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Cognitive Bias in Adolescents with Social Anxiety Disorder

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Abstract

Judgmental biases for threat-relevant stimuli are thought to be important mechanisms underlying the etiology and maintenance of anxiety disorders. Previous research has shown that adults with social anxiety disorder rate negative social events as more likely (probability) to occur as well as more distressing (cost) than do nonanxious controls. However, no empirical research has examined whether this is also the case in adolescents with social anxiety disorder. Elucidation of the cognitive processes of social anxiety disorder in the adolescent population may aid in a better understanding of the etiology and maintenance of the disorder, and may suggest directions for treatment and prevention efforts. This study investigated probability and cost estimations of negative social and nonsocial events among adolescents with social anxiety disorder relative to nonanxious controls. Results indicated that socially anxious adolescents overestimated the cost and probability of negative social events compared to nonanxious adolescents, even after controlling for depressive symptoms. Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina

    Alyssa A. Rheingold

  2. Department of Psychology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    James D. Herbert

  3. School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    Martin E. Franklin

Authors
  1. Alyssa A. Rheingold
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  2. James D. Herbert
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  3. Martin E. Franklin
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Correspondence to Alyssa A. Rheingold.

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Rheingold, A.A., Herbert, J.D. & Franklin, M.E. Cognitive Bias in Adolescents with Social Anxiety Disorder. Cognitive Therapy and Research 27, 639–655 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026399627766

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