Frontoparietal and Default Mode Network Contributions to Self-Referential Processing in Social Anxiety Disorder.

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by negative self-referential processing, which triggers excessive emotional reactivity. In healthy individuals, positive self-views typically predominate and are supported by regions of the default mode network (DMN) that represent self-related information and regions of the frontoparietal control network (FPCN) that contribute to metacognitive awareness and emotion regulation. The current study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine patterns of DMN and FPCN activation during positive and negative self-referential judgments in SAD patients (N = 97) and controls (N = 34). As expected, SAD patients demonstrated a striking difference in self-beliefs compared with non-anxious healthy controls, endorsing fewer positive traits and more negative traits. However, SAD patients and controls demonstrated largely similar patterns of DMN and FPCN recruitment during self-referential judgements. No significant group differences were observed. However, equivalence testing identified numerous regions demonstrating effect sizes that were not small enough to conclude that they were practically equivalent to zero, despite the nonsignificant null hypothesis test. These regions may be key targets to investigate in future studies using larger samples.

The benefits of a longer course of cognitive behavioral therapy for some patients with social anxiety disorder.

Historically, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD) has been evaluated in randomized-controlled trials as a 12-16 session treatment and has demonstrated response rates ranging from 58% to 75%. Despite these promising results, some patients do not improve substantially after this short course of CBT. It is unclear whether non-responding patients would make substantial improvements in social anxiety with further treatment. In a university outpatient clinic specializing in CBT for SAD, we compared outcomes for patients who ended treatment after approximately 20 sessions of CBT (n = 38) to those who continued treatment for a variable number of additional sessions (n = 34). We found no between-group differences in demographic characteristics, number of comorbid diagnoses, comorbid generalized anxiety disorder or major depressive disorder, or severity of depression at baseline. Patients who ended treatment after 20 sessions experienced greater improvements in SAD over those 20 sessions compared to those who continued treatment. Both groups experienced changes in depression and quality of life over the first 20 sessions. Those who continued treatment showed additional decreases in social anxiety beyond session 20. For those who initially appear to be non-responsive to CBT for SAD, a longer course of treatment may elicit significant improvements.

Emotion dysregulation in the experience of pain among persons living with HIV/AIDS.

Persons living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) report disproportionally high rates of pain. Pain among PLWHA has been associated with poor medication adherence and anxiety and depressive symptoms. This relationship may be primarily driven by elevated negative affect, and one factor that may be important to understanding elevated negative affect is emotion dysregulation. Therefore, the current study sought to examine emotion dysregulation (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale) in terms of multi-dimensional pain experience (pain severity, pain interference, pain affective distress, pain life control; Multidimensional Pain Inventory; Turk and Rudy (1988) among a sample of 162 HIV+ individuals (Mage = 47.65, SD = 8.59, 35.2% female). Two-step hierarchical regression analyses revealed that emotion dysregulation total score was significantly associated with each of the pain variables. These results may suggest PLWHA who demonstrate greater emotion dysregulation struggle to effectively manage negative affect associated with their pain experience, exacerbating the severity of pain symptoms across numerous clinically-relevant domains. The novel findings may provide important assessment and intervention targets for PLWHA living with pain.

Targeting fear of positive evaluation in patients with social anxiety disorder via a brief cognitive behavioural therapy protocol: a proof-of-principle study.

BACKGROUND: Our aim was to develop a brief cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) protocol to augment treatment for social anxiety disorder (SAD). This protocol focused specifically upon fear of positive evaluation (FPE). To our knowledge, this is the first protocol that has been designed to systematically target FPE. AIMS: To test the feasibility of a brief (two-session) CBT protocol for FPE and report proof-of-principle data in the form of effect sizes. METHOD: Seven patients with a principal diagnosis of SAD were recruited to participate. Following a pre-treatment assessment, patients were randomized to either (a) an immediate CBT condition (n = 3), or (b) a comparable wait-list (WL) period (2 weeks; n = 4). Two WL patients also completed the CBT protocol following the WL period (delayed CBT condition). Patients completed follow-up assessments 1 week after completing the protocol. RESULTS: A total of five patients completed the brief, FPE-specific CBT protocol (two of the seven patients were wait-listed only and did not complete delayed CBT). All five patients completed the protocol and provided 1-week follow-up data. CBT patients demonstrated large reductions in FPE-related concerns as well as overall social anxiety symptoms, whereas WL patients demonstrated an increase in FPE-related concerns. CONCLUSIONS: Our brief FPE-specific CBT protocol is feasible to use and was associated with large FPE-specific and social anxiety symptom reductions. To our knowledge, this is the first treatment report that has focused on systematic treatment of FPE in patients with SAD. Our protocol warrants further controlled evaluation.

