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Cruz S, Sousa M, Marchante M, Coelho VA. Trajectories of social withdrawal and social anxiety and their relationship with self-esteem before, during, and after the school lockdowns. Sci Rep 2023; 13:16376. [PMID: 37773201 PMCID: PMC10542336 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-43497-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/25/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The closure of schools during the COVID-19 pandemic affected adolescents' social withdrawal and social anxiety. Yet, self-esteem may have acted as a protective factor during this period. This study aimed to compare the trajectories of social withdrawal and social anxiety before (Year 1), during (Year 2 and 3), and after (Year 4) the closure of schools imposed by the COVID-19-related lockdowns, and to investigate the association of self-esteem with these trajectories. Participants were 844 (50.6% boys) Portuguese adolescents (mean age 12.70 years, SD = 1.14). The Social and Emotional Competencies Evaluation Questionnaire (QACSE) was used to assess social withdrawal and social anxiety, while The Global Self-Esteem scale of the Self-Description Questionnaire II was used to measure self-esteem. Growth curve analysis showed that social withdrawal and social anxiety had more negative trajectories during the year in which the school closures occurred. In addition, adolescents reported higher social withdrawal after the lockdowns than before the pandemic. Higher self-esteem was associated with a more positive trajectory in social withdrawal. Therefore, the results showed the negative of impact of the closure of schools on adolescents' social anxiety and social withdrawal, and that self-esteem was a protective factor during these challenging and adverse events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Cruz
- Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Psychology for Development Research Centre, Lusíada University, Porto, Portugal
| | - Mariana Sousa
- Psychology for Development Research Centre, Lusíada University, Porto, Portugal
| | - Marta Marchante
- Psychology for Development Research Centre, Lusíada University, Porto, Portugal
- Académico de Torres Vedras, Torres Vedras, Portugal
| | - Vítor Alexandre Coelho
- Psychology for Development Research Centre, Lusíada University, Porto, Portugal.
- Académico de Torres Vedras, Torres Vedras, Portugal.
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2
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MacGowan TL, Karasewich TA, Kuhlmeier VA. Developmental and evolutionary models of social fear can address "the human fear paradox". Behav Brain Sci 2023; 46:e70. [PMID: 37154349 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x22001868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Taigan L MacGowan
- Social Cognition Lab (P.I.: V. Kuhlmeier), Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada ; ; ://www.socialcognitionlab.com/
| | - Tara A Karasewich
- Social Cognition Lab (P.I.: V. Kuhlmeier), Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada ; ; ://www.socialcognitionlab.com/
| | - Valerie A Kuhlmeier
- Social Cognition Lab (P.I.: V. Kuhlmeier), Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada ; ; ://www.socialcognitionlab.com/
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Azoulay R, Avigadol L, Gilboa-Schechtman E. Social anxiety and accumulation of status loss events: The role of adulthood experiences. BRITISH JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2023; 62:518-524. [PMID: 36808121 DOI: 10.1111/bjc.12417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Revised: 02/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The association between social anxiety (SA) and early-life status loss events (SLEs) is well documented. However, such an association in adulthood is yet to be examined. METHODS Two studies (N = 166 and N = 431) were conducted to address this question. Adult participants filled out questionnaires regarding SLEs accumulation during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, along with depression and SA severity measures. RESULTS SA was associated with SLEs in adulthood over and above SLEs in childhood and adolescence, and depression. CONCLUSION The adaptive role of SA in adulthood in the face of concrete and relevant status threats is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roy Azoulay
- Department of Psychology and Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Liat Avigadol
- Department of Psychology and Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Eva Gilboa-Schechtman
- Department of Psychology and Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
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Azoulay R, Gilboa-Schechtman E. The scarring impact of status loss in social anxiety: An evolutionary perspective. J Anxiety Disord 2022; 90:102600. [PMID: 35841783 DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2022.102600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2021] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Evolutionary models suggest that social anxiety (SA) is associated with sensitivity to status loss. These models make several additional predictions concerning the strength as well as the specificity of the association between post-event distress (PED) following status losses and SA. First, the strength of this association is postulated to be enhanced in men, especially following status losses inflicted by other men (intra-male status losses). Second, given the evolutionary postulated relationship between social status and physical fitness, sensitivity to status loss in SA is expected to extend to physically threatening events. We examined these predictions in four online samples (total N = 1123; 59% females, 27% above the cutoff for clinically elevated SA). In all studies, participants recalled social status-loss events and rated the emotional and distressing impact of these experiences. In two samples, participants also identified and recalled physically threatening events. Our findings were consistent with evolutionary predictions. SA was associated with PED following social status-loss events (β = 0.27). This association was stronger in men than in women (β = 0.40, β = 0.16, respectively). Moreover, the SA-PED association was especially enhanced following intra-male, compared to intra-female and inter-gender, status losses (β = 0.47, β = 0.26, and β = 0.17, respectively). Furthermore, SA was uniquely associated with PED following physically threatening events, over and above PED following social status-loss events (β = 0.21). Our data highlights the significant impact of socially and physically threatening events and delineates the scarring signature of such events in SA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roy Azoulay
- Department of Psychology and Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Center, Bar-Ilan University, Israel.
