Distinguishing healthy adults from people with social anxiety disorder: Evidence for the value of experiential avoidance and positive emotions in everyday social interactions.

2013 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
pp. 645-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd B. Kashdan ◽  
Antonina S. Farmer ◽  
Leah M. Adams ◽  
Patty Ferssizidis ◽  
Patrick E. McKnight ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Experiential Avoidance ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Healthy Adults

scholarly journals Prevalence of Social Anxiety Disorder among Medical Students from Six Medical Schools in Khartoum State

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hazeem Abeljaleel Suleiman ◽  
Sara Ahmed Elamin ◽  
Abdalaziz Awad Alobeid ◽  
Wegdan Elshame Altaib
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Phobia ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Drug Addiction ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Physical Symptoms

Background: Social anxiety disorder (social phobia) is a type of anxiety disorder which is characterized by significant anxiety and discomfort about being embarrassed, humiliated, rejected, or looked down on in social interactions. Although it affects about 30% of adults worldwide at some point in their lives, lifetime social anxiety disorder affects only about 4% of the world population. People with this disorder experience extreme fear of social interactions (e.g., public speaking and meeting new people). This anxiety affects daily functions and lasts at least six months. They may also experience strong physical symptoms like rapid heart rate, nausea, vomiting, and full-blown attacks. Social phobia can be treated by a combination of psychotherapy and medical treatment (e.g., anti-anxiety, antidepressants, and beta-blockers). Methods: This study was conducted using the Arabic SPIN and a group of questions to assess the associated factors, complications, and sociodemographic determinate of social anxiety disorder and included a total of 375 medical students from different universities and educational years. Results: The overall prevalence of social anxiety disorder among our participants was 61.3%, of which 19.2% had mild, 21.6% moderate, 10.9% severe, and 9.6% had very severe SAD. There was a significant difference regarding self-esteem, academic achievement, and drug addiction between students with social phobia and students with no social phobia. Conclusion: Social phobia is quite prevalent among Sudanese medical students, particularly the severe form of the disorder with no significant gender differences. It seems to affect self-esteem and academic achievement and can be associated with drug addiction.

The Effects of Exercise Training on Anxiety

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 388-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew P. Herring ◽  
Jacob B. Lindheimer ◽  
Patrick J. O’Connor
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Exercise Training ◽  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Chronically Ill ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
Generalized Anxiety ◽  
Therapeutic Effects ◽  
Generalized Anxiety Disorders

This review summarizes the extant evidence of the effects of exercise training on anxiety among healthy adults, adults with a chronic illness, and individuals diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. A brief discussion of selected proposed mechanisms that may underlie relations of exercise and anxiety is also provided. The weight of the available empirical evidence indicates that exercise training reduces symptoms of anxiety among healthy adults, chronically ill patients, and patients with panic disorder. Preliminary data suggest that exercise training can serve as an alternative therapy for patients with social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and obsessive–compulsive disorder. Anxiety reductions appear to be comparable to empirically supported treatments for panic and generalized anxiety disorders. Large trials aimed at more precisely determining the magnitude and generalizability of exercise training effects appear to be warranted for panic and generalized anxiety disorders. Future well-designed randomized controlled trials should (a) examine the therapeutic effects of exercise training among understudied anxiety disorders, including specific phobias, social anxiety disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder; (b) focus on understudied exercise modalities, including resistance exercise training and programs that combine exercise with cognitive-behavioral therapies; and (c) elucidate putative mechanisms of the anxiolytic effects of exercise training.

scholarly journals Exposure to virtual social interactions in the treatment of social anxiety disorder: A randomized controlled trial

2016 ◽  
Vol 77 ◽  
pp. 147-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel L. Kampmann ◽  
Paul M.G. Emmelkamp ◽  
Dwi Hartanto ◽  
Willem-Paul Brinkman ◽  
Bonne J.H. Zijlstra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Randomized Controlled

scholarly journals Social Presence as a Moderator of the Effect of Agent Behavior on Emotional Experience in Social Interactions in Virtual Reality

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Pfaller ◽  
Leon O. H. Kroczek ◽  
Bastian Lange ◽  
Raymund Fülöp ◽  
Mathias Müller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Virtual Agents ◽  
Agent Behavior ◽  
The Relationship

