The DOI matches its Crossref record; 24 of the 24 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Social anxiety in children: social skills deficit, or cognitive distortion?
Abstract
Background Treatments for childhood social anxiety have traditionally employed social skills training, based on the assumption that effected children have social skills deficits. Recent conceptualisations of social anxiety in adults have questioned this assumption, and have suggested that socially anxious individuals merely believe that they have skill deficits. A recent study using children provided preliminary confirmation of this for younger populations, and also suggested that beliefs about appearing nervous are of particular importance.Methods Two groups of children, aged 10-11 years (analogue high social anxiety/low social anxiety), participated in a conversation with an unfamiliar adult. They then rated their performance in a number of domains, after which independent observers also rated their performances.Results Independent observers were unable to distinguish between the low and high social anxiety groups. However, high socially anxious children rated themselves as appearing significantly less skilled than their low socially anxious counterparts. Notably, high socially anxious children rated themselves particularly poorly in terms of how nervous they looked.Conclusions Socially anxious children may not necessarily display social skill deficits. However, they may believe that they appear nervous during social encounters. Clinicians should consider using CBT techniques to address these concerns, rather than relying on social skill remediation.
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“they found there was no statistical difference between volunteers’ estimates of social skills of people with and without SAD.”
From Shame or What Makes Irrational Social Anxiety Rational. (2025) · cites this paper as [15]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Cartwright-Hatton, S., Tschernitz, N., & Gomersall, H.
- Affiliations
- University of Manchester (GB)
- Venue
- Behaviour Research and Therapy
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2005-01
- Volume
- 43
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 131-141
- ISSN
- 0005-7967 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2130219743
- Cited by
- 177
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 5.22
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Behaviour Research and Therapy (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychological Treatments and Assessments
- Keywords
- social skills deficits, cognitive distortions, social skills training, cognitive behavioral therapy
- MeSH terms
- Analysis of Variance, Anxiety Disorders, Child, Child Behavior, Cognition, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Surveys and Questionnaires, Self-Assessment, Self Concept, Observer Variation
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