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Aus der Einleitung: "In den vergangenen 15 Jahren sind in verschiedenen Ländern der Welt größere epidemiologische Studien zur Häufigkeit psychischer Störungen in der Allgemeinbevölkerung durchgeführt worden, die auch eine grobe Abschätzung der Häufigkeit Sozialer Phobien erlauben. Ein Überblick über diese Studien ergibt allerdings auf den ersten Blick ein recht verwirrendes Bild, da die Prävalenzabschätzungen der verschiedenen Studien eine scheinbar widersprüchliche Befundlage erkennen lassen. Ältere - vor Einführung expliziter diagnostischer Kriterien für Soziale Phobi durchgeführte Studien aus den 60er und frühen 70er Jahren - schätzten die Prävalenz dieses Krankheitsbildes auf lediglich 1% (1). [...]"

This study attempted to extend the concept of achievement motivation, as proposed by Weiner's attributional model, to social affiliative contexts. It was proposed that low social anxiety individuals behave like high achievement motivation individuals who make more self-attributions for success, but more external attributions for failure, whereas high social anxiety individuals take more personal responsibility for failure social outcomes, but make more external attributions when successful. Subjects were 243 undergraduate students, 143 females and 100 males. They completed the Leary Social Anxiety Scale, the Lefcourt Affiliation Locus of Control Scale, the Fenigstein Social Anxiety Scale, the Social Attribution Scale, and the Russell Causal Dimension Scale.

I dagens samhälle är det många individer som har svårigheter med sociala sammanhang. För vissa individer är det en bristande förmåga på grund av deras funktionsnedsättning. För andra individer skapar denna svårighet en funktionsnedsättning. Konsekvensen av det är isolering, psykisk ohälsa, dålig självbild som kan leda till utanförskap. Syftet med denna studien är att undersöka vilka behandlingsmetoder som finns för personer som har upplevd eller diagnostiserad svårighet för sociala sammanhang. Studien genomfördes i form av en kartläggande litteraturstudie. Det resulterade med 13 internationella artiklar med och utan kontrollgrupp. Studien har sin utgångspunkt i socialpedagogik samt stämplingsteorin. Resultatet av studien påvisade att kognitiv beteendeterapi är den kändaste behandlingsmetod inom detta område. Vidare framkom det att kognitiv beteendeterapi finns i flera olika former, bland annat internetbaserad och gruppbaserad kognitiv beteendeterapi. / In today's society, there are many individuals who have difficulties with social contexts. For some individuals, it is a lack of ability due to their disability. For other individuals, this difficulty creates a disability. The consequence of this is isolation, mental illness, poor self-esteem that can lead to exclusion. The purpose of this study is to investigate what treatment methods are available for people who have experienced or diagnosed difficulty with social contexts. The study was conducted in form of a scoping study. It resulted in 13 international articles with and without a control group. The study is based on social pedagogy and labeling theory. The results of the study showed that cognitive behavioral therapy is the most common treatment method in this area. Furthermore, the results showed that cognitive behavioral therapy exists in several different forms, including Internet-based and group-based cognitive behavioral therapy.

Current evidence suggests that non-medical prescription stimulant (NMPS) use is on the rise, particularly among college students. Identifying individuals at risk for regular and problematic use is a critical step towards the development of effective intervention efforts. A growing body of work has noted that individuals with elevated levels of social anxiety (SA) or social anxiety disorder are at an enhanced risk for developing substance use problems, including NMPS use disorder. Despite the relevance of SA and NMPS use among college students, no studies have attempted to examine subclinical SA or the relation between SA and NMPS use among college students specifically. Thus, the present study sought to extend this area by testing the relation of SA symptoms and NMPS use frequency among college students. A large online study of college students was conducted (N=1604) to identify 252 NMPS users (18-25 years; 68.3% female). A hierarchical linear regression was used to test the moderation of positive prescription stimulant expectancies on SA symptoms in predicting past year NMPS use frequency. A subsample of 15 participants was also brought into the lab to assess subjective (State Anxiety) and physiological (salivary cortisol) responding to a social stressor task. Overall, the current study did not provide evidence that SA, via retrospective self-report or real-time responding was related to past year NMPS use frequency. Additional research is needed to resolve the discrepancies between the present findings and prior work.

