Clinical Psychology Commons^™

The Relationship Between Covid-19 Social Isolation, Social Anxiety, And Locus Of Control, Phoebe B. Everest

Brescia Psychology Undergraduate Honours Theses

The current study examined the post-pandemic effects of social isolation following Covid-19. The researchers were interested in social anxiety disorder (SAD) levels among young women and predicted that the personality variable of locus of control (LOC) could influence SAD levels. Participants were recruited from the only all-female university in Canada, Brescia University College (N=64). The researchers correlated the variables of interest using the Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS-R), Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), and Rotter’s internal-external control scale. The researchers hypothesized that there would be a negative correlation between pandemic social engagement and current levels of SAD. This hypothesis was …

Does Friendship Quality Moderate The Association Between Social Anxiety And Loneliness In College Students?, Gavriel Boniuk

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

There is a strong positive association between social anxiety and loneliness (Maes et al., 2019). This relationship appears to be weaker the higher the quality of children’s friendships (Erath et al., 2010). While the moderational relationship has been demonstrated among middle school children, it is not known whether it extends into the college population. There are important developmental differences between adolescents and college students. For example, the increased reliance on friendships that is typical during college may result in an increase in the protective nature of friendship quality in the relationship between social anxiety and loneliness (Danneel et al., 2019; …

Effect Of Social Anxiety On Trial-By-Trial Changes In Attentional Biases To Emotional Faces, Nina Plotnikov

Theses and Dissertations

Cognitive research suggests that many anxiety disorders, including social anxiety disorder, are associated with an increased attentional bias toward potentially threat-related stimuli. However, inconsistent findings suggest the effect of anxiety on attentional bias to threat is not direct and that other factors, including emotion, perceptual load, and time on-task, impact the relationship between social anxiety and attentional biases to facial stimuli. In the present study, 157 undergraduate students completed a computerized letter search task identifying one of two target letters (N or X) from a circular arrangement of different letters (high load) or dots (low load). In 20% of trials, …

Maladaptive Daydreaming And Social Anxiety: Prevalence And The Mediating Role Of Emotional Regulation, Riffa Fathima Abuthahir

Theses

Previous studies have generated mixed evidence regarding the magnitude of the prevalence of Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD). In addition, although previous studies have identified an association between Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD) and Social Anxiety (SA), literature is sparse in exploring the underlying factors such as emotional regulation difficulties that might mediate this relationship. The current study attempted to investigate the prevalence of MD and self-perceived levels of Social Anxiety (SA) among undergraduate students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It also attempted to explore whether difficulties in regulating emotions mediate the relationship between MD and self-perceived levels SA. A cross-sectional design with …

An Inaugural, Qualitative Examination Of The Relationships Between People With Gender Nonconforming Expression And Social Anxiety, Chrystiana Jones

Dissertations

The focus in this research was on the experience of social anxiety associated with people with gender nonconformity. The study involved consideration of the issues people with gender nonconformity face as well as the mental impact that often occurs as a result of the rejection of other people in their lives, including their family and friends, as well as how and in what ways gender nonconforming people are affected by negativity in their environment. Data related to the problems that develop with such people, in particular the impact of stigmatization, discrimination, and social anxiety on people with gender nonconformity were …

Examining The Relationship Between Social Anxiety, Fear Of Negative Evaluation, Fear Of Positive Evaluation And Minority Stress In Lgb Versus Heterosexual Adults, Anvita Kamath

Masters Theses

Psychological research within the LGBTQ+ community is a relatively recent phenomenon due to the stigma that has been historically placed on this population. Sexual minority populations experience a plethora of mental health problems ranging from mood disorders to personality disorders and have a greater risk of suicide as compared to their heterosexual counterparts (Gilman et al., 2001; Meyer, 2003; Steele et al., 2017). Specifically, significant differences in social anxiety levels have been found while comparing sexual minority individuals to heterosexual individuals, which may be associated with factors such as Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE), Fear of Positive Evaluation (FPE) and …

