Self-presentational features in childhood social anxiety.
Theoretical and clinical models of social anxiety highlight links with self-presentational concerns and behavior, but little is known about these features in early development. In the present investigation, a nonclinical sample of 196 children aged 8-9 years completed self-report measures of social anxiety, depressive symptoms, and usage of self-presentational tactics, as well as a self-description task measuring the capacity to differentiate between audiences known to have different preferences. After controlling for concurrent depressive symptoms, social anxiety was associated with increased usage of self-presentational tactics, but also with poorer scores on the audience differentiation task. A follow-up assessment of groups identified as highly socially anxious or non-socially anxious showed that these patterns were durable over 12 months. Directions for future research on the social developmental trajectory of children with social anxiety are suggested.
Banerjee
Robin
R
Department of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK. robinb@sussex.ac.uk
Watling
Dawn
D
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012649:Self Concept; D012919:Social Behavior; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires