergraduate students (N = 216; 72% female) completed the Social Inhibition Questionnaire and participated in a sadness induction and emotion regulation (i.e., suppression and reappraisal) social interaction task, while emotional states, and sympathetic and parasympathetic reactivity were assessed. Repeated measures ANCOVAs showed that during sadness induction, social inhibition was unrelated to the emotional response, but social inhibition was associated with a blunted parasympathetic withdrawal response, due to an already withdrawn parasympathetic tone at rest. This may be suggestive of increased allostatic load with higher social inhibition, and may contribute to stress-related health risks. Both suppression and reappraisal tasks successfully diminished sadness, and this reduction was smaller with increasing levels of social inhibition. Physiological responses to emotion regulation efforts were independent of social inhibition. Elevated sadness in response to instructed emotion regulation in socially inhibited individuals may indicate more emotional distress during social interaction due to heightened threat sensitivity they experience.

Online writing about positive life experiences reduces depression and perceived stress reactivity in socially inhibited individuals

Therapeutic writing can enhance psychological and physical health. Recent studies have suggested that these kinds of interventions can be effective when delivered online. The present study investigated whether positive emotional writing online can influence psychological and physical health in individuals reporting high levels of negative affectivity, who are most likely to benefit from psychological intervention (N = 72, Mage = 28.5, SDage = 8.7), and further, to investigate the potential moderating role of social inhibition. Participants completed self-report measures of physical symptoms, perceived stress, perceived stress reactivity, depression and generalised anxiety, before completing either i) positive emotional writing, or ii) a non-emotive control writing task on an online portal, for 20 min per day over three consecutive days. State anxiety was measured immediately after each writing session, and self-report questionnaires were again administered four weeks post-writing. Socially inhibited individuals exhibited significant reductions in depression and perceived stress reactivity four weeks following positive emotional writing, relative to writing about a neutral topic. The present study supports the efficacy of online therapeutic writing in individuals who, due to their socially inhibited nature, are most likely to benefit from online interventions which avoid interaction with a therapist or other clients.

Physiological and emotional responses to evaluative stress in socially inhibited young adults

BackgroundThere are large individual differences in dealing with everyday social stress. Therefore, we investigated the association of social inhibition (and its facets) with the emotional and physiological responses to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). MethodsUndergraduate students (N = 312) completed the 15-item Social Inhibition Questionnaire (SIQ15) and participated in the TSST, while emotional and cardiovascular stress responses were recorded. We examined the effect of social inhibition across time with repeated-measures ANCOVAs. FindingsDuring social stress (and recovery), social inhibition was associated with increased negative mood reactivity (especially the behavioral inhibition facet) and heightened sympathetic activation (especially the social withdrawal and interpersonal sensitivity). Physiological stress reactivity seems to be mostly α-adrenergic in women, and also β-adrenergic in men. ConclusionsEmotional and physiological stress responses are associated with individual differences in social inhibition. This warrants more research on mechanisms that underlie the relations between social inhibition, stress and health.

Effects of Gestational Age and Early Parenting on Children's Social Inhibition at 6 Years.

Preterm birth (<37 weeks’ gestation) has been associated with problems in social functioning. Whether social inhibition is specifically related to preterm birth and whether early parenting may protect against social inhibition difficulties is unknown. To explore effects of gestational age and early parent–infant relationships on social inhibition, 1314 children born at 26–41 weeks gestational age were studied as part of the prospective Bavarian Longitudinal Study. Early parent–infant relationship quality was assessed postnatally with the parent–infant relationship index. Social inhibition was assessed at age 6 years using an experimental procedure, in which nonverbal and verbal responses were coded into social inhibition categories (disinhibited, normally responsive, inhibited). Multinomial logistic regressions indicated that children with lower gestational age showed more socially disinhibited (nonverbal: OR = 1.27 [95% CI = 1.17–1.40], verbal: OR = 1.23 [95% CI 1.13–1.35]) and inhibited (nonverbal: OR = 1.21 [95% CI = 1.11–1.32], verbal: OR = 1.11 [95% CI = 1.01–1.21]) responses. Good early parent–infant relationships were associated with less verbal disinhibition (OR = 0.70 [95% CI = 0.52–0.93]). Findings suggest that children with lower gestational age are at greater risk to be both socially inhibited and disinhibited. Early parenting affected risk of abnormal social responses. Supporting early parent–infant relationships may reduce preterm children’s risk for social difficulties.