The Effect Of Face Interpretation Training On Social Anxiety Symptoms, Grace L. Wheeler

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

According to cognitive models of social anxiety disorder (SAD), individuals place excessive importance on gauging others’ reactions (e.g., facial expressions) to their social performance. Facial interpretation bias modification (FIBM) was developed to shift interpretations of ambiguous faces. The current study uses FIBM to test whether face interpretation is causally related to SAD symptoms in an unselected adult sample. Participants (N=139) were randomized to 1 of 3 conditions (positive, negative, accurate) in a single-session, online study. Pre- and post- intervention measures of face interpretation and SAD were completed. In line with hypotheses, individuals in the positive condition interpreted faces more positively …

The Impact Of Video-Taped Social Modeling On Alcohol Outcome Expectancies Of Young Adults And The Role Of Social Anxiety, Kyle Kevin Jackson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol outcome expectancies (AOEs) represent people’s ideas about the effects of alcohol (Fromme, 1993). Positive AOEs particularly have been identified as a potential risk factor for hazardous drinking (e.g., Brown et al., 1985). The exact mechanisms that modify AOEs are not fully understood. Further, people higher in social anxiety may be especially receptive to social modeling due to attentional bias shift towards others in social contexts (Rapee & Heimberg, 1997). The current study examined how social anxiety and social modeling associate with AOEs. It was hypothesized that 1) those in the social modeling treatment condition would have higher social anxiety-adjacent …

Investigating The Prevalence Of Social Anxiety In Lgb College Students, Brianna Barnes-Harrington

Dissertations

This project examined the gap in the literature on LGB college students and social anxiety. The dearth of information around the prevalence and impact of social anxiety on the college population and the LGB population is important because social anxiety is known to be prevalent and chronic, affecting all areas of an individual’s life, but especially impacting the creation of social support networks and therefore access to social supports. Social support is one of the primary protective factors and promoters of resilience among all people, especially in marginalized communities like the LGBTQ community. Knowing that such a prevalent disorder is …

An Electrophysiological Examination Of Attentional Biases To Emotional Faces In Depression And Social Anxiety, Nathan M. Hager

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Cognitive theories have proposed that major depressive disorder (MDD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) involve attentional biases toward and away from specific environmental stimuli. Research has often examined these biases in response to emotional facial expressions, but evidence of attentional biases is mixed. An event-related potential called the N2pc offers advantages over other measures of attentional bias and may clarify conflicting findings. Studies on the N2pc and social anxiety have found consistent results, but there is little work examining depression. Previous N2pc studies are limited by the types of emotional faces they use and by comparing attention for emotional faces …

Temporal Dynamics Of Attention Bias In Anxiety: An Eye Tracking Study, Abel Mathew

Theses and Dissertations

Behavioral reaction time (RT) measures, like the dot-probe and spatial cueing tasks, have shown that individuals with anxiety tend to bias their attention toward threat as compared to neutral stimuli. However, the literature has revealed mixed findings due to the simplistic calculation of attention bias (AB; i.e., Mean RT Threat – Mean RT Neutral). Research has shown that attention bias fluctuation (i.e., patterns of both vigilance and avoidance), is indicative of attention dyscontrol, which is evident in those with psychopathology. As such, the purpose of this study was to evaluate whether AB fluctuation via behavioral RT measures and eye-tracking, stands …

Neuromodulation To Enhance Attention Training In Socially Anxious Adolescents, Daniella Vaclavik

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety and its disorders are prevalent and impairing in adolescents, often following a chronic course, and are associated with heightened prospective risk of depressive disorders, substance use disorders, and suicidal behaviors. Traditional interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) have yielded response rates that highlight the critical need to examine treatment outcome moderators in underrepresented populations (i.e., Latino youth), as well as identify and evaluate innovative and alternative interventions that are brief, efficacious, and grounded in neuroscience. In a series of three manuscripts, this dissertation project presents findings on moderators of CBT outcomes in Latino youth (Chapter II) and explores …

