Social anxiety and social and communication difficulties

Post Reply New Topic

AbstractObjective

Social anxiety (SA) is a common condition associated with social and communication (SC) difficulties in typically developing young people, as well as those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Whether SC difficulties place children at risk of developing SA is unclear. Using a longitudinal design, the present study aimed to disentangle the relationship between SA symptoms and SC difficulties using a population-based sample of 9,491 children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC).
Method

Parent-reported data on SC difficulties and SA symptoms were collected at 7, 10, and 13 years. A cross-lagged panel model was used to investigate the longitudinal stability and directional relationship between latent SC difficulties and SA constructs over time.
Results

More SC difficulties were associated with greater SA symptoms at all ages. Earlier SC difficulties predicted a small but significant amount of variance in later SA symptoms. The reverse relationship from SA to SC difficulties was not observed. The relationship from SC difficulties to SA was strongest from age 7 to 10. No sex differences were observed.
Conclusion

The evidence suggests that SC difficulties may be an important risk factor for the development of SA. These findings suggest the potential usefulness of incorporating social skills training alongside effective interventions to prevent or alleviate symptoms of SA in childhood.
Key words:
ALSPAC, social anxiety, social and communication difficulties, autism spectrum disorders, longitudinal

http://www.jaacap.com/article/S0890-8567(17)30020-5/abstract
http://sci-hub.cc/10.1016/j.jaac.2017.01.007 (full)

Definitely social difficulties for me. Not so sure about communication.

As far as it's initial development, I believe mine stemmed from both, social and communication difficulties, and language processing deficits, and being teased and made fun of, by my peers.

I have both social anxiety and communication difficulties. I always wait for the other person to start a conversation and it's hard for me to go up to someone and say hi. I've been this way all my life. However, I've been trying to speak up for myself more, especially at where I live, which is a nursing home with over 200 mentally ill people. So I guess the nicer a person looks to me, the easier it will be for me to talk to him or her.