The role of pre-treatment interpersonal problems for in-session emotional processing and long-term outcome in emotion-focused psychotherapy

Objective: Interpersonal problems may lead to, uphold, or follow from depression. However, we know little of how depressed patients’ different interpersonal problems are associated with patients’ emotional processing during psychotherapy and whether distinct processes are helpful for their long-term reduction. Method: 23 adult outpatients who received emotion-focused therapies lasting 16–20 sessions filled the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems at pre- and post-treatment and 18-month follow-up. These problems were related to emotional processing in two mid-therapy sessions, rated by observers with the Classification of Affective-Meaning States. Results: All pre-treatment interpersonal problems were clearly associated with patients’ negative evaluations of themselves during therapy. Self-experiences of vindictiveness were most pronouncedly linked to in-session emotional expressions of rejecting anger, and self-experiences of social inhibition to expressions of fear and shame, following a circumplex model. In the long-term reduction of interpersonal problems, especially reaching emotional states of hurt and grief seemed beneficial for patients who experienced themselves as socially inhibited, non-assertive, self-sacrificing, or overly accommodating. Conclusions: For clients suffering from particular interpersonal problems, accessing particularly beneficial emotional processes, such as hurt and grief, may form specific therapeutic process goals. Further studies should verify these findings, which link interpersonal theory with research on emotional processing in psychotherapy.

Metacognitive Interpersonal Therapy in Groups for Over-Regulated Personality Disorders: A Single Case Study

Individuals with personality disorders (PD) demonstrate poor metacognition, here defined as the capacity to use mental state knowledge for regulation of interpersonal relationships. Metacognitive interpersonal therapy (MIT) targets the symptoms of PD via a series of formalized procedures. Its goal is to help individuals improve their metacognitive capacity through developing and enacting more adaptive social behaviors. MIT has been manualized for the treatment of PDs featuring overcontrol, with single case studies providing initial evidence of its effectiveness. Given the need to deliver cost-effective treatments for patients with over-controlled and socially inhibited PDs, we developed MIT in groups (MIT-G), a short-term manualized group treatment with both psychoeducational and experiential aspects (Popolo et al. in Psychol Psychother: Theory Res Pract, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1111/papt.12182 ). Here we present the case of a young man presenting with Narcissistic PD (vulnerable type) featuring marked avoidant and obsessive-compulsive traits, social inhibition and emotional overcontrol. We describe the therapeutic process and how role-playing significant episodes helped him to improve metacognition, leading to the adoption of more effective social problem solving strategies. Outcomes were positive in terms of increased quality of social relationships, decreased symptoms, better emotion regulation and improved well-being. We conclude by considering how these processes may improve treatment delivery for these types of PD presentations.

Independent effects of early-life experience and trait aggression on cardiovascular function.

Early-life experience (ELE) can significantly affect life-long health and disease, including cardiovascular function. Specific dimensions of emotionality also modify risk of disease, and aggressive traits along with social inhibition have been established as independent vulnerability factors for the progression of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the biological mechanisms mediating these associations remain poorly understood. The present study utilized the inherently stress-susceptible and socially inhibited Wistar-Kyoto rats to determine the potential influences of ELE and trait aggression (TA) on cardiovascular parameters throughout the lifespan. Pups were exposed to maternal separation (MS), consisting of daily 3-h separations of the entire litter from postnatal day (P)1 to P14. The rats were weaned at P21, and as adults were instrumented for chronic radiotelemetry recordings of blood pressure and heart rate (HR). Adult aggressive behavior was assessed using the resident-intruder test, which demonstrated that TA was independent of MS exposure. MS-exposed animals (irrespective of TA) had significantly lower resting HR accompanied by increases in HR variability. No effects of MS on resting blood pressure were detected. In contrast, TA correlated with increased resting mean, systolic, and diastolic arterial pressures but had no effect on HR. TA rats (relative to nonaggressive animals) also manifested increased wall-to-lumen ratio in the thoracic aorta, increased sensitivity to phenylephrine-induced vascular contractility, and increased norepinephrine content in the heart. Together these data suggest that ELE and TA are independent factors that impact baseline cardiovascular function.

THU0585 Over Half of Patients with Fibromyalgia have a Type D Personality

BackgroundType D personality combines 2 stable traits: negative affectivity and social inhibition. It has been linked to poor health status and disease course and outcome in cardiovascular and other chronic...