Worry and anxiety account for unique variance in the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and depression.

The evidence supporting the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty (IU), a cognitive construct well established in the anxiety literature, and depression is mixed. Some research has demonstrated a direct association between IU and depression, whereas other studies suggest that IU is either unrelated or indirectly related to depression through other pathways, including anxiety. The present study aimed to further elucidate the relationship between IU and depression in an undergraduate sample (N = 221). We posited a model in which worry and anxiety account for unique variance in the association between IU and depression. Results supported this hypothesis. Worry and trait anxiety significantly accounted for unique variance in the relationship between IU and depression. Furthermore, the model that best fit the data included two additional direct paths, from IU to anxiety and from worry to depression, and excluded the direct path from IU to depression. Our findings support the notion that IU and depression are indirectly related through worry and anxiety. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

The stigmatization of nonsuicidal self-injury.

OBJECTIVE: Despite the high prevalence of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), no research has systematically studied the occurrence and effects of stigmatization by others towards NSSI scarring. METHODS: The current study measured implicit and explicit attitudes among undergraduates towards NSSI scarring using the implicit association test and questionnaires to compare implicit and explicit biases towards NSSI with biases towards tattoos, a culturally sanctioned form of self-determined marking, as well as nonintentional disfigurement. RESULTS: Our study demonstrated strong negative implicit and explicit biases towards NSSI when comparing NSSI to tattoos and nonintentional disfigurement. CONCLUSIONS: Results extend previous research describing stigma towards mental illness and suggest a large negative bias towards NSSI. The importance of studying how stigma affects those who bear scarring from NSSI is discussed.

The co-occurrence and correlates of anxiety disorders among adolescents with intermittent explosive disorder.

We examined the lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders (ADs) among adolescents with lifetime intermittent explosive disorder (IED), as well as the impact of co-occurring ADs on anger attack frequency and persistence, additional comorbidity, impairment, and treatment utilization among adolescents with IED. IED was defined by the occurrence of at least three anger attacks that were disproportionate to the provocation within a single year. Data were drawn from the National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement (N = 6,140), and diagnoses were based on structured lay-administered interviews. Over half (51.89%) of adolescents with IED had an AD, compared to only 22.88% of adolescents without IED. Compared to adolescents with IED alone, adolescents with IED and comorbid ADs: (a) were more likely to be female; (b) reported greater impairment in work/school, social, and overall functioning; (c) were more likely to receive an additional psychiatric diagnosis, a depressive or drug abuse diagnosis, or diagnoses of three or more additional disorders; and (d) had higher odds of receiving any mental/behavioral health treatment as well as treatment specifically focused on aggression. Adolescents with IED alone and those with comorbid ADs did not differ in the number of years experiencing anger attacks or the highest number of anger attacks in a given year. ADs frequently co-occur with IED and are associated with elevated comorbidity and greater impairment compared to IED alone. Gaining a better understanding of this comorbidity is essential for developing specialized and effective methods to screen and treat comorbid anxiety in adolescents with aggressive behavior problems.

ANXIOUS AND AGGRESSIVE: THE CO-OCCURRENCE OF IED WITH ANXIETY DISORDERS.

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that impulsive aggression and explosive anger are common among individuals with anxiety disorders; yet, the influence of intermittent explosive disorder (IED) on the onset, course, consequences, and patterns of comorbidity among those with anxiety disorders is unknown. METHODS: Data were drawn from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (N = 9,282) and Adolescent Supplement (N = 9,632), nationally representative surveys conducted between 2001 and 2004. Diagnoses were based on structured lay-administered interviews. Lifetime diagnoses were assessed with structured instruments. Outcomes included comorbidity, functional and role impairment, and treatment utilization. RESULTS: Adolescents with a lifetime anxiety disorder had a higher prevalence of a lifetime anger attacks (68.5%) and IED (22.9%) than adolescents without a lifetime anxiety disorder (48.6 and 7.8%, respectively), especially social phobia and panic disorders. Similar elevation was found for adults. Age of onset and course of anxiety disorders did not differ by IED. Severe functional impairment associated with anxiety was higher among adolescents (39.3%) and adults (45.7%) with IED than those without IED (29.2 and 28.2%, respectively). Comorbidity for all other disorders was elevated. However, individuals with anxiety disorders and IED were no more likely to use treatment services than those with anxiety disorders without IED. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with IED concomitant to anxiety disorder, especially social phobia and panic, are at marked risk for worse functional impairment and a higher burden of comorbidity, but onset and course of anxiety disorder do not differ, and those with anxiety and IED are no more likely to utilize treatment services. Assessment, identification, and specialized treatment of anger in the context of anxiety disorders are critical to reducing burden.

