How real do you feel? Self- and partner-authenticity in social anxiety disorder
Abstract
Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) experience substantial impairment in close and intimate relationships. To enhance our understanding of this impairment and the way it develops, we examined dyadic opposite sex interactions of individuals with and without SAD. Participants were 160 individuals who formed 80 dyads including either 1 individual with SAD and another nonsocially anxious (NSA) individual (42 experimental dyads), or 2 NSA individuals (38 control dyads). We examined self- and partner-ratings of authenticity of both partners at 3 time points over the course of the 30-min interaction. Multilevel linear models indicated that individuals with SAD reported lower self-authenticity compared to NSA individuals (both compared to their interaction partners and compared to those from control dyads). In addition, increases in self-authenticity during the interaction were significantly lower for the experimental dyads compared to the control dyads. Specifically, both individuals with SAD and their NSA partners experienced lower increases in self-authenticity compared to NSA individuals from the control dyads. We also found that individuals with SAD rated their partners as less authentic compared to both their NSA interaction partners as well as NSA individuals from the control dyads. We discuss our findings in the context of cognitive and interpersonal models and suggest that authenticity may contribute to deleterious maintaining processes of SAD. Clinical implications of our findings are also discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
People with SAD have been shown to experience lower self-rated authenticity in dyadic interactions as well as being rated by conversational partners as less authentic.
“People with SAD have been shown to experience lower self-rated authenticity in dyadic interactions as well as being rated by conversational partners as less authentic (150).”
From MDMA-Assisted Therapy as a Means to Alter Affective, Cognitive, Behavioral, and Neurological Systems Underlying Social Dysfunction in Social Anxiety Disorder (2021) · cites this paper as [150]
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Emotions in social anxiety disorder: A review
Rozen, N., & Aderka, I. M. (2023) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2023.102696 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
Self-citationThe grass is always greener: Envy in social anxiety disorder
Oren-Yagoda, R., Schwartz, M., & Aderka, I. M. (2021) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2021.102445 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Self-citationHow to improve emotional regulation in breast cancer survivors? A psychological intervention
Sebri, V., Policardo, G. R., & Pravettoni, G. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1443635 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
“In a study by Asher and Aderka (2021), feelings of shame could hide individuals’ true self, increasing social anxiety and poor relationship.”
BackgroundPride in social anxiety disorder
Oren-Yagoda, R., Paz, N., & Aderka, I. M. (2023) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2023.102759 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Self-citationSocial anxiety and MDMA-assisted therapy investigation: a novel clinical trial protocol
Lear, M. K., Smith, S. M., Pilecki, B. C., Stauffer, C. S., & Luoma, J. B. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1083354 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
“These interpersonal responses also lead to subjective feelings of inauthenticity and perceptions from others that the person is not being genuine among people with SAD (107, 108).”
BackgroundOren-Yagoda, R., & Aderka, I. M. (2021) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2021.102458 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Self-citationLuoma, J., & Lear, M. K. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.733893 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
“People with SAD have been shown to experience lower self-rated authenticity in dyadic interactions as well as being rated by conversational partners as less authentic (150).”
BackgroundSafety behaviors and positive emotions in social anxiety disorder
Oren‐Yagoda, R., Oren, B., & Aderka, I. M. (2024) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2024.102915 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Self-citationBowers, E. M., Peckham, A., Goodman, F. R., Hom, M. A., Beckham, E. E., Björgvinsson, Þ., & Beard, C. (2023) · Depression and Anxiety · doi:10.1155/2023/7614830 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“Social anxiety can lead to signi fi cant impairment: people with SAD are more likely to experience poorer quality of social relationships [5, 6], lower quality of life [7], and increased suicidal ideation and behavior [8, 9] compared to those without SAD.”
BackgroundGender Differences in Shame Among Individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder
Oren‐Yagoda, R., Rosenblum, M., & Aderka, I. M. (2024) · Cognitive Therapy and Research · doi:10.1007/s10608-023-10461-x · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“Using the ADIS, we found high reliability for a diagnosis of SAD in the lab (kappa = .84; Asher & Aderka, 2021).”