Links Between Peer Relationships And Social Anxiety Across Adolescence: The Moderating Effects Of Interpersonal Competence, Self-Worth, And Gender, Emily N. Shah

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Links between interpersonal relationships and psychological functioning have been well established in the literature. Specifically, during adolescence, success or distress in peer relationships may have distinct effects on psychological functioning, especially with regard to the development of later social anxiety. The present study aims to examine the ways in which different adolescent peer relationships (i.e., close friendship quality and social acceptance) can predict later social anxiety development. Further, the study considers how different developmental stages of adolescence may impact these relationships, in addition to considering possible conditional effects of interpersonal competence, self-worth, and gender. Early adolescents (age 14) and late …

Investigation Into The Comorbidities Of Disordered Eating And Social Anxiety Disorder In College Students, Alice Mccraney

Honors Theses

In recent years, psychiatrists have reported a trend that individuals with social anxiety disorders are more likely to also have disordered eating and vice versa. Research into this connection has suggested that risk factors, such as stress reactivity, negative self- esteem, perfectionism and fear of negative evaluation are potential links. This is important because understanding the correlation between the two disorders could help develop better treatments plans for people who suffer from these disorders. This study investigates the relationship between the two. A total of 257 college students between ages 18-22 completed a questionnaire using the Disordered Eating Attitude Scale …

Examining A Neural Measure Of Attentional Bias To Emotional Faces In Social Anxiety And Depression, Nathan M. Hager, Matt R. Judah, Alicia L. Milam, Hannah C. Hamrick, Catherine R. Glenn

College of Sciences Posters

Cognitive theories suggest that attentional biases may contribute to both social anxiety and depression, such that attention may be biased to focus on or away from certain information (e.g., rejecting or sad images; Clark & McManus, 2002; Lemoult & Gotlib, 2019). Although research is mixed, recent studies using a neural measure called the N2pc (an event-related potential) has indicated attentional biases in social anxiety. However, little N2pc research has examined depression or co-occurring depression and social anxiety.

The current study used electroencephalography to measure the N2pc during a dot-probe task in which images of faces with emotional or neutral expressions …

Exposure Response Prevention For Adolescents With High-Functioning Autism And Social Anxiety, Elisha Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Anxiety disorders are the most common comorbid mental health condition seen in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. This study was an exploration of the benefits of exposure and response prevention (ERP) for high-functioning adolescents with autism and comorbid social anxiety. The research problem was the lack of qualitative description of trained clinicians’ experiences of ERP delivery to high-functioning adolescents with autism and social anxiety. Data for this study were collected through semi structured interviews with six ERP clinicians who had experience in practicing ERP with this population. Analysis of the data revealed the following four core themes: (a) professional recommendations for …

Role Of Feedback And Social Anxiety In Dating Situations, Kanika Singh

Masters Theses

Social anxiety has been linked to both the Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE) and the Fear of Positive Evaluation, suggesting that receiving feedback (whether positive or negative) is difficult for persons with social anxiety. However, little research has examined whether receiving feedback in an evaluative setting (e.g., dating) can directly affect social anxiety levels. Thus, this study examined whether varying types of feedback (negative, positive, and neutral) can affect the levels of social anxiety for individuals in a dating scenario. Feedback was provided to participants and examined in relation to their levels of FNE and FPE. Participants consisted of undergraduate …

The Association Between Appearance Related Safety Behaviors And Anxiety Symptoms In Adolescents, Emily Olson

Honors Theses

The goal of the current study is to examine the associations between appearance related safety behaviors (i.e., behaviors aimed at preventing humiliation or embarrassment associated with appearance, such as mirror checking or skin picking) and anxiety symptoms during adolescence. Adolescence is considered a core risk period for the onset of many psychological disorders (e.g., social anxiety disorder). Critically, adults with these psychological conditions report engaging in higher levels of appearance related safety behaviors than adults without these disorders. Further, initial, promising evidence, suggests that reducing engagement in appearance related safety behaviors is associated with reduced symptoms of anxiety. To date, …

