Separation Anxiety

• Clinical Description

  • Characterized by unrealistic and persistent worry that something will happen to self or loved ones when apart (e.g., kidnapping, accident) as well as anxiety about leaving loved ones

  • 4.1% of children meet criteria, 6.6% for adults

Clinical Description of Social Anxiety

• Extreme/irrational concern about being negatively evaluated by other people

• Sometimes (not always) manifests as shyness

• Leads to significant impairment and/or distress

• Avoidance of feared situations, or endurance with extreme distress

• Subtype

  • Performance only: Anxiety only in performance situations (e.g. public speaking)

• Statistics

  • 12.1% (life); 6.8% (year)

  • Female : Male = 1:1

  • Onset = usually adolescence

    • Peak age of onset = 13

  • More common in people who are young (18 to 29 years), undereducated, single, and of low socioeconomic class,

  • 13.6% prevalence in ages 18 to 29

  • 6.6% prevalence in ages 60+

Social Anxiety Across Cultures

• Japan—taijin kyofusho

  • Fear of offending others or making them uncomfortable

  • Concern about aspects of personal appearance (e.g., stuttering, blushing, body odor)

  • More common in males

Causes of Social Anxiety

• Generalized psychological vulnerability

  • E.g., belief that threatening events are uncontrollable

• Generalized biological vulnerability

  • E.g., propensity toward anxiety

Treatment of Social Anxiety

• Medications

  • Beta blockers

  • Benzodiazepines

  • SSRI (Paxil, Zoloft, and Effexor)

  • D-cycloserine

• Psychological

  • Cognitive-behavioral treatment

    • Challenging of anxious thoughts about the consequences of social judgment

    • Exposure to anxiety-provoking situations

    • Rehearsal

    • Role-play

  • Highly effective