| | - Eva Gilboa-Schechtman
- Department of Psychology and Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Center, Bar-Ilan University, Israel
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Constant A, Badcock P, Friston K, Kirmayer LJ. Integrating Evolutionary, Cultural, and Computational Psychiatry: A Multilevel Systemic Approach. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:763380. [PMID: 35444580 PMCID: PMC9013887 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.763380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper proposes an integrative perspective on evolutionary, cultural and computational approaches to psychiatry. These three approaches attempt to frame mental disorders as multiscale entities and offer modes of explanations and modeling strategies that can inform clinical practice. Although each of these perspectives involves systemic thinking, each is limited in its ability to address the complex developmental trajectories and larger social systemic interactions that lead to mental disorders. Inspired by computational modeling in theoretical biology, this paper aims to integrate the modes of explanation offered by evolutionary, cultural and computational psychiatry in a multilevel systemic perspective. We apply the resulting Evolutionary, Cultural and Computational (ECC) model to Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) to illustrate how this integrative approach can guide research and practice in psychiatry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel Constant
- Department of Philosophy, The University of Sydney, Darlington, NSW, Australia
| | - Paul Badcock
- Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
- Orygen, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Karl Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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Hudson M, Johnson MI. Split-Second Unlearning: Developing a Theory of Psychophysiological Dis-ease. Front Psychol 2021; 12:716535. [PMID: 34912263 PMCID: PMC8666476 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.716535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychophysiological “stress” underpins many conditions including anxiety, depression, phobias, chronic fatigue syndrome and non-specific musculoskeletal pain such as fibromyalgia. In this article we develop an understanding of chronic psychophysiological stress from a psychological educational perspective, by drawing on supporting evidence that significant emotional events in early life (traumatic and benign) can influence health and well-being later in life. We suggest that traumatic events instigate psychophysiological “stress” responses and the formation of emotional memory images (EMIs) within very short time frames, i.e., “split-second learning.” Once formed these emotional memories are triggered in daily living “re-playing” psychophysiological stress responses, resulting in chronic psychophysiological “dis-ease.” We describe a novel therapeutic approach to scan clients for mannerisms signifying a subconscious “freeze-like” stress response that involves the client as a curious observer within their own experience, feeding back the non-verbal cues as they arrive in the moment. By breaking down the observable fragments of their split-second Pavlovian response to the trigger, clients can detach their EMI from the psychophysiology stress response, i.e., “split-second unlearning.” Our split-second unlearning model recognizes the EMI as a barrier to moving forward and needs to be unlearned before the client can become naturally adaptive again. We argue that this approach places the client at the center of the work without the need of getting bogged down in a life-long narrative.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mark I Johnson
- Centre for Pain Research, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, United Kingdom
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Dechant MJ, Frommel J, Mandryk RL. The Development of Explicit and Implicit Game-Based Digital Behavioral Markers for the Assessment of Social Anxiety. Front Psychol 2021; 12:760850. [PMID: 34975652 PMCID: PMC8715901 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.760850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 11/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social relationships are essential for humans; neglecting our social needs can reduce wellbeing or even lead to the development of more severe issues such as depression or substance dependency. Although essential, some individuals face major challenges in forming and maintaining social relationships due to the experience of social anxiety. The burden of social anxiety can be reduced through accessible assessment that leads to treatment. However, socially anxious individuals who seek help face many barriers stemming from geography, fear, or disparities in access to systems of care. But recent research suggested digital behavioral markers as a way to deliver cheap and easily accessible digital assessment for social anxiety: As earlier work shows, players with social anxiety show similar behaviors in virtual worlds as in the physical world, including tending to walk farther around other avatars and standing farther away from other avatars. The characteristics of the movement behavior in-game can be harnessed for the development of digital behavioral markers for the assessment of social anxiety. In this paper, we investigate whether implicit as well as explicit digital behavioral markers, proposed by prior work, for social anxiety can be used for predicting the level of social anxiety. We show that both, explicit and implicit digital behavioral markers can be harnessed for the assessment. Our findings provide further insights about how game-based digital behavioral markers can be used for the assessment of social anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Johannes Dechant
