The boundaries of social phobia and its subtypes: workshop report 1

The separation of social phobia from normal social anxiety (shyness) and from other psychiatric disorders (e.g. agoraphobia, atypical depression with rejection sensitivity) is as important for research and for treatment decisions as is the definition of subtypes. While empirical evidence supports the distinction of a generalized and a specific subtype of social phobia, the other boundary issues, the separation of social phobia from shyness and its distinction from the comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders, still require research.