State Social Anxiety Research Articles

Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for Reducing School Anxiety in Adolescents: Pilot Study.

Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) is a promising treatment approach for anxiety disorders. However, while its efficacy has been demonstrated in adults, research on the efficacy of VRET in the treatment of adolescents with anxiety disorders is largely lacking. A pilot study was carried out to test whether exposure to a virtual reality (VR) school environment elicits state anxiety and autonomic arousal in adolescents with school anxiety (diagnoses covering social anxiety disorder or specific phobia involving school contexts). In addition, we examined whether repeated VR exposure led to a reduction in this fear response, trait school anxiety, and social anxiety symptoms. Moreover, the relationship of presence, the subjective sense of "being there," during VR exposure with anxiety measures and treatment response was examined. In a pilot study, 10 adolescents with school anxiety (age range 14 to 17 years) participated in five VRET sessions. Self-reported state anxiety, heart rate, and presence during exposure, as well as trait school anxiety and social anxiety before and after treatment, were measured. The VR scenario induced state anxiety and autonomic arousal. After VRET, a significant reduction in state anxiety (η2=0.74) and social anxiety symptoms (d=0.82) as well as a trend toward a decrease in trait school anxiety were observed, while autonomic arousal did not change. In addition, presence during VR exposure was associated with state anxiety and treatment response. Our findings indicate the feasibility and potential effectiveness of VRET as a treatment method for symptoms of school and social anxiety in adolescents.

Differential impact of vulnerable isolation and enmity: State social anxiety level, variability and inertia in vulnerable narcissism

We investigate the relationship between two strategies of vulnerable narcissism – isolation and enmity – in their relation to daily social anxiety and variability and inertia of social anxiety states. We recruited a sample of N = 317 adults from Poland who participated in a 30-day long daily diary study (k = 7871 observations). The results revealed that both strategies were related to increased levels of daily social anxiety (although this relation was stronger for isolation), however – we observed a differential pattern of relation in regard to variability and inertia of social anxiety states. Specifically, isolation and average social anxiety were related to greater variability in social anxiety states, which might reflect their vulnerability to the exposure to social stressors. In turn, only enmity was positively related to inertia of social anxiety states, which might suggest that this strategy is indeed reactive in nature; however, it is also ineffective in regulating experienced negative emotions. Findings from the current study provide further support for the validity of differentiating the two distinct strategies of vulnerable narcissism.

Attentional biases to signals of negative information: Reliable measurement across three anxiety domains

Cognitive models propose that individuals with elevated vulnerability to experiencing negative emotion are characterised by biased attentional responding to negative information. Typically, methods of examining these biases have measured attention to pictures of emotional scenes, emotional faces, or rewarding or feared objects. Though these approaches have repeatedly yielded evidence of anxiety-linked biases, their measurement reliability is suggested to be poor. Recent research has shown that attentional responding to cues signalling negative information can be measured with greater reliability. However, whether such biases are associated with emotion vulnerability remains to be demonstrated. The present study conducted three experiments that recruited participants who varied in trait and state anxiety (N = 134), social anxiety (N = 122), or spider fear (N = 131) to complete an assessment of selective attention to cues signalling emotionally congruent negative information. Analyses demonstrated that anxiety and fear were associated with biased attentional responding to cues signalling negative information, and that such biases could be measured with acceptable reliability (rsplit-half = .69–.81). Implications for research on the relation between emotion and attention are discussed.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STATE ANXIETY, SOCIAL ANXIETY AND COGNITIVE BIASES IN STUDENTS: A MEDIATION MODEL

State anxiety, as well as social anxiety, are portrayed as common phenomena experienced by students. However, the mechanisms which lead to their development are not yet fully known. Student mental health has become a global public health issue, thus understanding its potential underlying factors is particularly relevant. As anxiety is closely connected to the way students interpret information, cognitive biases are thought to play a key role in the development and maintenance of both state and social anxiety. Therefore, the first objective of this study was to examine the relationships between cognitive biases of interpretation, state anxiety, and social anxiety. The second objective was to test a mediation model, more specifically, to test whether the relationship between state anxiety and social anxiety can be explained by cognitive biases of interpretation. 127 students (M = 21.8, SD = 3.15, 84.3% women) enrolled at the University of Bucharest completed two online scales measuring state and social anxiety, over two months, between January and February 2021. Additionally, they completed the Scrambled Sentences Test, a computerized task that assesses cognitive biases of interpretation. Results indicated a positive association between all variables, more precisely, a significant positive correlation between social anxiety and cognitive biases of interpretation (r = .512, p < .001), social anxiety and state anxiety (r = .482, p < .001), and a significant positive correlation between cognitive biases of interpretation and state anxiety (r = .348, p < .001). The mediation analysis indicated that cognitive biases partly explain the relationship between state anxiety and social anxiety. These preliminary findings have significant theoretical and practical significance regarding the importance of student mental health.