Personalized Models Of Social Anxiety Disorder And Depression, Marilyn L. Piccirillo

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is an important risk factor for major depressive disorder (MDD) and together this comorbidity constitutes a highly impairing syndrome and vicious cycle of symptomatology, associated with tremendous health costs and societal burden. Despite much group-level research examining risk factor for MDD specifically, there is limited group and individual-level research evaluating how individuals with SAD transition into depressive episodes. Clinical and theoretical evidence suggests that each patient may exhibit a unique personalized pattern of risk factors. These idiographic patterns may contradict relationships seen at the group level. In this dissertation, women (N = 35) with SAD and …

The Impact Of Mindfulness Training On Post-Event Processing In Social Anxiety: A Multi-Method Investigation, Elizabeth Mara Lewis

LSU Master's Theses

Post-event processing (PEP) is theorized to maintain pathological social anxiety. However, little is known about the impact of interventions that may interfere with this maintenance factor. The current study examined the impact of mindfulness training on PEP and state anxiety among socially anxious individuals. Participants were 81 persons (74.07% female, 61.72% non-Hispanic White, M_age = 21.83) with clinically elevated social anxiety who attended one appointment in the laboratory during which they were randomized to receive a brief mindfulness-based training (n = 41) or no training (i.e., thinking as usual control group; n = 40). After the training period, …

Problems With Adherence And Social Stigma In Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes, Lauralee Davis

Master’s Theses

For adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes the clinical importance of both adherence to disease management and social support from family and friends is apparent. However, the role that family support or peer support plays on adherence to diabetes management or how stigma impacts adherence is still unclear. This study aims to determine differences between the type of support provided by family compared to peers, to examine how possible differences in the type of support impact adherence, to examine how social anxiety and stigma may be related to adherence, and to examine the types of barriers adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes …

Shyness Mindset And Sexual Harassment Responses Among Female College Students, Jessica Rose Winder

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Sexual harassment is a common problem that has negative consequences on society as a whole and on individual well-being. Confronting sexual harassers has been shown to be an effective response. Victims of sexual harassment are also encouraged to report harassment. Sexual harassment has been associated with internalizing responses, such as depression and decreased self-esteem. These responses could negatively influence confronting and reporting behaviors. This study draws from previous mindset research. Results from this prior research showed evidence that shyness mindset affects responses to peer victimization among adolescents and college students. This study hypothesized that shyness mindset among female college students …

Mnemonic Discrimination And Social Anxiety: The Role Of State Anxiety, Gabriella T. Ponzini

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The Mnemonic Similarity Task (MST) measures mnemonic discrimination, or the ability to correctly identify new stimuli from highly similar, old stimuli. Neuroscientific and theoretical suppositions suggest that poor mnemonic discrimination may represent a potential risk or maintenance factor for anxious individuals. However, state affect appears to moderate the relation between mnemonic discrimination abilities and trait anxiety. The current study aimed to elucidate the nascent research on mnemonic discrimination and anxiety by evaluating the MST in a specific subtype of anxiety (i.e., social anxiety) and utilizing a clinically relevant stressor task (i.e., knowledge of a future speech). Participants (N = …

Social Anxiety Reduction In The Context Of Social Modeling Utilizing A Placebo Alcohol Beverage, Kyle K. Jackson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol misuse and elevated social anxiety are found to be highly comorbid, and being exposed to social models consuming alcohol can increase one’s consumption. Yet no research has thus far examined whether the internal experience of alcohol consumption (e.g., social anxiety reduction) can also be transmitted via social modeling. This bar-lab study examined the impact of social modeling behavioral cues of social anxiety on emerging adult drinkers. It was hypothesized that those exposed to a social model experiencing an apparent social anxiety reduction from drinking would themselves report lessened state social anxiety following a placebo drink, and that this effect …

