Adolescent social anxiety: Bridging cognitive and social behavioral perspectives through a developmental lens

Social anxiety is characterized by fear of negative evaluation and discomfort and avoidance in social or performance situations. Existing on a continuum, the clinical diagnosis, social anxiety disorder, typically has its onset in the early to mid-teenage years. It is among the most impairing mental disorders but one of the least treated. SAD is described as the “prototypical adolescent disorder,” yet no theoretical models, specific to adolescents, exist to delineate the factors central to the persistence of their social fears. This chapter reviews recent research on processes involved in the maintenance of social anxiety: cognitive, social behavioral, and fear extinction. These factors are integrated into a comprehensive adolescent-specific maintenance model of social anxiety. Central to the model is the importance of the social context, negative peer responses, and their interaction with negative social self-perceptions. We propose avenues for intervention that aim to leverage the natural social environment and peers to strengthen existing approaches.