Effect of ideological and political education and psychological health pathway construction in universities on social anxiety disorders of college students

BackgroundFaced with interpersonal communication challenges, college students often experience social anxiety disorders. This study aims to investigate the potential of constructing pathways for ideological and political education and mental health within universities to alleviate social anxiety disorders among college students.Subjects and MethodsA one-semester intervention study was conducted. The intervention group, consisting of 100 college students, received a combined approach of ideological and political education and mental health pathways. In contrast, the control group, comprising 100 college students, followed conventional mental health education methods. Data were collected using the Social Anxiety Inventory (SAI) and the College Student Ideological and Political Quality Scale (PQCS). Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed using SPSS20.0.ResultsAfter an intervention, the SAI score of the intervention group was significantly lower than that of the control group, indicating a significant improvement in social anxiety. At the same time, the scores of the intervention group on the ideological and political quality scale were significantly higher than those of the control group, indicating that ideological and political education and mental health pathways have the effect of improving the ideological and political quality of college students.ConclusionsThe results indicate that the combination of ideological and political education in universities and mental health pathways can effectively improve the social anxiety status of college students and enhance their ideological and political qualities.

Detecting Social Contexts from Mobile Sensing Indicators in Virtual Interactions with Socially Anxious Individuals.

Mobile sensing is a ubiquitous and useful tool to make inferences about individuals' mental health based on physiology and behavior patterns. Along with sensing features directly associated with mental health, it can be valuable to detect different features of social contexts to learn about social interaction patterns over time and across different environments. This can provide insight into diverse communities' academic, work and social lives, and their social networks. We posit that passively detecting social contexts can be particularly useful for social anxiety research, as it may ultimately help identify changes in social anxiety status and patterns of social avoidance and withdrawal. To this end, we recruited a sample of highly socially anxious undergraduate students (N=46) to examine whether we could detect the presence of experimentally manipulated virtual social contexts via wristband sensors. Using a multitask machine learning pipeline, we leveraged passively sensed biobehavioral streams to detect contexts relevant to social anxiety, including (1) whether people were in a social situation, (2) size of the social group, (3) degree of social evaluation, and (4) phase of social situation (anticipating, actively experiencing, or had just participated in an experience). Results demonstrated the feasibility of detecting most virtual social contexts, with stronger predictive accuracy when detecting whether individuals were in a social situation or not and the phase of the situation, and weaker predictive accuracy when detecting the level of social evaluation. They also indicated that sensing streams are differentially important to prediction based on the context being predicted. Our findings also provide useful information regarding design elements relevant to passive context detection, including optimal sensing duration, the utility of different sensing modalities, and the need for personalization. We discuss implications of these findings for future work on context detection (e.g., just-in-time adaptive intervention development).

Validation of a Virtual Environment to Induce State Social Physique Anxiety in Women with Obesity and Social Physique Anxiety.

State Social Physique Anxiety (SPA), in contrast to Trait SPA, is triggered by specific situations that elicit SPA. To date, no research has used virtual reality (VR) to recreate a situation that may elicit State SPA. The purpose of this study is to validate a virtual environment (VE) that simulates an anxiogenic situation to induce State SPA in women with obesity and high SPA. The high SPA group consisted of 25 self-identified women living with obesity and high Trait SPA. The low SPA group consisted of 20 self-identified women with low SPA. All participants were immersed in a virtual swimming pool environment for 10 min using a virtual reality headset. After the immersion, State SPA and fear of being negatively judged felt during immersion were measured with self-report questionnaires. A questionnaire assessing unwanted negative side effects was administered before and after the immersion. Using an ANCOVA with Trait SPA as covariate, State SPA was found to be significantly higher in the high SPA group. Fear of being judged negatively was also significantly higher in the high SPA group. Unwanted negative side effects scores did not increase post-immersion in either group. This study documents the validity of a novel VE for inducing State SPA in women with obesity and high SPA.

