Social rejection in social anxiety disorder: The role of performance deficits, evoked negative emotions and dissimilarity

• Published in: British journal of clinical psychology 2008-11, Vol.47 (4), p.439-450
• Main Authors: Voncken, Marisol J., Alden, Lynn E., Bögels, Susan M., Roelofs, Jeffrey
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Anxiety; Anxiety disorders; Anxiety disorders. Neuroses; Biological and medical sciences; Clinical psychology; Control Groups; Emotions; Female; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Male; Medical sciences; Models, Psychological; Negative emotions; Phobia; Phobic Disorders - psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Rejection (Psychology); Selfassessment; Social Adjustment; Social anxiety; Social Behavior; Social Desirability; Social Identification; Social psychology; Social rejection; Social roles; Videotape Recording
• ISSN: 0144-6657; 2044-8260
• DOI: 10.1348/014466508X334745

Objectives Patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD) not only fear social rejection, but accumulating evidence also shows that they are indeed less liked than their non‐anxious counterparts. Three factors are hypothesized to play a role in this social anxiety–social rejection relationship: (1) social performance; (2) elicited negative emotions, and (3) perceived similarity. Method Patients with SAD (N = 63) and control participants (N = 27) were observed during a 5 minutes ‘getting acquainted’ conversation with a male and female confederate who rated their social performance. Video‐observers rated their own negative emotions and perceived similarity with the patients, while other video‐observers rated their wish to engage in future contact with them (a measure of social rejection). Results Analysed by way of structural equation modelling (SEM), the results supported the social anxiety–social rejection relationship. More specifically, poor social performance was associated with perceived dissimilarity ratings and mediated by evoked negative emotions, both of which were in turn associated with social rejection. Conclusion These results suggest that a sequence of events links social anxiety to social rejection. Treatment should aim to improve social performance and perceived similarity to reverse SAD's vicious, negative interpersonal cycle.