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Social problem solving in social anxiety disorder
Mia Romano1, David A Moscovitch1, Ruofan Ma1
1Department of Psychology and Centre for Mental Health Research and Treatment, University of Waterloo, Canada.
Journal of Anxiety Disorders
|November 10, 2019
Summary
Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) show a negative problem-solving outlook. While solution effectiveness is similar, SAD hinders generating active solutions from a personal viewpoint.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Social problem solving is crucial for adaptive functioning.
- Social problem solving in social anxiety disorder (SAD) is under-researched.
- Anxiety can impact cognitive processes involved in problem-solving.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate social problem-solving abilities in individuals with SAD.
- To compare problem-solving orientation and solution generation between SAD and healthy control (HC) groups.
- To explore the effect of perspective-taking on solution generation in SAD.
Main Methods:
- 38 participants with SAD and 30 HC participants completed problem-solving assessments.
- Participants rated their problem-solving attitudes and abilities (problem orientation).
- Solutions to interpersonal problems were generated from personal and objective perspectives, then coded for effectiveness, relevance, and activity.
Main Results:
- Participants with SAD displayed a more negative problem orientation than HC participants.
- No significant differences were found in the overall effectiveness or relevance of solutions between groups.
- A personal perspective led to more active solutions for HC but less active solutions for SAD participants.
Conclusions:
- Social anxiety is associated with a more negative problem-solving mindset.
- While SAD individuals can generate effective solutions, their approach may be less active when considering personal perspectives.
- Findings suggest potential targets for interventions aimed at improving social problem-solving in SAD.
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