Self-citationBayram, Y. (2025) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-025-07521-8 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“Similarly, the relationship between authenticity and social anxiety appears multifaceted, with evidence supporting both authenticity’s role in reducing social anxiety (Plasencia et al., 2016) and social anxiety’s potential to inhibit authentic expression (Asher & Aderka, 2021).”
Dabas, G., Rowa, K., Milosevic, I., Moscovitch, D. A., & McCabe, R. E. (2022) · Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy · doi:10.1017/s1352465822000492 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“Safety behaviours may also reduce feelings of authenticity in social interactions, which are already depleted for individuals with SAD compared with controls (Asher and Aderka, 2021) and are associated with decreased interest in further social interactions (Plasencia et al ., 2016).”
Dating in social anxiety disorder: A daily diary study
Strulov, T. S., & Aderka, I. M. (2024) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2024.102927 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Self-citationSleep dysfunction in social anxiety disorder
Oren‐Yagoda, R., Tene, A., & Aderka, I. M. (2025) · British Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjc.12541 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Self-citationThe Role of Eudaimonic Well-Being in Positive Memorable Tourism Experiences
Ateş, A., Karslı, T. A., Sunar, H., & Dursun, P. (2025) · Tourism · doi:10.37741/t.73.2.8 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“Psychological research has confirmed that authentic expressions of self (trait authenticity) are associated with a greater sense of well-being (Wood et al., 2008), active engagement in work (Sutton, 2020), and excellent mental health (Asher & Aderka, 2021).”
Safety behaviors during dates among individuals with social anxiety disorder
Strulov, T. S., & Aderka, I. M. (2025) · International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.ijchp.2025.100614 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Moreover, it is possible that safety behaviors also negatively affect interaction partners ’ authenticity in a negative way (in addition to the individual with SAD) and this can also contribute to rejection or negative responses (Asher & Aderka, 2021).”
Self-citationShame and loneliness in social anxiety disorder: A comparison with panic disorder
Kharbush, Z., Oren‐Yagoda, R., & Aderka, I. M. (2026) · International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.ijchp.2026.100684 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“…the more social anxiety individuals feel, the more likely they are to use safety behaviors (Piccirillo et al., 2016), and both social anxiety and safety behaviors have been found to lead to feelings of inauthenticity among individuals with SAD (Asher & Aderka, 2021; Plasencia et al., 2016).”
Self-citationOut of My League: Dating Preferences of Individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder
Strulov, T. S., Gilboa‐Schechtman, E., & Aderka, I. M. (2024) · Cognitive Therapy and Research · doi:10.1007/s10608-024-10518-5 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“For instance, during initial interactions, individuals with SAD were perceived as less authentic (e.g., Asher & Aderka, 2021) and experienced higher rejection rates from their conversation partners (Voncken et al., 2008).”
Self-citationShatz, H., Oren‐Yagoda, R., & Aderka, I. M. (2025) · Behavior Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.beth.2025.11.004
Self-citationLove is a losing game: The experience of romantic love in social anxiety disorder
Lazarovich, H., Oren‐Yagoda, R., & Aderka, I. M. (2026) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2026.103158
Self-citationLi, Q., Wei, L., Zhang, Y., Zhou, R., & Hong, W. (2026) · Applied Psychology Health and Well-Being · doi:10.1111/aphw.70182
- Authors
- Asher, M., & Aderka, I. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Haifa (IL)
- Venue
- Journal of Abnormal Psychology
- Published
- 2021-02
- Volume
- 130
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 166-176
- ISSN
- 0021-843X (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1846
- OpenAlex
- W3116937980
- Cited by
- 21
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3
- FWCI
- 1.93
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Abnormal Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- social anxiety disorder, authenticity, self-authenticity, romantic relationships, cognitive models of anxiety
- MeSH terms
- Phobia, Social, Adult, Anxiety, Emotions, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Sex Factors
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