Exploring The Links Between Social Anxiety And Depression In The Maintenance Of Romantic Relationships, Christian M. Hahn

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Social anxiety is characterized by fear and avoidance of social encounters and has recently been associated with a variety of difficulties in romantic relationships. Complicating further investigation of these associations is the high degree of comorbidity between social anxiety and depressive symptomatology, which share several similarities in expression despite disparate underlying causes. The present thesis examines the unique influences of social anxiety and depression on a number of central aspects of relationship functioning and provide the first longitudinal investigation of the impacts of actor and partner social anxiety and depression on relationship quality and functioning. In Study 1, three independent …

Social Anxiety And Sexual Victimization In A Latina Sample: A Moderated Mediation, Andrew E. Dials

Theses and Dissertations

The current study sought to explore the relationships between social anxiety, sexual victimization, acculturation, and alcohol use. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to explore the relationship between social anxiety and sexual victimization in a 100% Latina sample.

It was seen that social anxiety predicted severity of sexual victimization, but not presence or absence of sexual victimization experience. It was also seen that while alcohol did not predict severity of sexual victimization experience, it did predict presence or absence of sexual victimization experience. Results, clinical implications, and future research directions are discussed.

Comparison Between Brief Acceptance And Cognitive Interventions: Assessing Public Speaking Performance In Socially-Anxious Individuals, Soultana Mpoulkoura

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Social anxiety disorder is one of the most prevalent psychological disorder to date and it is associated with impairments in multiple domains, such as in occupational and academic settings. Although, traditional Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), aims to reduce distress by altering maladaptive schemas, this approach is not always successful. Recent research has shown ambiguous support for cognitive restructuring as a mechanism of change. Therefore, further research is needed to discover effective treatments. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), emphasizes psychological flexibility and values rather controlling negative thoughts. The current study compared brief acceptance and cognitive control based interventions for increasing performance …

An Exploration Of Musical Performance Anxiety (Mpa) And Its Relation To Perfectionism And Performance, Gitta Marko

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Musical Performance Anxiety (MPA) is a critical and common issue for musicians, as much of their success and income depends on their quality of performance. MPA is the experience of distressful apprehension about and/or impairment of performance, not reflecting the individual’s musical abilities. Since the pressure to perform their best is extremely high for musicians, striving for perfection in this field is typical. In my senior project, I investigated the elements and mechanisms behind the development of MPA and its relation to perfectionism. Seventeen Bard Conservatory musicians’ levels of MPA and perfectionism were assessed using established measures prior to their …

Role Of Emotion Regulation In The Relationship Between Fears Of Evaluation And Social Anxiety, Jaismeen Dua

Masters Theses

Cognitive components influencing social anxiety have been well-researched for decades, especially fear of negative evaluation (Clark & Wells, 1995; Hofmann, 2007; Rapee & Heimberg, 1997; Schlenker & Leary, 1982). Relatively recent and emerging research has suggested a strong link between fear of negative evaluation and fear of positive evaluation, and how both of them influence social anxiety (Weeks, Heimberg, & Rodebaugh, 2008; Weeks et al., 2007; Weeks & Howell, 2012; Weeks et al., 2009). This study examined social anxiety in relation to both fear of negative evaluation and fear of positive evaluation. Findings from the study replicated previous research results, …

Social Anxiety, Quality Of Life, And Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Of Women With Infertility Problems, Esra Savaş

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Not having a child has significant psychosocial effects on women experiencing infertility problems. There is a gap in research on social anxiety, quality of life, and healthy lifestyle behaviors of women during infertility, fertility treatment, and subsequent pregnancy. The purpose of this quantitative comparative study was to investigate the social anxiety, quality of life, and healthy lifestyle behaviors of Turkish women with infertility issues and Turkish women who conceived after infertility treatment, as measured by the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, the Fertility Quality of Life Questionnaire, and the Healthy Lifestyle Behavior Scale II. The social support and stress buffering theory …