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Cognitive Therapy and Research

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13-05-2021 | Original Article

Social Distancing During A COVID-19 Lockdown Contributes to The Maintenance of Social Anxiety: A Natural Experiment

Auteurs: Gal Arad, Dana Shamai-Leshem, Yair Bar-Haim

Gepubliceerd in: Cognitive Therapy and Research | Uitgave 4/2021

Abstract

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to extensive social distancing measures. For those suffering from social anxiety, social distancing coincides with a tendency to avoid social interactions. We used this natural experiment imposed by a COVID-19 lockdown to examine how mandated low social exposure influenced socially anxious university students, and compared their anxiety to that of socially anxious students in preceding academic years with no social distancing.

Methods

Ninety-nine socially anxious students were assessed for social anxiety symptoms at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters. Students from the 2019–2020 academic year (which included a lockdown followed by social distancing measures at the end of the fall semester) were compared to students from preceding years (2016–2019) on social anxiety levels.

Results

Whereas social anxiety decreased in socially anxious students from the fall to the spring semester in the years preceding the pandemic, during the 2019–2020 academic year social anxiety levels remained high and unchanged. These results held when controlling for depressive symptoms and when analyzing social anxiety items that cannot be confounded with COVID-19-related anxiety.

Conclusions

The current results suggest that reduced exposure to social situations may play a role in the maintenance of social anxiety. Alternative explanations are discussed.

vorige artikel COVID-19 and Anxiety Sensitivity Across Two Studies in Argentina: Associations with COVID-19 Worry, Symptom Severity, Anxiety, and Functional Impairment

volgende artikel Interpretation Bias Across Body Dysmorphic, Social Anxiety and Generalized Anxiety Disorder—A Multilevel, Diffusion Model Account

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Titel: Social Distancing During A COVID-19 Lockdown Contributes to The Maintenance of Social Anxiety: A Natural Experiment
Auteurs: Gal Arad
Dana Shamai-Leshem
Yair Bar-Haim
Publicatiedatum: 13-05-2021
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Cognitive Therapy and Research / Uitgave 4/2021
Print ISSN: 0147-5916
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-2819
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-021-10231-7

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Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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