title: Internet communication: an activity that appeals to shy and socially phobic people?
abstract: Shyness (or social anxiety) and social phobia can be viewed as two distinct conditions, and this study investigates whether they are related to use of the Internet generally, and for communication purposes. 362 participants from two schools, a college and a university in the Teesside area in England were asked to complete Mattick and Clarke's (1998) Social Phobia (SPS) and Social Interaction Anxiety (SIAS) scales and also answer a questionnaire which asked them about their use of the Internet generally and for communication purposes. The findings from these suggested that social anxiety and social phobia are not highly associated with use of the Internet either in general, or for communication purposes, although minor associations with certain aspects of Internet use are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, University of Durham Queen's Campus, Stockton on Tees, United Kingdom. d.e.madell@durham.ac.uk
authors.forename: Dominic
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Madell
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Muncer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D003142:Communication; D003625:Data Collection; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D012792:Shyness; D013223:Statistics as Topic