Current Search: social anxiety disorder (x)
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(1 - 8 of 8)
- Title
- DOES BEHAVIORAL TREATMENT FOR CHILDREN WITH SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER CHANGE VOCAL CHARACTERISTICS?.
- Creator
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Kroytor, Anya, Beidel, Deborah, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Children with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) characterized by persistent shyness and anxiety in social or performance situation, exhibit social skills deficits. These deficits include difficulty initiating conversations, maintaining eye contact, and taking turns when speaking, which in turn leads to impairments in their daily interactions and development of peer relationships (Greco, 2005; Miers, 2010). Although there are many subjective assessments for treatment outcomes for children with SAD...
Show moreChildren with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) characterized by persistent shyness and anxiety in social or performance situation, exhibit social skills deficits. These deficits include difficulty initiating conversations, maintaining eye contact, and taking turns when speaking, which in turn leads to impairments in their daily interactions and development of peer relationships (Greco, 2005; Miers, 2010). Although there are many subjective assessments for treatment outcomes for children with SAD, in order to become more thorough and effective when assessing treatment outcomes, more objective measures of actual behaviors are needed. This study uses digital vocal analysis to examine vocal parameters associated with anxiety such as pitch and volume in children with SAD pre and post treatment. Measuring vocal parameters during role-play behavioral assessment tasks allowed us to examine whether the software was capable of detecting differences in vocal characteristics that are consistent with the clinical presentation of the disorder. Children with SAD showed differences in vocal characteristics pre to post treatment, in regards to pitch, pitch variability, volume, and volume variability. There were significant changes in volume pre to post treatment, however the changes in pitch, pitch variability, and volume variability were not significant. These results suggest that post SET-C treatment, certain vocal characteristics, (one of the social skills deficits exhibited by children with SAD) improved. Implications of the findings are discussed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFH0004148, ucf:44819
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004148
- Title
- Social Skills and Social Acceptance in Childhood Anxiety Disorders.
- Creator
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Scharfstein, Lindsay, Beidel, Deborah, Rapport, Mark, Sims, Valerie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The present study examined the social skills and social acceptance of children with SAD (n=20), children with GAD (n=18), and typically developing (TD) children (n=20). A multimodal assessment paradigm was employed to address three study objectives: (a) to determine whether social skills deficits are unique to children with SAD or extend to children with GAD, (b) to assess whether skills vary as a function of social context (in vivo peer interaction Wii Task versus hypothetical Social...
Show moreThe present study examined the social skills and social acceptance of children with SAD (n=20), children with GAD (n=18), and typically developing (TD) children (n=20). A multimodal assessment paradigm was employed to address three study objectives: (a) to determine whether social skills deficits are unique to children with SAD or extend to children with GAD, (b) to assess whether skills vary as a function of social context (in vivo peer interaction Wii Task versus hypothetical Social Vignette Task) and (c) to examine the relationship between anxiety diagnosis and social acceptance. Parent questionnaire data indicated that both youth with SAD and GAD experienced difficulties with assertiveness, whereas children with SAD experienced a broader range of social skills difficulties. Blinded observers' ratings during the behavioral assessment social tasks indicated that compared to children with GAD and TD children, children with SAD have deficits in social behaviors and social knowledge across settings, including speech latency, a paucity of speech, few spontaneous comments, questions and exclamations, and ineffective social responses. In addition, vocal analysis revealed that children with SAD were characterized by anxious speech patterns. By comparison, children with GAD exhibited non-anxious speech patterns and did not differ significantly from TD youth on social behaviors, with the exception of fewer spontaneous comments and questions. Lastly, children with SAD were perceived as less likeable and less socially desirable by their peers than both children with GAD and TD children. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004932, ucf:49631
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004932
- Title
- EXPLORING A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER AND BILINGUALISM.
- Creator
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James, Nicholas, Beidel, Deborah, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This study investigated the possible relationship between bilingualism and social anxiety disorder. Past research has indicated developmental delays in language as increasing risk for other psychological difficulties. With the pressure to learn two languages, possibly in the drastically different environments of home, school, and/or work, individuals may be vulnerable to becoming socially anxious in conjunction with language use. This study examined a series of factors surrounding linguistic...
Show moreThis study investigated the possible relationship between bilingualism and social anxiety disorder. Past research has indicated developmental delays in language as increasing risk for other psychological difficulties. With the pressure to learn two languages, possibly in the drastically different environments of home, school, and/or work, individuals may be vulnerable to becoming socially anxious in conjunction with language use. This study examined a series of factors surrounding linguistic development and reports of social anxiety. Participants were divided into 4 groups: Socially Anxious (SA; n = 43) monolinguals, Non-Socially Anxious (Non-SA; n = 81) monolinguals, SA bilinguals (n = 30), and Non-SA bilinguals (n = 43). Measures of social anxiety, linguistic ability, and demographic information were collected and compared. The results of this study showed no direct link between bilingualism and SAD. However results raised other questions as there was an overrepresentation of SA bilinguals having accents when compared with Non-SA bilingual individuals.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2014
- Identifier
- CFH0004676, ucf:45285
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004676
- Title
- THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PSYCHOMETRICALLY-DEFINED SOCIAL ANXIETY AND WORKING MEMORY PERFORMANCE.
