Occupational impairment and social anxiety disorder in a sample of primary care patients
Open accessAbstract
Background Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is the second most prevalent psychiatric condition in the US. Because of the inherent nature of SAD, it may cause impairments in workplace functioning, particularly compared to other anxiety disorders that do not necessarily lead to social impairments. In this study, we compared workplace functioning in primary care patients with SAD to patients with other anxiety disorders and comorbid Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).Methods Data are obtained from the Primary Care Anxiety Project (PCAP), a naturalistic, longitudinal study of anxiety disorders in 539 primary care patients. We examined intake demographic and interviewer-assessed ratings of workplace functioning.Results Results revealed that patients with SAD and MDD had significantly decreased workplace functioning, compared to individuals with other anxiety disorders. Furthermore, results showed that patients with SAD were greater than two-times more likely to be unemployed, but expected to work, than all other patients.Limitations Workplace functioning was not measured objectively and the sample may not be representative of the general population.Conclusions These findings highlight the particular need to assess for the presence of undereducation and underperformance at work and/or underemployment in individuals with SAD, as they are at most risk for these impairments. Additionally, early detection and intervention in individuals with or at risk for SAD may curb the future impact of social anxiety on occupational attainment.
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Longitudinal studies show higher unemployment among individuals with social anxiety disorder than among persons with other mental disorders.
“Longitudinal studies of individuals with SAD show higher levels of unemployment compared to persons with other mental disorders (Keller, 2006; Moitra et al., 2011; Tolman et al., 2009).”
From Work-Related Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for racially and economically diverse unemployed persons with social anxiety: A randomized clinical trial (2024) · cites this paper as Moitra et al., 2011
The Results (Primary analyses, page unavailable) report that patients with SAD were more than twice as likely to be unemployed as the comparison patients. However, Methods (Procedures, page unavailable) says this paper analyzed only baseline data from a longitudinal project. It therefore supports the unemployment comparison, but not the characterization of this finding as longitudinal. (LLM, conf=0.90)
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- Authors
- Moitra, E., Beard, C., Weisberg, R. B., & Keller, M. B.
- Affiliations
- Brown University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Moitra, Ethan
- Venue
- Journal of Affective Disorders
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2011-04
- Volume
- 130
- Issue
- 1-2
- Pages
- 209-212
- ISSN
- 0165-0327 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3831271
- OpenAlex
- W2169145181
- Cited by
- 76
- References
- 25
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 1 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 2.91
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Affective Disorders (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Pfizer Inc
- National Institute of Mental Health (F32 MH083330, K23 MH069595)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Workplace Health and Well-being
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Keywords
- social anxiety disorder, occupational impairment, workplace functioning, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, unemployment, underemployment, primary care patients, psychiatric comorbidity
- MeSH terms
- Activities of Daily Living, Adult, Anxiety Disorders, Major Depressive Disorder, Female, Persons with Disabilities, Humans, Interview, Psychological, Male, Phobic Disorders, Primary Health Care, Surveys and Questionnaires, Unemployment, Comorbidity, Linear Models, Logistic Models, Workplace
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