Social and physical predictors of mental health impact in adult women who have an FMR1 premutation

PurposeClear understanding of mental health phenotypes and associated socioeconomic, physical health and well-being impacts in adult women with an FMR1 premutation (PM) is needed for counseling and primary healthcare. MethodsA questionnaire captured mental health conditions in women with a PM, using lifetime diagnosis and nested psychometric scales (Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale; Depression and Anxiety Stress Scale). Socioeconomic, physical health and well-being data were entered into 2 multivariable logistic regression models (1 with depression status as the outcome variable and 1 with social anxiety as the outcome). Results137 participants were included. Depression was found in ∼30% and social anxiety in ∼38%. With depression status the outcome variable, strongest associations were for low education, diagnosis of migraine, diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome, and self-reported hearing loss symptoms. With social anxiety status as the outcome, strongest associations were with education, migraine, irritable bowel syndrome, relationship status, and subjective memory complaints. ConclusionMental health impacts were found in more than 1 in 3 women. Poor mental health was significantly associated with socioeconomic and physical health factors. Findings may inform health care professionals about personalized treatment options for women with a PM.

Comparisons to picture-perfect motherhood: How Instagram's idealized portrayals of motherhood affect new mothers' well-being

Social media has drastically increased the amount of parenting content that mothers encounter in their day-to-day lives. Among this content is an abundance of idealized portrayals of motherhood, which may be putting increased pressure on mothers and negatively affecting their mental health. This study was designed to provide evidence that new mothers make comparisons to motherhood portrayals on social media and that exposure to idealized portrayals can have harmful effects. In an online experiment, 464 new mothers (i.e., mothers with a child 3 years old or younger) in the United States were exposed to 20 Instagram posts portraying motherhood that varied in idealization (i.e., idealized vs. non-idealized portrayal) and source (i.e., posted by a mommy influencer vs. an everyday mother). The mothers then responded to measures including state social comparison, perceived similarity, envy, and state anxiety. The findings illustrate that new mothers make greater social comparisons and perceive more similarity to portrayals that are non-idealized (vs. idealized) and to portrayals that are from everyday social media mothers (vs. mommy influencers). Regardless of the source (everyday mother or mommy influencer), idealized posts cause significantly higher levels of envy and state anxiety, which may be detrimental to mothers’ mental health.

Perceptions towards an interaction partner predict social anxiety: an ecological momentary assessment study

ABSTRACT Social anxiety occurs in everyday social interactions, yet the real-world factors that shape the moment-to-moment experience of social anxiety have not been fully explored. Using ecological momentary assessments (smartphone-based, five signals a day for 21 days), the present study examined the associations between state social anxiety (SSA) and characteristics of interaction partners in varied contexts, and how these momentary associations differed with trait social anxiety (TSA). Ninety-two participants (54% female, age from 18 to 34) completed 4185 momentary reports. Results from multilevel models showed that perceived judgmentalness and unfamiliarity of interaction partners were positively associated with SSA, and the associations were stronger for the high TSA group (n = 30) compared to a control group (n = 62). Exploratory analyses with various types of interaction partners and social settings revealed noticeable group differences in how the types were associated with SSA (e.g. acquaintance, close friend/romantic partner) and how they influenced the effect of judgmentalness and unfamiliarity on SSA (e.g. authority, work/school). Overall, the findings highlight the role of contextual associations in social anxiety, and the benefits and the need for more comprehensive approaches with EMA in studying social anxiety, particularly its contextual aspects.

Temperamental Shyness, Frontal EEG Theta/Beta Ratio, and Social Anxiety in Children.