Changing interactions between teachers and socially inhibited kindergarten children: An interpersonal approach

In a short-term longitudinal intervention study, it was investigated whether a short teacher training in interpersonal theory and the complementarity principle could be used to break negative interaction cycles between teachers and socially inhibited kindergartners. Sixty-five children and their 35 regular teachers were observed in a dyadic task setting, on three occasions. In the training, it was explained that teachers could elicit more initiative from children by being less dominant and more friendliness by being more affiliative. Independent observers rated teachers' and children's interactive behaviors in 5-second episodes. Teachers reported on children's social inhibition. Multilevel analyses showed that the training elicited a decrease in teacher control at follow-up. Unexpectedly, the training increased teachers' complementarity on the affiliation dimension, especially in interactions with highly inhibited children. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Intergenerational transmission of risk for social inhibition: the interplay between parental responsiveness and genetic influences.

To better understand mechanisms underlying the intergenerational transmission of social anxiety, we used a prospective adoption design to examine the roles of genetic influences (inferred from birth mothers' social phobia) and rearing environment (adoptive mothers' and fathers' responsiveness) on the development of socially inhibited, anxious behaviors in children between 18 and 27 months of age. The sample consisted of 275 adoption-linked families, each including an adopted child, adoptive parents, and a birth mother. Results indicated that children whose birth mothers met criteria for the diagnosis of social phobia showed elevated levels of observed behavioral inhibition in a social situation at 27 months of age if their adoptive mothers provided less emotionally and verbally responsive rearing environments at 18 months of age. Conversely, in the context of higher levels of maternal responsiveness, children of birth mothers with a history of social phobia did not show elevated levels of behavioral inhibition. These findings on maternal responsiveness were replicated in a model predicting parent reports of child social anxiety. The findings are discussed in terms of gene-environment interactions in the intergenerational transmission of social anxiety.

Severity of Interpersonal Problems in Individuals with Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a relatively common and often severe disorder. Although individuals with BDD have markedly poor psychosocial functioning, the nature of interpersonal problems has been only minimally investigated. This study examined the severity, domains, and correlates of interpersonal problems in 51 individuals with BDD using the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-64 (IIP-64) and other reliable and valid measures. Compared to norms for a U.S. community sample, individuals with DSM-IV BDD reported greater severity of interpersonal problems across most IIP-64 domains. BDD subjects' scores were most elevated on the Socially Inhibited and Nonassertive subscales. More severe BDD symptoms were significantly correlated with higher scores on the Socially Inhibited, Nonassertive, and Vindictive/Self-Centered subscales and with IIP-64 total score. In a logistic regression analysis, BDD severity and a personality disorder were independently associated with severity of interpersonal problems. These findings suggest that individuals with BDD have significant problems with interpersonal relationships, particularly in the areas of social inhibition and nonassertiveness.

Interpersonal problems in anorexia nervosa: Social inhibition as defining and detrimental

Interpersonal difficulties are thought to play a central role in both the development and maintenance of anorexia nervosa (AN). The primary aims of this study were to examine the nature of interpersonal problems in AN and to determine whether interpersonal problems are related to AN psychopathology and treatment outcome. The participants were 218 individuals with AN admitted to a specialized treatment program. Overall, in comparison with a normative community sample, a pattern of difficulties with submissiveness, nonassertiveness and social inhibition emerged among patients with AN. Results indicated a positive association between interpersonal problems and eating disorder psychopathology at baseline. The overall level of interpersonal problems decreased from baseline to post-treatment and higher levels of social inhibition at baseline predicted treatment noncompletion. Our findings suggest that AN is associated with a pattern of submissive and socially inhibited interpersonal behavior which contributes to the maintenance of eating disorder pathology and interferes with treatment completion. The theoretical and clinical implications of the findings are discussed.

The role of negative affectivity and social inhibition in perceiving social threat: An fMRI study

Personality is associated with specific emotion regulation styles presumably linked with unique brain activity patterns. By using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 26 individuals, the neural responses to threatening (fearful and angry) facial and bodily expressions were investigated in relation to negative affectivity and social inhibition. A negative correlation was observed between negative affectivity and activation of the amygdala, fusiform gyrus, insula and hippocampus. Increased activation following threatening stimuli was observed in the left temporo-parietal junction and right extrastriate body area correlating with more social inhibition traits. Interestingly, the orbitofrontal cortex, superior temporal sulcus, inferior frontal gyrus (Brodmann area 45) and temporal pole correlated negatively with negative affectivity and positively with social inhibition. Whereas individuals with increased negative affectivity tend to de-activate the core emotion system, socially inhibited people tend to over-activate a broad cortical network. Our findings demonstrate effects of personality traits on the neural coding of threatening signals.