- Creator
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Paskowski, Timothy, Bedwell, Jeffrey, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Anxiety disorders are among the most commonly diagnosed class of mental illness in the United States, and often involve abnormally high levels of stress and social fear. Despite high lifetime prevalence rates, social anxiety disorder (SAD) has remarkably low diagnosis and treatment rates. Furthermore, while individuals with other specific psychiatric disorders tend to exhibit significant neuropsychological deficits, neuropsychological functioning in individuals with SAD remains largely...
Show moreAnxiety disorders are among the most commonly diagnosed class of mental illness in the United States, and often involve abnormally high levels of stress and social fear. Despite high lifetime prevalence rates, social anxiety disorder (SAD) has remarkably low diagnosis and treatment rates. Furthermore, while individuals with other specific psychiatric disorders tend to exhibit significant neuropsychological deficits, neuropsychological functioning in individuals with SAD remains largely untested. A majority of the few existing studies concerning neuropsychological performance in SAD samples focus on specific functions, and their limited results are highly mixed. The primary objective of this investigation was to provide a more thorough, broad assessment of both auditory and visual working memory as related to psychometrically-defined social anxiety disorder. In addition, this study aimed to help clarify as to whether such deficits are related to the construct of social anxiety, or whether any potential deficits are better explained by generalized state and/or trait (in-the-moment) anxiety. The implications of a deficit in the visual and/or auditory working memory domains are multifaceted. For example, such a deficit may lead to the inability to detect visual cues in social situations. The inability to process these social cues has the potential to exacerbate some SAD- related symptoms, such as fear of humiliation and judgment. Twenty-nine college students completed both phases of this study, including an assessment of state and trait anxiety as well as social phobia and a four-part working memory battery. An analysis of the Phase II data indicates that individual scores on the four measures of both visual and auditory working memory did not relate to trait and/or state anxiety or psychometrically-defined social anxiety. Thus, it appears that social, generalized trait, and generalized state anxiety do not relate to a neuropsychological deficit in either type of working memory in this sample population. However, we did find a statistical trend suggesting that as social anxiety increased, there was a relative decrease in visual vs. auditory working memory. This statistical trend remained after covarying for state and trait anxiety respectively. Therefore, future research in this area should examine the discrepancy in performance between the auditory and visual working memory domains as it relates to both diagnosed social phobia and psychometrically-defined social anxiety.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFH0003798, ucf:44744
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0003798
- Title
- Psychopathology and Functional Impairment in Adolescents with Social Anxiety Disorder.
- Creator
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Mesa, Franklin, Beidel, Deborah, Cassisi, Jeffrey, Neer, Sandra, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Although social anxiety disorder is most often diagnosed during adolescence, few investigations have examined the clinical presentation of this disorder exclusively in adolescents. Prior studies have demonstrated that some clinical features of SAD in adolescents are unique relative to younger children with the condition. Furthermore, the extant literature on daily functional impairment in this population is limited. In this investigation, multiple areas of functioning were examined in...
Show moreAlthough social anxiety disorder is most often diagnosed during adolescence, few investigations have examined the clinical presentation of this disorder exclusively in adolescents. Prior studies have demonstrated that some clinical features of SAD in adolescents are unique relative to younger children with the condition. Furthermore, the extant literature on daily functional impairment in this population is limited. In this investigation, multiple areas of functioning were examined in adolescents with SAD (n = 16) and normal control adolescents (n = 14): specific social skills, subjective distress and physiological reactivity during one speech performance task and one social interaction task; alcohol use and expectancies; subjective and objective quality of sleep; and daily distressing social activities. No differences were observed in sleep actigraphy, self-reported sleep difficulties, alcohol use, or alcohol expectancies. Adolescents with SAD reported greater distress during both analogue tasks relative to NC adolescents. During the speech task, adolescents with SAD exhibited significantly greater speech latency (4.42 seconds vs. 1.75 seconds) and spoke significantly less (83.09 seconds vs. 167.75 seconds) than NC adolescents. Additionally, SAD participants manifested greater skin conductance during the speech task. During the social interaction, adolescents with SAD asked significantly fewer questions (2.20 vs. 7.07) and required significantly more confederate prompts (2.33 vs. 1.14) to stimulate interaction. Finally, adolescents with SAD reported more frequent anxiety-provoking situations in their daily lives and greater avoidance of these situations, including answering questions in class, assertive communication, and interacting with a group. The findings are discussed with respect to the current understanding of alcohol use, quality of sleep, and social functioning in adolescents with SAD.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004891, ucf:49648
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004891
- Title
- Evaluating the utility of a virtual environment for childhood social anxiety disorder.
- Creator
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Wong, Nina, Beidel, Deborah, Rapport, Mark, Sims, Valerie, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Objective: Two significant challenges for the dissemination of social skills training programs are (a) the need to provide sufficient practice opportunities to assure skill consolidation and (b) the need to assure skill generalization (i.e., use of the skills outside the clinic setting). In the case of social anxiety disorder, virtual environments may provide one strategy to address these issues. This investigation describes the development of an interactive skills-oriented virtual school...