Social anxiety and vulnerability for problematic drinking in college students: the moderating role of post-event processing.

Socially anxious college students are at increased risk for engaging in problematic drinking (i.e. heavy or risky drinking) behaviors that are associated with the development of an alcohol use disorder. The present study examined whether post-event processing (PEP), repeatedly thinking about and evaluating one's performance in a past social situation, strengthens the association between social anxiety and vulnerability to problematic drinking among college students. Eighty-three college drinkers with high or low social anxiety participated in a social interaction task and were exposed to a manipulation that either promoted or inhibited PEP about the social interaction. Among participants randomized to the PEP promotion condition, those with high social anxiety exhibited a greater urge to use alcohol after the social interaction and greater motivation to drink to cope with depressive symptoms over the week following the manipulation than did those with low social anxiety. These findings suggest that targeting PEP in college drinking intervention programs may improve the efficacy of such programs for socially anxious students.

Exploring linguistic correlates of social anxiety in romantic stories.

The current study used computerized linguistic analysis of stories about either going on a date or taking a walk down a street to examine linguistic correlates of social anxiety in a sample of undergraduate students. In general, linguistic analysis revealed associations of social anxiety with several linguistic variables, including negative emotion, affect, and anxiety words. Participants higher in social anxiety wrote fewer affect words. The relationship between social anxiety and anxiety words depended on gender, whereas the relationship between social anxiety and negative emotion words depended on both gender and the nature of primes (supraliminal vs. subliminal) received. Overall, our findings highlight the potential utility and benefits of using linguistic analysis as another source of information about how individuals higher in social anxiety process romantic stimuli.

Clarifying the unique associations among intolerance of uncertainty, anxiety, and depression.

Increasing evidence suggests that intolerance of uncertainty (IU) may be a transdiagnostic factor across the anxiety disorders, and to a lesser extent, unipolar depression. Whereas anxiety inherently involves uncertainty regarding threat, depression has traditionally been associated with certainty (e.g. the hopelessness theory of depression). Some theorists posit that the observed relationship between depression and IU may be due to the relationship between depression and anxiety and the relationship between anxiety and IU. The present study sought to elucidate the unique relationships among trait anxiety, depression, and IU in undergraduate (N = 554) and clinical (generalized anxiety disorder; N = 43) samples. Findings suggest that IU may play a larger role in anxiety than depression, although some evidence indicates that inhibitory IU and depression may have a modest but independent relationship.

AN OPEN TRIAL OF EMOTION REGULATION THERAPY FOR GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER AND COOCCURRING DEPRESSION.

BACKGROUND: Although CBT is efficacious for a wide variety of psychiatric conditions, relatively fewer GAD patients achieve high endstate functioning as compared to patients receiving CBTs for other disorders. Moreover, GAD trials that utilized patient samples without prominent depression have tended to report that effect sizes for depressive outcomes were small or diminished to pretreatment levels in the follow-up period. Emotion regulation therapy (ERT) integrates principles from traditional and contemporary cognitive behavioral treatments with basic and translational findings from affect science to offer a blueprint for improving intervention by focusing on motivational, regulatory, and contextual learning mechanisms. METHOD: The purpose of this investigation was to provide initial support for the efficacy of ERT in an open trial of patients with GAD and cooccurring depressive symptoms. Twenty-one patients received a 20-session version of ERT delivered in weekly individual sessions. Standardized clinician ratings and self-report measures were assessed at pre-, mid-, and posttreatment as well as at three- and nine-month follow-ups. Intent-to-treat analyzes were utilized. RESULTS: GAD patients, half with comorbid major depression, evidenced statistically, and clinically meaningful improvements in symptom severity, impairment, quality of life, and in model-related outcomes including emotional/motivational intensity, mindful attending/acceptance, decentering, and cognitive reappraisal. Patients maintained gains across the three and nine month follow-up periods. CONCLUSIONS: These findings, although preliminary, provide additional evidence for the role of emotion dysregulation in the onset, maintenance, and now treatment of conditions such as GAD and cooccurring depressive symptoms.

