Still Lonely: Social Adjustment of Youth With and Without Social Anxiety Disorder Following Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Publication date: Available online 18 October 2017 Source:Journal of Anxiety Disorders Author(s): Cynthia Suveg, Julie Newman Kingery, Molly Davis, Anna Jones, Monica Whitehead, Marni L. Jacob Social experiences are an integral part of normative development for youth and social functioning difficulties are related to poor outcomes. Youth with anxiety disorders, and particularly social anxiety disorder, experience difficulties across many aspects of social functioning that may place them at risk for maladjustment. The goal of this paper was to compare social experiences of youth across anxiety diagnoses and examine whether treatment is helpful in improving social functioning. Ninety-two children (age 7–12 years; 58% male; 87.0% White) with a primary diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, and/or social anxiety disorder participated in cognitive behavioral therapy. At both pre- and post-treatment, children with social anxiety disorder self-reported greater loneliness than youth without social anxiety disorder, though levels of peer victimization and receipt of prosocial behavior were similar across groups. Parents reported greater social problems for youth with social anxiety disorder compared to those without social anxiety disorder. All youth experienced improved social functioning following treatment per child- and parent-reports. The results call for an increased focus on the social experiences of youth with anxiety disorders, and p...
Source: Journal of Anxiety Disorders - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research