title: Sensory-processing sensitivity in social anxiety disorder: relationship to harm avoidance and diagnostic subtypes.
abstract: Sensory-processing sensitivity is assumed to be a heritable vulnerability factor for shyness. The present study is the first to examine sensory-processing sensitivity among individuals with social anxiety disorder. The results showed that the construct is separate from social anxiety, but it is highly correlated with harm avoidance and agoraphobic avoidance. Individuals with a generalized subtype of social anxiety disorder reported higher levels of sensory-processing sensitivity than individuals with a non-generalized subtype. These preliminary findings suggest that sensory-processing sensitivity is uniquely associated with the generalized subtype of social anxiety disorder. Recommendations for future research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Boston University, 648 Beacon Street, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02215, USA. shofmann@bu.edu
authors.forename: Stefan G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Hofmann
authors.forename: Stella
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bitran
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000379:Agoraphobia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D040261:Harm Reduction; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D012792:Shyness; D012938:Social Perception; D013694:Temperament