The authors examined how children's frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) theta/beta ratio-an index of neurocognitive control-changed from baseline to a social stressor, and whether these EEG changes moderated the relation between temperament and anxiety. Children (N=152; Mage =7.82years, 52% male, 81% White) had their EEG recorded during a baseline and speech anticipation condition. Children's frontal theta/beta ratio decreased from baseline to speech anticipation, and this baseline-to-task change moderated the relation between temperamental shyness and social anxiety. Temperamental shyness was related to higher state and trait social anxiety only among children with large baseline-to-task decreases in theta/beta ratio. Findings are consistent with theoretical models hypothesizing that temperamentally shy children with heightened neurocognitive control may be at greater risk for anxiety.

Personal meaning as a predictor of behavioral action over and above the role of state social anxiety

Personal meaning as a predictor of behavioral action over and above the role of state social anxiety

How am I going to tell you this? The relations between social anxiety and narrative coherence

ABSTRACT Recently, evidence has been increasing that individuals who are able to narrate coherently about their autobiographical memories, receive more positive social feedback, have higher-quality social relationships and are overall less likely to suffer from internalising psychopathology, like depression and anxiety. However, the relation between narrative coherence and social anxiety, in particular, has not been topic of research until now. This is remarkable, since the concern about negative evaluations by others in social situations is at the core of social anxiety. In the present experimental study (N = 68), we investigated in a two-by-two design how trait and state social anxiety are related to narrative coherence, as well as possible underlying mechanisms. In our study, neither trait nor state social anxiety, nor their interaction had the expected detrimental effect on narrative coherence. However, trait differences in the proposed mechanisms of social anxiety were in line with the literature. Results showed that trait social anxiety and thematic narrative coherence were indirectly negatively related, via the intervening effects of an increased internal focus on anxiety cues, an excessive external focus on negative social evaluation, larger working memory load, more rumination and more depressive symptoms. Limitations and recommendations for future research are addressed.

Social Anxiety Status of Left-Behind Children in Rural Areas of Hunan Province and its Relationship with Loneliness.

This study was designed to investigate the situation of social anxiety among left-behind children in rural areas of Hunan Province, China, and to study the effect of social anxiety on loneliness. A total of 797 left-behind children were selected from rural areas in Hunan Province, China. The basic information questionnaire for left-behind children, Social Anxiety Scale for Children, Perceived Social Support Scale and UCLA Loneliness Scale were used for investigation. (1) The social anxiety score of left-behind children in China is 6.84 ± 4.28, higher than non-left-behind children, and the score of boys is lower than that of girls, with no significant difference. The score of left-behind children in grade 5 is significantly lower than that of left-behind children in other grades. (2) The overall loneliness score is 16.30 ± 5.10, higher than non-left-behind children, and the score of boys is significantly higher than that of girls. (3) Social anxiety has a significant positive predictive effect on loneliness (P < 0.01). Regression analysis shows that social anxiety not only affects loneliness directly, but also affects loneliness indirectly through the mediating role of perceived social support. Social anxiety is a risk factor for loneliness of left-behind children in rural areas. In the influence of social anxiety on loneliness, social support plays a partial mediating role.

Psychiatric referral is required in children with vaginal foreign body injury: A case-control study from China

PurposeThe rate of vaginal foreign body (VFB) injury has been increasing in recent years. VFB will cause vaginal inflammation, injury and negative psychological impacts in girls. Our study aimed to elucidate the need of psychological referral in children with VFB. Design and methodsA case-control study was performed. A total of 67 girls who visited the clinic due to vaginal foreign bodies were recruited. A questionnaire and Family environment scale-Chinese version (FES-CV) and social anxiety scale for children-Chinese version (SASC-CV) were completed by parents and children. Demographic information, parenting pattern, girls' social anxiety status, and their daily life trajectory and outdoor activities were collected. ResultsThe mean age of the 67 girls with VFB was 6.6 ± 2.1 years with a range of 2 years10 months-13 years. The 72 girls of the control group were age-matched with the patients. Scorings in two subscales of FES-CV including family cohesion, emotion expression were significantly lower in the VFB group than those in the control group (7.2 ± 2.4 vs. 7.9 ± 1.7, p < 0.05; 5.2 ± 1.6 vs. 6.5 ± 1.3, p < 0.001). Social anxiety level was higher in the VFB group comparing with the control group. Shorter time of outdoor activities (t = 3.205, p = 0.002) and significantly longer screen time were in the VFB group (t = 5.74, p < 0.001). Conclusions and implicationsThe occurrence of VFB was associated with parenting patterns and social anxiety level. Psychiatric referral is required in children with VFB.