Background: Exposure therapy involves exposure to feared stimuli and is considered to be the gold-standard treatment for anxiety disorders. While its application in Virtual Reality (VR) has been very successful for phobic disorders, the effects of exposure to virtual social stimuli in Social Anxiety Disorder are heterogeneous. This difference has been linked to demands on realism and presence, particularly social presence, as a pre-requisite in evoking emotional experiences in virtual social interactions. So far, however, the influence of social presence on emotional experience in social interactions with virtual agents remains unknown.Objective: We investigated the relationship between realism and social presence and the moderating effect of social presence on the relationship between agent behavior and experienced emotions in virtual social interaction.Methods: Healthy participants (N = 51) faced virtual agents showing supportive and dismissive behaviors in two virtual environments (short interactions and oral presentations). At first, participants performed five blocks of short one-on-one interactions with virtual agents (two male and two female agents per block). Secondly, participants gave five presentations in front of an audience of 16 agents. In each scenario, agent behavior was a within subjects factor, resulting in one block of neutral, two blocks of negative, and two blocks of positive agent behavior. Ratings of agent behavior (valence and realism), experience (valence and arousal), and presence (physical and social) were collected after every block. Moderator effects were investigated using mixed linear models with random intercepts. Correlations were analyzed via repeated measures correlations.Results: Ratings of valence of agent behaviors showed reliable relationships with experienced valence and less reliable relationships with experienced arousal. These relationships were moderated by social presence in the presentation scenario. Results for the interaction scenario were weaker but potentially promising for experimental studies. Variations in social presence and realism over time were correlated but social presence proved a more reliable moderator.Conclusion: Our findings emphasize the role of social presence for emotional experience in response to specific agent behaviors in virtual social interactions. While these findings should be replicated with experimental designs and in clinical samples, variability in social presence might account for heterogeneity in efficacy of virtual exposure to treat social anxiety disorder.

Anxiety, emotional security and the interpersonal behavior of individuals with social anxiety disorder

2010 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 545-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Russell ◽  
D. S. Moskowitz ◽  
D. C. Zuroff ◽  
P. Bleau ◽  
G. Pinard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Interpersonal Behavior ◽  
Emotional Security ◽  
Laboratory Observation ◽  
Interpersonal Behaviors ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Affiliative Behaviors

BackgroundInterpersonal functioning is central to social anxiety disorder (SAD). Empirical examinations of interpersonal behaviors in individuals with SAD have frequently relied on analogue samples, global retrospective reports and laboratory observation. Moreover, research has focused on avoidance and safety behaviors, neglecting potential links between SAD and affiliative behaviors.MethodThe influence of situational anxiety and emotional security on interpersonal behaviors was examined for individuals with SAD (n=40) and matched normal controls (n=40). Participants monitored their behavior and affect in naturally occurring social interactions using an event-contingent recording procedure.ResultsIndividuals with SAD reported higher levels of submissive behavior and lower levels of dominant behavior relative to controls. Consistent with cognitive–behavioral and evolutionary theories, elevated anxiety in specific events predicted increased submissiveness among individuals with SAD. Consistent with attachment theory, elevations in event-level emotional security were associated with increased affiliative behaviors (increased agreeable behavior and decreased quarrelsome behavior) among members of the SAD group. Results were not accounted for by concurrent elevations in sadness or between-group differences in the distribution of social partners.ConclusionsThese findings are consistent with predictions based on several theoretical perspectives. Further, the present research documents naturally occurring interpersonal patterns of individuals with SAD and identifies conditions under which these individuals may view social interactions as opportunities for interpersonal connectedness.

scholarly journals A Two-Person Neuroscience Approach for Social Anxiety: A Paradigm With Interbrain Synchrony and Neurofeedback

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcia A. Saul ◽  
Xun He ◽  
Stuart Black ◽  
Fred Charles
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Anxiety Disorder ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Social Situation ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Daily Routines ◽  
The Social

Social anxiety disorder has been widely recognised as one of the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders. Individuals with social anxiety disorder experience difficulties during social interactions that are essential in the regular functioning of daily routines; perpetually motivating research into the aetiology, maintenance and treatment methods. Traditionally, social and clinical neuroscience studies incorporated protocols testing one participant at a time. However, it has been recently suggested that such protocols are unable to directly assess social interaction performance, which can be revealed by testing multiple individuals simultaneously. The principle of two-person neuroscience highlights the interpersonal aspect of social interactions that observes behaviour and brain activity from both (or all) constituents of the interaction, rather than analysing on an individual level or an individual observation of a social situation. Therefore, two-person neuroscience could be a promising direction for assessment and intervention of the social anxiety disorder. In this paper, we propose a novel paradigm which integrates two-person neuroscience in a neurofeedback protocol. Neurofeedback and interbrain synchrony, a branch of two-person neuroscience, are discussed in their own capacities for their relationship with social anxiety disorder and relevance to the paradigm. The newly proposed paradigm sets out to assess the social interaction performance using interbrain synchrony between interacting individuals, and to employ a multi-user neurofeedback protocol for intervention of the social anxiety.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document