Social Inhibition in Preschool Children: Causes and Coping Strategies

In the present study, preschool children were assessed for socially inhibited behaviour. Causes of social inhibi- tion and maternal coping strategies were also explored. Forty-five preschool children, their mothers, and class teachers participated in the present study. An inventory was prepared for the assessment of social inhibition in children. Mothers and class teachers were requested to rate the frequency of social inhibition in children on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always). Mothers were also requested to provide information on the causes and coping strategies for inhibited behavior. On the basis of obtained mean score, children were divided into three categories: below average, average and above average for social inhibition. Results revealed that 13.3 per cent children were identified as extremely socially inhibited. Majority of mothers believed that social inhibition or shyness was a basic human nature. To cope with inhibited behavior of children, most of the mothers encouraged children to make friends and to interact with others. Mothers also reported using verbal reprimand to direct appropriate behavior as one of the strategy. Girls were more inhibited/shy than boys. Findings of the present study have important implications for parents and care givers at home and educational context.

The Construct Validity of Social Inhibition and the Type-D Taxonomy

In contrast to the prognostic validity of the type-D personality, there is still little knowledge on the construct validity. In a sample of 102 healthy young adults the construct validity was analysed against the Big-Five dimensions, four of the 16 PF factors, and repressive emotion regulation. Social inhibition was associated with Apprehensiveness, and low scores in social competencies and self-deception. The three non-type-D clusters clearly differed; the restrained cluster emerged as opposite to the type-D cluster in nearly every personality dimension and type of emotion regulation. The article concludes that emotion regulation in socially inhibited persons deserves further investigation.

Personality, psychological stress, and self-reported influenza symptomatology

BackgroundPsychological stress and negative mood have been related to increased vulnerability to influenza-like illness (ILI). This prospective study re-evaluated the predictive value of perceived stress for self-reported ILI. We additionally explored the role of the negative affectivity and social inhibition traits.MethodsIn this study, 5,404 respondents from the general population were assessed in terms of perceived stress, personality, and control variables (vaccination, vitamin use, exercise, etc.). ILI were registered weekly using self-report measures during a follow-up period of four weeks.ResultsMultivariable logistic regression analysis on ILI was performed to test the predictive power of stress and personality. In this model, negative affectivity (OR = 1.05, p = 0.009), social inhibition (OR = 0.97, p = 0.011), and perceived stress (OR = 1.03, p = 0.048) predicted ILI reporting. Having a history of asthma (OR = 2.33, p = < 0.0001) was also associated with ILI reporting. Older age was associated with less self-reported ILI (OR = 0.98, P = 0.017).ConclusionElderly and socially inhibited persons tend to report less ILI as compared to their younger and less socially inhibited counterparts. In contrast, asthma, trait negative affectivity, and perceived stress were associated with higher self-report of ILI. Our results demonstrate the importance of including trait markers in future studies examining the relation between stress and self-report symptom measures.

Teachers' self-reported pedagogical practices toward socially inhibited, hyperactive, and average children

This study examined teachers' self-reported pedagogical practices toward socially inhibited, hyperactive, and average kindergartners. A self-report instrument was developed and examined in three samples of kindergartners and their teachers. Principal components analyses were conducted in four datasets pertaining to 1 child per teacher. Two dimensions, Behavior Regulation and Socioemotional Support, emerged, which could be measured with internally consistent scales. Preliminary validity support was obtained for them. Multilevel comparisons revealed that teachers reported more behavior regulation for hyperactive versus inhibited and average children, more socioemotional support for inhibited versus hyperactive and average children, and more socioemotional support for hyperactive versus average children in two samples. Exploratory analyses of the other (i.e., random) sample of children yielded corresponding effects of hyperactivity on behavior regulation, and social inhibition on socioemotional support, but no effect of hyperactivity on socioemotional support. Results are discussed in terms of the saliency of behavior differences. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 635–651, 2006.