How Anxious are You Right Now? Using Ecological Momentary Assessment to Evaluate the Effects of Cognitive Bias Modification for Social Threat Interpretations

Reducing one’s tendency to interpret ambiguous situations negatively can improve symptoms of social anxiety. This study examines the effectiveness of a 1-week period of online Cognitive Bias Modification for Interpretations (CBM-I) for socially anxious individuals. In addition to measuring intervention effectiveness through traditional trait measures, this study investigates whether associated state measures are sensitive to intervention effects in daily life. One-hundred and six participants scoring high on a measure of trait social anxiety completed two in-lab sessions separated by 5 weeks of ecological momentary assessment, with 51 participants randomly assigned to receive the online CBM-I intervention halfway through the 5-week monitoring period. CBM-I training was more effective than monitoring alone in reducing trait negative interpretation bias, indicating target engagement. However, this change was not reliably accompanied by changes on other cognitive processing style outcomes. Further, while trait and state social anxiety symptoms and fear of negative evaluation improved, these changes were not unique to the CBM-I intervention group. This study demonstrates the challenges and opportunities associated with investigating intervention effects in daily life.

Disrupted joint action accounts for reduced likability of socially anxious individuals

Background and objectivesMotivated by their fear of disapproval, individuals with social anxiety continually monitor their own behaviour during social interactions hoping to prevent dreaded negative outcomes. Ironically, they do evoke less positive reactions from others. This study investigated whether lower engagement in the interpersonal process of joint action by socially anxious individuals leads them to attract less positive ratings by their conversation partners. MethodHigh socially anxious (HSA; N = 36) and low socially anxious individuals (LSA; N = 36) had separate conversations with a naïve conversation partner (N = 36). Conversations were filmed and analysed for joint action using the conventional manual way and a more exploratory automated way. Conversation partners rated the quality of the interaction and the person they talked to. ResultsConversation partners rated HSA participants less positively than LSA participants. The conventional manual method showed less joint action in conversations with LSA participants and crucially, joint action served as mediator between social anxiety status and general impression, quality of interaction and desire to meet again. These results were not replicated with the automated method. LimitationsThe study used an analogue sample and future research should investigate whether these findings also apply to a clinical sample. Future studies should further explore the utility of automated techniques to measure joint action. ConclusionReduced joint action may explain why socially anxious individuals tend to be perceived less positively by others. The findings emphasise the importance of taking an interpersonal and holistic approach to understanding aspects of social anxiety disorder.

Can predictors of trait social anxiety also predict state social anxiety? Integrating personality and cultural variables of social anxiety in Asian Americans.

Can predictors of trait social anxiety also predict state social anxiety? Integrating personality and cultural variables of social anxiety in Asian Americans.

The roles of cognitive avoidance, rumination and negative affect in the association between abusive supervision in the workplace and non-clinical paranoia in a sample of workers working in France

This study examined the relationship between abusive supervision and non-clinical paranoia and explored which cognitive mechanisms are mediating this association (i.e. rumination, cognitive avoidance and negative affect). A sample of two hundred and five French-speaking workers currently in employment in France was recruited to fill in a battery of online questionnaires comprising of the French adaptations of the Abusive Supervision Scale, the State Social Paranoia Scales, the Depression and Anxiety and Stress Scales, the Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire and the Mini-Cambridge Exeter Repetitive Thought Scale. Mediation analyses showed that the experience of supervisory abuse directly influences state paranoia, however, there were significant mediation effects. Abusive supervision impacted on cognitive avoidance that led to more rumination, which in its turn increased negative affect and this increased state paranoia. Rumination impacted on state paranoia but through the effect of negative affect only. This study showed that abusive supervision works together with cognitive and affective factors to impact on non-clinical paranoia. It is recommended that Cognitive and Behavioural therapy (CBT) is tailored to help workers to cope with experiences of supervisory abuse and associated paranoid thoughts by focusing on replacing rumination and cognitive avoidance strategies for more adaptive cognitive strategies and on how to manage depression.

The Strength of Adaptation to Negative versus Positive Emotional Information Depends on Social Anxiety Status

The Strength of Adaptation to Negative versus Positive Emotional Information Depends on Social Anxiety Status