- Human-Computer-Interaction Laboratory, Department of Computer Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
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Jin SV, Youn S. Why do consumers with social phobia prefer anthropomorphic customer service chatbots? Evolutionary explanations of the moderating roles of social phobia. TELEMATICS AND INFORMATICS 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tele.2021.101644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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9
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Yang Q, Gu J, Hong JC. Parental Social Comparison Related to Tutoring Anxiety, and Guided Approaches to Assisting Their Children's Home Online Learning During the COVID-19 Lockdown. Front Psychol 2021; 12:708221. [PMID: 34393946 PMCID: PMC8362997 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.708221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused great disruption in education systems around the world. Schools have in some cases ended or limited on-site teaching, and have shifted toward home online teaching. This situation is likely to cause increased uncertainty and anxiety for parents who on one hand may question the quality of home online learning yet, on the other, may not feel sufficiently confident or competent to guide their children's home online learning. Resulting anxiety is expected to be most evident in competitive educational contexts, such as those found throughout much of East Asia. Therefore, using China as the setting, and social comparison theory as the framework, this study examined how variation in parent social comparison relates to parent tutoring anxiety and, in turn, to the types of guided strategies parents use to promote their children's home online learning. The results indicated a positive relationship between parental upward social comparison and parental tutoring anxiety, but a negative relationship between parent downward social comparison and parental anxiety. Parental tutoring anxiety is positively related to the confirmation and structure types, but negatively related to the discovery type of guided approaches. The implication of this study is that parents who resist tendencies of competitive upward social comparison are likely to adopt more effective approaches to guiding their children's home online learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiuyue Yang
- Department of Education Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jianjun Gu
- Department of Education Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jon-Chao Hong
- Institute for Research Excellence in Learning Sciences, Department of Industrial Education, Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
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Ramos MDM, Cerqueira-Santos E. Ansiedade social: adaptação e evidências de validade da forma curta da Social Interaction Anxiety Scale e da Social Phobia Scale para o Brasil. JORNAL BRASILEIRO DE PSIQUIATRIA 2021. [DOI: 10.1590/0047-2085000000304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
RESUMO Objetivo A ansiedade social é um transtorno psicológico pouco publicizado, mas com importante distribuição epidemiológica. O presente estudo teve como objetivo adaptar para o contexto brasileiro as versões reduzidas da Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) e da Social Phobia Scale (SPS) (SIAS-6 e SPS-6) e produzir evidências de validade. Essas escalas avaliam ansiedade em interações sociais e ansiedade social diante da possibilidade de escrutínio por outras pessoas, sendo complementares. Métodos Como são escalas com reconhecido uso internacional, a adaptação para o Brasil pode trazer contribuições para as investigações clínicas e científicas acerca do transtorno de ansiedade social. Foram realizados processos criteriosos para a adaptação (tradução, avaliação por juízes, retrotradução, avaliação pelo público-alvo) e conduzido um levantamento on-line com 1.049 pessoas, maiores de 18 anos, com média de idade de 25,98 anos (DP = 7,55). Resultados Utilizaram-se Análises Fatoriais Confirmatórias e, desse modo, constatou-se que os índices de ajuste produzidos são, em geral, adequados (SRMR < 0,04, CFI > 0,96, TLI > 0,94 e RMSEA < 0,05) e que os itens possuem cargas fatoriais adequadas (entre 0,441 e 0,837). As evidências de validade discriminante também se mostraram satisfatórias, conseguindo diferenciar grupos por renda e orientação sexual, como esperado pela literatura. Conclusões Os resultados sugerem que as escalas são adequadas para uso no Brasil, tanto para uso em separado como para uso combinado, como fatores correlacionados.
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