Social expectancies and self-perceptions in anxiety-disordered children

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Social Anxiety Research
• Clinical Child Psychology

Background:

• Social interactions are crucial for child development.
• Anxiety disorders in children can impair social functioning.
• Negative social expectancies may contribute to social difficulties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between anxiety and negative social expectancies in children.
• To compare social expectancies, social anxiety, and social competence in anxious versus non-anxious children.
• To identify predictors of social expectancies in children.

Main Methods:

• Compared 47 anxiety-disordered children with 31 controls.
• Assessed social expectancies via thought-listing and questionnaires before a social interaction.
• Collected parent, teacher, and child reports on sociability and social anxiety.

Main Results:

• Anxiety-disordered children reported more negative social expectations and lower social self-competence.
• Children with anxiety disorders exhibited higher levels of social anxiety.
• Social anxiety was the strongest predictor of negative social expectancies.

Conclusions:

• Anxiety-disordered children hold more negative views of social situations.
• Social anxiety significantly influences children's social expectations.
• Findings highlight the need for interventions addressing social anxiety and expectancies in children.