Relational treatment strategies increase social approach behaviors in patients with Generalized Social Anxiety Disorder

Alden, Lynn E.; Taylor, Charles T.

doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2010.10.003

Cited by 70 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Given that negative emotions (e.g., anxiety) and positive emotions are regulated by partially distinct biobehavioral systems (Davidson et al, 2000; Gable & Berkman, 2008), some patients who undergo anxiety reduction-based treatments may experience little change in positive emotions, even if their anxiety is substantially reduced (e.g., Kring et al, 2007). The current findings suggest that it would be informative to assess for changes in positive emotions and relational functioning, in addition to symptoms of anxiety, particularly given that anxiety- and avoidance-focused symptom measures are empirically distinct from measures of social approach behavior and positive social functioning (Alden & Taylor, 2011). While reductions in anxiety likely help to remove barriers to interacting with others, the present findings suggest that, increasing positive emotions may also be needed to facilitate individuals’ feelings of connectedness and future approach motivation when they do engage in social interaction.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

The affective tie that binds: Examining the contribution of positive emotions and anxiety to relationship formation in social anxiety disorder

Taylor

Pearlstein

Stein

2017

Journal of Anxiety Disorders

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Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) have difficulty forming social relationships. The prevailing clinical perspective is that negative emotions such as anxiety inhibit one’s capacity to develop satisfying social connections. However, empirical findings from social psychology and affective neuroscience suggest that positive emotional experiences are fundamental to establishing new social bonds. To reconcile these perspectives, we collected repeated measurements of anxiety, positive emotions (pleasantness), and connectedness over the course of a controlled relationship formation encounter in 56 participants diagnosed with SAD (64% female; Mage = 23.3, SD = 4.7). Participants experienced both increases in positive emotions and decreases in anxiety throughout the interaction. Change in positive emotions was the most robust predictor of subsequent increases in connectedness, as well as a greater desire to engage one’s partner in future social activities, above and beyond reductions in anxiety (medium to large sized effects). Those findings suggest that anxiety-based models alone may not fully explain difficulties in relationship formation in SAD, and underscore the potential value of considering positive emotional experiences in conceptual and treatment models of SAD.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

The affective tie that binds: Examining the contribution of positive emotions and anxiety to relationship formation in social anxiety disorder

Taylor

Pearlstein

Stein

2017

Journal of Anxiety Disorders

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“…Further, the available prospective findings in adults suggests that interpersonal variables (e.g., loneliness, friendship quality) prospectively predict social anxiety severity far more so than social anxiety severity predicts interpersonal variables (Lim, Rodebaugh, Zyphur, & Gleeson, 2016; Rapee, Peters, Carpenter, & Gaston, 2015; Rodebaugh, Lim, Shumaker, Levinson, & Thompson, 2015). Further, although interpersonal therapy modified from treatments with depression showed somewhat limited effects for SAD (Lipsitz et al, 2008), recent tests of combining exposure-like exercises with either intimacy-building (Alden & Taylor, 2011) or practicing kindness (Trew & Alden, 2015) may have promise in treating SAD. We believe it would be premature to conclude that SAD has no effect on interpersonal functioning beyond self-perception, but it now seems clear that interpersonal functioning has a much stronger effect on SAD than vice versa.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The behavioral economics of social anxiety disorder reveal a robust effect for interpersonal traits

Rodebaugh

Tonge

Weisman

et al. 2017

Behaviour Research and Therapy

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Recent evidence suggests that reduced generosity among individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) in behavioral economic tasks may result from constraint in changing behavior according to interpersonal contingencies. That is, people with SAD may be slower to be more generous when the situation warrants. Conversely, more global effects on generosity may be related to interpersonal vindictiveness, a dimension only somewhat related to SAD. A total of 133 participants, 73 with the generalized form of SAD, completed self-report instruments and a behavioral economic task with simulated interpersonal (friend, romantic partner, stranger) interactions. In a separate visit, friends (n = 88) also came to the lab and rated participants on vindictiveness. Interpersonal vindictiveness was associated with reduced initial and overall giving to simulated friends. SAD predicted a lack of increased giving to a simulated friend, and attenuated an increase in giving to simulated known versus unknown players compared to participants without SAD. Friend-reported vindictiveness predicted in the same direction as diagnosis. However, the findings for SAD were less robust than those for vindictiveness. SAD is perhaps weakly related to behavioral constraint in economic tasks that simulate interpersonal interactions, whereas vindictiveness is strongly related to lower overall generosity as well as (via friend report) behavioral constraint. Further study is needed to better characterize the construct of vindictiveness. Our findings dovetail with the suggestion that SAD is related to impairment in the proposed affiliation and attachment system, but further suggest that direct study of that system may be more fruitful than focusing on disorders.

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“…SAD is defined by a lack of approach motivation, and excessive avoidance motivation and vigilance to threat (Amir et al, 2003; Hirsch & Mathews, 2000; Mogg & Bradley, 2002). Recent interventions have shown that people with SAD can be trained to direct their attention away from threats and become more approach oriented in their attention and social behavior, with evidence that these changes extend at least in the short-term to subsequent social interactions (Alden & Taylor, 2011; Schmidt et al, 2009; Taylor & Amir, 2012). These interventions require greater consideration to constructing optimal strategies for enhancing the psychological and social well-being of people with SAD.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Commitment to a purpose in life: An antidote to the suffering by individuals with social anxiety disorder.

Kashdan¹,

McKnight²

2013

Emotion

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Recent acceptance and mindfulness based cognitive-behavioral interventions explicitly target the clarification and commitment to a purpose in life. Yet, scant empirical evidence exists on the value of purpose as a mechanism relevant to psychopathology or well-being. The present research explored daily (within-person) fluctuations in purposeful pursuits and well-being in adults with and without the generalized subtype of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD); a community sample of 84 (41 with generalized SAD). After completing an idiographic measure of purpose in life, participants monitored their effort and progress toward this purpose along with their well-being each day. . Across two weeks of daily reports, we found that healthy controls reported increased self-esteem, meaning in life, positive emotions, and decreased negative emotions. People with SAD experienced substantial boosts in well-being indicators on days characterized by significant effort or progress toward their life purpose. We found no evidence for the reverse direction (with well-being boosting the amount of effort or progress that people with SAD devote to their purpose) and effects could not be attributed to comorbid mood or anxiety disorders. Results provide evidence for how commitment to a purpose in life enriches the daily existence of people with SAD. The current study supports principles that underlie what many clinicians are already doing with clients for SAD.

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Relational treatment strategies increase social approach behaviors in patients with Generalized Social Anxiety Disorder

Cited by 70 publications

References 61 publications

The affective tie that binds: Examining the contribution of positive emotions and anxiety to relationship formation in social anxiety disorder

The affective tie that binds: Examining the contribution of positive emotions and anxiety to relationship formation in social anxiety disorder

The behavioral economics of social anxiety disorder reveal a robust effect for interpersonal traits

Commitment to a purpose in life: An antidote to the suffering by individuals with social anxiety disorder.

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