Are Socially Anxious Children Really Less Liked, or Do They Only Think So?

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation of social anxiety with self-perceived and peer-reported likability, while controlling for the possible influence of depression. In total, 586 children (7 to 13 years) completed questionnaires to measure social anxiety, self-assessed likability, a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cognitive therapy and research 2019-12, Vol.43 (6), p.1043-1050
Main Authors: Baartmans, Jeanine M. D., Rinck, Mike, Hudson, Jennifer L., Lansu, Tessa A. M., van Niekerk, Rianne E., Bögels, Susan M., Klein, Anke M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Children
Clinical Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Mental depression
Original Article
Peers
Quality of Life Research
Shyness
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Summary:The purpose of this study was to examine the relation of social anxiety with self-perceived and peer-reported likability, while controlling for the possible influence of depression. In total, 586 children (7 to 13 years) completed questionnaires to measure social anxiety, self-assessed likability, and depression. Peer-reported likability was derived from sociometric data on likability. As expected, children with higher self-reported social anxiety perceived themselves as less liked by classroom peers than children with lower self-reported social anxiety. In reality, children with higher levels of social anxiety were more liked by peers than children with lower levels of social anxiety. Multilinear regression analyses indicated no confounding effect of depression: Social anxiety, but not depression, was a significant predictor of biased perceived likability. Correcting the discrepancy between objective versus subjective likability may be a crucial target in the prevention and treatment of social anxiety disorders in children.
ISSN:0147-5916
1573-2819
DOI:10.1007/s10608-019-10028-9