Show moreObjective: Two significant challenges for the dissemination of social skills training programs are (a) the need to provide sufficient practice opportunities to assure skill consolidation and (b) the need to assure skill generalization (i.e., use of the skills outside the clinic setting). In the case of social anxiety disorder, virtual environments may provide one strategy to address these issues. This investigation describes the development of an interactive skills-oriented virtual school environment and evaluated its utility for the treatment of social anxiety disorder in preadolescent children (Study 1). This environment included both in-clinic and at-home solutions. In addition, a pilot replication/extension study further examined preliminary treatment efficacy between children who received a standard multi-component treatment and children who received the modified treatment with social skills practice in a virtual environment (Study 2). Method: Eleven children with a primary diagnosis of social anxiety disorder between 7 to 12 years old participated in the initial feasibility trial (Study 1). Five additional children participated in the replication/extension study (Study 2). To investigate preliminary treatment efficacy, clinical outcome measures for the Study 2 sample were compared to a comparison sample who received the standard treatment. Results: Overall, the virtual environment program was viewed as acceptable, feasible, and credible treatment components to children, parents, and clinicians alike but modifications would likely improve the current version. Additionally, although preliminary, children who received the modified treatment with virtual environment practice demonstrated significant improvement at post-treatment on clinician ratings but not parent or self-reported measures. Conclusion: Virtual environments are feasible, acceptable, and credible treatment components for clinical use. Future investigations will determine if the addition of this dose-controlled and intensive social skills practice results in treatment outcome equivalent to traditional cognitive-behavioral programs.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004962, ucf:49583
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004962
- Title
- Optimizing Strategies for In Vivo Exposure in the Traditional Clinical Setting.
- Creator
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Owens, Maryann, Beidel, Deborah, Cassisi, Jeffrey, Bowers, Clint, Neer, Sandra, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This study examined the ability of a pre-recorded videoconferencing (VC) audience to elicit the physiological and subjective arousal associated with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) when giving a formal presentation. This study had three objectives: (a) to determine whether speaking to the VC audience elicited significant increases in physiological response (e.g., heart rate and electrodermal activity) and subjective distress over baseline resting conditions (b) to determine whether the VC task...
Show moreThis study examined the ability of a pre-recorded videoconferencing (VC) audience to elicit the physiological and subjective arousal associated with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) when giving a formal presentation. This study had three objectives: (a) to determine whether speaking to the VC audience elicited significant increases in physiological response (e.g., heart rate and electrodermal activity) and subjective distress over baseline resting conditions (b) to determine whether the VC task more closely replicates the physiological and subjective experience of giving a speech to a comparable real-life audience than levels elicited by a Virtual Reality (VR) environment and (c) to determine whether the VC task elicited higher levels of presence and fear of negative evaluation than the VR task, more closely replicating levels elicited by an in vivo speech. All participants gave an impromptu speech under three conditions: in vivo, VC, and VR audience while measures of physiological arousal, self-reported distress, and presence were obtained. Results demonstrated that the VC task elicited significantly greater increases in heart rate, electrodermal activity, and self-reported distress than the VR task and VC responses were not significantly different from in vivo. In addition, participants reported levels of immersion and fear of negative evaluation during the VC task that were significantly greater than during the VR task, and did not differ significantly from in vivo. Clinical implications of these findings including cost effectiveness and the role of VC in the treatment of SAD are discussed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- Identifier
- CFE0006367, ucf:51513
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006367
- Title
- Does Virtual Reality Elicit Physiological Arousal in Social Anxiety Disorder.
- Creator
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Owens, Maryann, Beidel, Deborah, Cassisi, Jeffrey, Bowers, Clint, Neer, Sandra, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The present study examined the ability of a Virtual Reality (VR) public speaking task to elicit physiological arousal in adults with SAD (n=25) and Controls (n=25). A behavioral assessment paradigm was employed to address three study objectives: (a) to determine whether the VR task can elicit significant increases in physiological response over baseline resting conditions (b) to determine if individuals with SAD have a greater increase from baseline levels of physiological and self-reported...
Show moreThe present study examined the ability of a Virtual Reality (VR) public speaking task to elicit physiological arousal in adults with SAD (n=25) and Controls (n=25). A behavioral assessment paradigm was employed to address three study objectives: (a) to determine whether the VR task can elicit significant increases in physiological response over baseline resting conditions (b) to determine if individuals with SAD have a greater increase from baseline levels of physiological and self-reported arousal during the in vivo speech task as opposed to the VR speech task and (c) to determine whether individuals with SAD experience greater changes in physiological and self-reported arousal during each speech task compared to controls. Results demonstrated that the VR task was able to elicit significant increases in heart rate, skin conductance, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia, but did not elicit as much physiological or self-reported arousal as the in vivo speech task. In addition, no differences were found between groups. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004906, ucf:49624
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004906
