The reciprocal relations between experiential avoidance and social anxiety among early adolescents: A prospective cohort study

Shimoda, Yoshiyuki; Ishizu, Kenichiro; Ohtsuki, Tomu

doi:10.1016/j.jcbs.2018.10.001

Cited by 11 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 29 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Alternatively, we expected PI to yield a significant positive direct effect on social anxiety. This is in accordance with previous findings regarding the positive associations between PI and social anxiety in non-clinical samples of adolescents (Papachristou et al, 2018 ; Shimoda et al, 2018 ) and in clinical samples of adults (Asher et al, 2021 ; Fergus et al, 2012 ). We also hypothesize that PI would partially mediate the relationship between acceptance and action and social anxiety.…”

Section: Psychological (In)flexibilitysupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Regarding adolescents’ social anxiety difficulties, existing research with non-clinical samples has also demonstrated that experiential avoidance is positively correlated with social anxiety (Kashdan et al, 2014 ; Papachristou et al, 2018 ; Shimoda et al, 2018 ), as well as cognitive fusion (Cheng et al, 2021 ). Moreover, results from a sample of inpatient adolescents (including adolescents with SAD) showed a significant relationship between anxiety disorders and experiential avoidance (Venta et al, 2012 ).…”

Section: Psychological (In)flexibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Psychological inflexibility explains social anxiety over time: a mediation analyses with a clinical adolescent sample

2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) has its usual onset during adolescence when it is a highly prevalent and debilitating condition. Evidence regarding the processes that underline social anxiety and SAD is not compelling, especially in adolescents. Within an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) framework, the causal role of ACT processes on adolescents’ social anxiety and how these processes contribute to sustain social anxiety over time is still unknown. Hence, this study explored the role of psychological inflexibility (PI) and acceptance and committed action (as psychological flexibility processes) on social anxiety over time, in a clinical sample of adolescents. Twenty-one adolescents (Mage = 16.19, SD = 0.750) with a primary diagnosis of SAD completed a set of self-report measures assessing PI, acceptance (i.e., willingness to experience social anxiety symptoms), action (i.e., moving towards valued life directions despite social anxiety symptoms) and social anxiety. Path analysis was used to investigate a mediation model linking acceptance, committed action, and PI to social anxiety, directly and indirectly. Findings revealed that acceptance and action were negatively and directly associated with PI after 10-weeks. In turn, PI yielded a positive and direct effect on social anxiety after another 12-weeks. PI totally mediated the relation between acceptance and action and social anxiety, with significant indirect effects. Overall, findings offer evidence for the applicability of the ACT model to adolescent SAD and support the use of clinical interventions targeting PI to understand and alleviate adolescents’ social anxiety.

show abstract

Section: Psychological (In)flexibilitysupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Psychological (In)flexibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological inflexibility explains social anxiety over time: a mediation analyses with a clinical adolescent sample

2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Analyzing the expression of adolescent social anxiety, our study found that high anxiety was characteristic for more than a half of students and avoidance in social situations in about 15% subjects. Examining the reciprocal links between experiential avoidance and social anxiety among high school students, Japanese researchers found that a previous propensity for social anxiety later had a positive effect on slightly higher experiential avoidance at each time point and suggest that social anxiety may lead to avoidance [ 54 ]. Other researchers also point to avoidant behavior and its links to social anxiety.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Anxiety in 15–19 Year Adolescents in Association with Their Subjective Evaluation of Mental and Physical Health

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Studies show that social anxiety in adolescence have negative impact on quality of life. The study evaluates social anxiety links with mental and physical health factors in adolescents aged 15–19 years. Methods: The research was performed in 2018 in secondary schools in Lithuania and included 1722 participants (46.1% males and 53.9% females). The social anxiety was assessed using Social Anxiety and Avoidance Scale for Adolescents. The main results were obtained using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: Total of 58.5% of adolescents were characterized by high social anxiety and 14.7% by high avoidance. Females more often were characterized by high anxiety compared to males. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that good mental health was a significant protective factor against high SA in adolescents. For females, high anxiety and avoidance were associated with living with both parents, for males, high anxiety was linked with mother’s university education. Very common stomach and abdominal pain in females as well as severe and very common stomach or abdominal pain in males, increase the risk of major social anxiety. Conclusions: High social anxiety were more prevalent between females than males and was linked with various well-being and health aspects in adolescents.

show abstract

“…To our knowledge, there is only prior study testing bidirectional change between EA and SAD symptoms over time, and no research evaluating this question in adults. Specifically, in a 3-wave cross-lagged path analysis collected at 4-month intervals, SAD symptoms predicted subsequently greater EA but not vice versa, among an unselected sample of middle school-aged adolescents (Shimoda, 2018). Broadening out a review to studies measuring general anxiety pathology, the findings are contradictory, with some longitudinal studies finding that EA unidirectionally predicts anxiety symptoms (Moroz & Dunkley, 2019) and others finding that EA and stress/anxiety symptoms bidirectionally predict each other (Spinhoven et al, 2014).…”

Section: Experiential Avoidancementioning

confidence: 95%

“…The primary aim of the present study was to test the temporal course of EA and SAD symptoms by dynamically modeling whether reductions in EA temporally preceded and predicted reductions in SAD symptoms and/or vice versa from week to week. It was hypothesized that EA reductions would directly precede and predict SAD symptom reduction (Niles et al, 2014) and vice versa (Shimoda et al, 2018). Bivariate latent change score modeling, a type of structural equation modeling that accounts for each variable's overall trajectory of change and preceding measurement, was used to map the bidirectional, temporal course between EA and SAD symptoms.…”

Section: Present Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating Mechanisms: Mapping Weekly Dynamics between Experiential Avoidance and SAD Symptoms

Sarfan

Magee

Clerkin

2021

J Psychopathol Behav Assess

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Widely-used, empirically-supported treatments focus on reducing experiential avoidance (EA) as a mechanism of social anxiety disorder (SAD) symptom change. However, little is known about how EA and SAD symptoms bidirectionally interrelate from session to session, or throughout the course of an intervention—a gap that raises significant theoretical and clinical questions about the mechanistic role of EA. Participants (N = 78) with elevated EA and SAD symptoms completed a 3-session pilot intervention (Approach-Avoidance Task training plus psychoeducation) designed to target EA. Bivariate latent change score modeling was then used to map the bidirectional, temporal interrelationships between EA and SAD symptoms from session to session. Analyses accounted for the overall trajectory of change in both variables (i.e., EA and SAD) and both variables’ preceding measurement. Findings suggested that changes in SAD symptoms preceded and predicted changes in EA from session to session. Contrary to hypotheses, this effect was not bidirectional, as changes in EA did not precede and predict changes in SAD symptoms from session to session. The use of a relatively small analogue sample limit the external validity of the present findings. Nevertheless, these novel findings advance our understanding of the dynamic interrelationships between EA and SAD symptoms throughout treatment. Moreover, given that many leading treatments target EA, this study highlights a need for future work to continue evaluating whether EA is indeed a mechanism of SAD symptom change.

show abstract

The reciprocal relations between experiential avoidance and social anxiety among early adolescents: A prospective cohort study

Cited by 11 publications

References 29 publications

Psychological inflexibility explains social anxiety over time: a mediation analyses with a clinical adolescent sample

Psychological inflexibility explains social anxiety over time: a mediation analyses with a clinical adolescent sample

Social Anxiety in 15–19 Year Adolescents in Association with Their Subjective Evaluation of Mental and Physical Health

Evaluating Mechanisms: Mapping Weekly Dynamics between Experiential Avoidance and SAD Symptoms

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About