Social anxiety, submissiveness, and shame in men and women: a moderated mediation analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Research suggests a positive relationship between social anxiety and shame; however, few studies have examined this relationship or potential mechanisms. Common behaviours of persons with social anxiety disorder (SAD), such as submissive behaviours, may be more consistent with societal expectations of women than men and therefore more likely to be associated with shame in socially anxious men than women. We examined the hypothesis that submissive behaviours would mediate the relationship between social anxiety and shame in men, but not in women, with SAD. DESIGN: Moderated mediation was examined in a cross-sectional dataset. Gender was modeled to moderate the paths from social anxiety to submissive behaviours and from submissive behaviours to shame. We also examined an alternative model of the relationships among these variables and the potential contributory role of depression. METHODS: Men (n = 48) and women (n = 40) with SAD completed the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, Submissive Behaviour Scale, Internalized Shame Scale, and Beck Depression Inventory. RESULTS: Analyses supported the hypothesized model. The relationship between submissive behaviours and shame was greater in men than women with SAD; the relationship between social anxiety and submissive behaviours was not. Controlling for depression, moderation remained evident although diminished. Results for the comparison model did not support gender moderation. CONCLUSIONS: Submissive behaviours mediated the relationship between social anxiety and shame in men, but not women, with SAD. These findings provide preliminary evidence for a model of shame in SAD and may help to further elucidate specific features of SAD that differ between men and women. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Although researchers have argued that the display of submissive behaviours might allow the socially anxious individual to limit or prevent attacks on the self, our results suggest that there are greater costs, with regard to feelings of shame, associated with such behaviours for men. In men with SAD, the greater shame associated with submissive behaviours can be understood when considering that socially anxious individuals appear to be particularly concerned with concealing aspects of the self believed to violate perceived societal norms and that traditional masculine gender roles revolve around the theme of dominance. Because the study was conducted in individuals with SAD, it is possible that the restricted range of social anxiety severity may have precluded the observation of gender differences in the relationship between social anxiety and submissive behaviour. Measures were administered in a cross-sectional design, which limits potential inferences of causality.

The interaction of affective states and cognitive vulnerabilities in the prediction of non-suicidal self-injury.

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a serious public health concern and remains poorly understood. This study sought to identify both cognitive and affective vulnerabilities to NSSI and examine their interaction in the prediction of NSSI. A series of regressions indicated that low levels of positive affect (PA) moderated the relationships between self-criticism and brooding and NSSI. The associations of self-criticism and brooding with greater frequency of NSSI were attenuated by higher levels of PA. The interaction of cognitive and affective vulnerabilities is discussed within the context of current NSSI theory.

Domain-specific intolerance of uncertainty in socially anxious and contamination-focused obsessive-compulsive individuals.

Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) has been increasingly recognized as a transdiagnostic factor across anxiety disorders and depression and is associated with substantial cognitive, behavioral, and emotional impairment. IU is typically construed as a dispositional tendency to view ambiguous stimuli and unknown outcomes as unacceptably threatening regardless of context, but recent findings suggest that the domain in which uncertainty is encountered may be relevant. Taking that research to the next step, the aim of the present study was to determine whether IU is more salient in concern-congruent versus incongruent domains and whether domain-specific IU is a better predictor of anxiety symptoms than trait IU. A total of 102 undergraduates were recruited into analog socially anxious (SA), obsessive-compulsive contamination (OCC), and nonanxious control (NAC) groups based on responses to measures of SA and OCC symptoms. Both groups reported more domain-congruent IU than trait IU or domain-incongruent IU. The SA group reported more social interaction IU than the OCC and NAC groups; the OCC group reported more cleanliness IU than the SA and NAC groups. Domain-specific IU predicted social anxiety and OCC fears above and beyond trait IU. Results suggest that IU has a substantial context-specific component and should be examined both transdiagnostically and transsituationally.

Cognitive constructs and social anxiety disorder: beyond fearing negative evaluation.

