title: Post-event processing in social anxiety disorder after real-life social situations - An ambulatory assessment study.
abstract: Excessive post-mortem processing after social situations, a core symptom of social anxiety disorder (SAD), is thought to contribute to the perpetuation of social anxiety by consolidating negative self-schemata. Empirical findings on actual mechanisms underlying this so-called Post-Event Processing (PEP) are still scarce. The present study sought to identify variables associated with the experience of PEP after real-life social situations in a sample of 49 individuals diagnosed with SAD. Using an ambulatory assessment approach, individuals were asked to report on each distressing social event experienced during one week. A total of 192 events were captured. Hierarchical linear modeling indicated that next to trait social anxiety, the type of social situation (performance vs. interaction situations), self-focused attention, safety behavior use, and negative affect predicted levels of PEP after social situations. These findings add to the growing literature that emphasizes the importance of situational factors for the experience of PEP, and highlight potential venues to prevent it.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany; Department of Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation Bremen, University of Bremen, Germany. Electronic address: Sylvia.Helbig-Lang@uni-hamburg.de.
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Helbig-Lang
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation Bremen, University of Bremen, Germany.
authors.forename: Maxie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: von Auer
authors.affiliation: Christoph-Dornier-Foundation for Clinical Psychology Muenster, Germany.
authors.forename: Karolin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Neubauer
authors.affiliation: Christoph-Dornier-Foundation for Clinical Psychology Muenster, Germany.
authors.forename: Eileen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexander L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Gerlach
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D000070379:Attentional Bias; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000072861:Phobia, Social / Q000523:psychology*; D012919:Social Behavior; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Ambulatory assessment; Post-event processing; Safety behavior; Self-focused attention; Social anxiety disorder