Repetitive Negative Thinking in Social Anxiety Disorder 2: Post-Event Processing

Abstract

Cognitive models of social anxiety disorder (SAD) emphasize post-event processing as a prominent maintaining factor that occurs after social-evaluative events. Post-event processing involves repetitive negative thinking revolved around perceived social failure. The present review concentrates on the relevant and available empirical literature on post-event processing in social anxiety which centres on Clarke and Wells (1995) theoretical framework. Correlational and experimental studies have investigated the relationship between post-event processing and the behavioural, physiological, cognitive and affective outcomes for socially anxious individuals. The majority of study designs include those investigating post-event processing in response to social-evaluative threat, and in response to treatment. Limitations of the existing literature are discussed and suggestions for future research examining the underlying cognitive functions of post-event processing are proposed.

Attentional control associated with core cognitive maintenance factors of social anxiety

“…In terms of similarities, both AP and PEP are processes that are considered repetitive, negatively valenced, centered on social performance, and difficult to disengage from (Laposa & Rector, 2016). Conversely, there also appears to be functional differences between them that support their diagnostic specificity (for a review of AP, see Sluis, Boschen, Neumann, & Murphy, 2017a; for a review of PEP, see Brozovich & Heimberg, 2008; Sluis, Boschen, Neumann, & Murphy, 2017b; Wong, 2016). The most distinct differences between AP and PEP include temporal orientation (i.e., prior to an event and post-event) and discrepancy (i.e., a completed vs. an uncompleted task; Martin & Tesser, 1996).…”

Repetitive negative thinking, metacognitive beliefs, and their interaction as possible predictors for problematic cannabis use

“…Several studies on the relationship between social anxiety and problematic cannabis use also support this hypothesis. For example, Ecker and Buckner (2017, 2018) suggest that postevent ruminations are an important process for understanding the link between social anxiety and problematic cannabis use, and it has been suggested that a high tendency to be self‐focused is responsible for the emergence of postevent processing (Sluis et al, 2017). Therefore, self‐focused attention is probably an important process in the development and maintenance of problematic cannabis use in socially anxious people.…”

“…Subsequent studies have also found a positive association between cannabis use or related problems and RNT (du Pont et al, 2018; Ecker & Buckner, 2017, 2018). For example, Ecker and Buckner (2017, 2018) showed that postevent processing, a specific form of RNT about social situations implicated in the development and maintenance of social anxiety (Sluis et al, 2017), was positively associated cross‐sectionally with cannabis‐related problem severity and experimentally with cannabis use frequency. Overall, these data suggest that different forms of RNT could be a risk factor for problematic cannabis use, although the data are limited.…”