The social anxiety literature often cites the self-medication hypothesis (SMH) to explain why socially phobic clients often present with alcohol problems. Based on some earlier hints that social anxiety and drinking might be related in a curvilinear way, we sought to examine the SMH to assess for possible non-linear relationships, and to examine whether cultural differences affect these relationships. We surveyed self-reported social anxiety, alcohol expectancies, and alcohol use in college students from Cyprus (N=127) and the United States (US) (N=697). Participants were college students with a mean age of 19.8. Results revealed that positive and negative expectations about alcohol use were predictive of drinking for students from both cultures. Cypriot students endorsed fewer positive and more negative expectancies regarding alcohol use than their US counterparts, and engaged in less binge drinking. Social anxiety in men was related to drinking via a curvilinear relationship, in which drinking peaks at moderate levels of social anxiety. Among men, those with highest levels of social anxiety in both cultures drink the least. For women, there was no relationship between social anxiety level and drinking behavior. These findings demonstrate the complexity of the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol use. Far from being a linear relationship, these two variables are related in a curvilinear fashion, for men. This should inform future research on the SMH.

Emotional regulation may be an underaddressed therapeutic target in sex offender treatment. This article presents a case report of “Adam,” a Caucasian male referred to a prison-based sex offender treatment program. Adam’s social anxiety was recognized as an antecendent to his sexual offending, and treatment of such, as a critical adjunct to sex offender treatment, is discussed herein. Adam’s individualized treatment included aspects of rational emotive behavior therapy and time-limited dynamic psychotherapy. Adam showed an increased understanding of his anxiety and improvement in his social interactions, both in the context of treatment groups and with female staff, and was willing to continue follow-up care in the community. This case provides support for the individualized treatment of incarcerated offenders as opposed to exclusively utilizing manualized psychoeducational interventions.

Adolescents are adopting computer-mediated communication (CMC) at a higher rate than any other age group, with CMC becoming integral to their social relationships. This is particularly significant given the role peer relationships play in adolescent mental health. The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental study was to explore the relationship between adolescent CMC and social anxiety. The research was guided by Erikson's theory of psychosocial development and Kock's media naturalness theory. This multiwave panel study included a convenience sample of 58 adolescents ages 11 to 18. Surveys were completed on participant's social skills and introversion, and daily data were gathered on CMC, face-to-face communication, and social anxiety. Three regression models were produced from each day's data. Results indicated a modest relationship between daily CMC and social anxiety. Results also indicated CMC users with lower social skills or higher in introversion may be at greater risk for social anxiety. Lower face-to-face communication was also found to be related to increased social anxiety in CMC users. Findings may be useful to researchers seeking to identify specific populations who are at greater risk for negative outcomes in CMC use. Findings may also be useful to clinicians, educators, and parents interested in CMC's role in adolescent mental health or its impact on the quality of adolescent peer relationships.

Research suggests that Internet and cell phone overuse may result in lower levels of social skills and encourage isolation from peers. Less clear is whether the duration of computer-mediated communication (CMC) influences adolescent perception of their social skills competency or emotional health. This research was guided by the social cognitive theory, which suggests that social self-efficacy (SSE), the belief that they have the skills to engage successfully with others in conversation and social activities, develops from mastery experiences that regulate thought, motivation, and action. This quantitative cross-sectional survey design utilized a convenience sample of 49 adolescents ages 11-19, living in Austin County, TX, to examine the impact of CMC duration on adolescent SSE, social anxiety, and depression. Regression analyses indicated CMC duration did not significantly affect SSE, social anxiety, or depression at the p <. 05 level. Computer-mediated communication duration did influence SSE at the p = .07 level, suggesting a trend toward statistical significance. Post hoc analysis revealed a significant interaction at the p < .05 level when CMC restriction severity was tested as a moderator in the CMC duration-SSE relationship. These findings suggest that the interaction between CMC duration and restrictions may influence social self-efficacy. Additional research on the relationship between CMC and adolescent psychosocial health would be helpful, particularly using larger and more generalizable samples. This study may inform the efforts of authority figures to adolescents, specifically, on the ways in which technological changes affect adolescent social development and will help to ensure that adolescents are safe, psychologically healthy, and able to maintain healthy relationships.

The demand for effective interventions to address socially anxious behaviors is an important issue for school-based professionals. Several cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) programs have been developed to address these problems specifically in children and adolescents and have been found to be effective in treating youth exhibiting socially anxious behaviors in the clinical setting. Despite the availability of promising clinic-based programs, youth exhibiting socially anxious behaviors rarely receive the attention or treatment that they may need. Moreover, the majority of youth who receive services do so in the school setting where little research has been done in regards to the utility of using these clinic-based programs. Thus, the present study investigated the effect of a brief CBT intervention given in a school-based delivery format on positive peer interactions and self-rating anxiety for four third-grade students with low peer interactions and who are exhibiting socially anxious behaviors. All participants were given four group psycho-educational lessons on how anxiety works, as well as four brief individual exposure sessions. This training specifically targeted social skills at recess. A multiple baseline across the four students showed replicated positive effects of the intervention relative to a prior baseline condition. Results showed that the treatment package provided an increase in positive peer interactions across all four participants.