Pioneering models of social anxiety disorder (SAD) underscored fear of negative evaluation (FNE) as central in the disorder's development. Additional cognitive predictors have since been identified, including fear of positive evaluation (FPE), anxiety sensitivity, and intolerance of uncertainty (IU), but rarely have these constructs been examined together. The present study concurrently examined the variance accounted for in SAD symptoms by these constructs. Participants meeting criteria for SAD (n = 197; 65% women) completed self-report measures online. FNE, FPE, anxiety sensitivity, and IU all accounted for unique variance in SAD symptoms. FPE accounted for variance comparable to FNE, and the cognitive dimension of anxiety sensitivity and the prospective dimension of IU accounted for comparable variance, though slightly less than that accounted for by FNE and FPE. The results support the theorized roles that these constructs play in the etiology of SAD and highlight both FNE and FPE as central foci in SAD treatment.

Emotion beliefs and cognitive behavioural therapy for social anxiety disorder.

Despite strong support for the efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD), little is known about mechanisms of change in treatment. Within the context of a randomized controlled trial of CBT, this study examined patients' beliefs about the fixed versus malleable nature of anxiety-their 'implicit theories'-as a key variable in CBT for SAD. Compared to waitlist (n = 29; 58% female), CBT (n = 24; 52% female) led to significantly lower levels of fixed beliefs about anxiety (Mbaseline = 11.70 vs. MPost = 7.08, d = 1.27). These implicit beliefs indirectly explained CBT-related changes in social anxiety symptoms (κ(2) = .28, [95% CI = 0.12, 0.46]). Implicit beliefs also uniquely predicted treatment outcomes when controlling for baseline social anxiety and other kinds of maladaptive beliefs (perceived social costs, perceived social self-efficacy, and maladaptive interpersonal beliefs). Finally, implicit beliefs continued to predict social anxiety symptoms at 12 months post-treatment. These findings suggest that changes in patients' beliefs about their emotions may play an important role in CBT for SAD.

The effect of rumination and reappraisal on social anxiety symptoms during cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder.

OBJECTIVE: There is growing interest in the role of transdiagnostic processes in the onset, maintenance, and treatment of mental disorders (Nolen-Hoeksema & Watkins, 2011). Two such transdiagnostic processes-rumination and reappraisal-are the focus of the present study. The main objective was to examine the roles of rumination (thought to be harmful) and reappraisal (thought to be helpful) in adults with social anxiety disorder (SAD). METHOD: We conducted a randomized controlled trial of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with 75 adults with SAD and examined pre- to post-CBT changes as well as weekly fluctuations in rumination, reappraisal, and social anxiety symptoms. RESULTS: Socially anxious individuals' baseline rumination (brooding) scores predicted weekly levels of social anxiety, rumination, and reappraisal, whereas baseline reappraisal scores did not. Greater weekly rumination was associated with greater weekly social anxiety, but reappraisal was not related to social anxiety. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that rumination may have a more significant role than reappraisal in understanding fluctuations in social anxiety during CBT for SAD.

Social anxiety disorder in DSM-5.

With the publication of DSM-5, the diagnostic criteria for social anxiety disorder (SAD, also known as social phobia) have undergone several changes, which have important conceptual and clinical implications. In this paper, we first provide a brief history of the diagnosis. We then review a number of these changes, including (1) the primary name of the disorder, (2) the increased emphasis on fear of negative evaluation, (3) the importance of sociocultural context in determining whether an anxious response to a social situation is out of proportion to the actual threat, (4) the diagnosis of SAD in the context of a medical condition, and (5) the way in which we think about variations in the presentation of SAD (the specifier issue). We then consider the clinical implications of changes in DSM-5 related to these issues.

Social anxiety and weight interact with body salience to affect experiences of social exclusion.

BACKGROUND: Individuals at a higher weight experience greater victimization and exclusion by peers, and limited research suggests that the salience of one's body image may increase negative emotional reactions to social rejection. Additionally, social exclusion is related to higher levels of social anxiety (SA). We examined how body salience interacts with SA and weight to predict anxiety, self-esteem, and negative affect following social rejection. METHODS: Participants were undergraduate women (N = 186). We explored the interactive effects of SA, body mass index (BMI), and body salience (i.e., face versus body photo condition) on emotional response to exclusion in a social ostracism paradigm, Cyberball. BMI and self-reported SA were collected at baseline. One week later, participants played Cyberball and reported state affect, anxiety, and self-esteem before and after the game. RESULTS: The 3-way interaction of BMI, SA, and photo condition did not significantly predict post-exclusion state measures. Photo condition moderated the relationship between SA and post-exclusion anxiety and between BMI and post-exclusion anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: Those with higher SA were particularly anxious following exclusion if their bodies were visible to others. Additionally, those with lower BMI experienced greater anxiety after exclusion when their body was visible than those with higher BMI.