CHILDHOOD SOCIAL PHOBIA: LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP

University Of Maryland College Pk Campus, College Park MD

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Abstract

Social phobia affects approximately 3-5 percent of children, and the prevalence rises as age increases. Youth with social phobia have significant fear of public speaking, reading or writing in public, going to parties, interacting with authority figures, using public restrooms and interacting in informal social gatherings. Clinical correlates include headaches or stomach aches, panic attacks, crying, avoidance, general anxiety, dysphoria, a sense of loneliness, and a very restricted range of social relationships. In extreme cases, school refusal or other behavioral problems may result. These children are deficient in the social skills necessary for normal social development. The disorder is chronic and onset prior to age 11 predicts non- recovery in adulthood. Also, other disorders frequently occur concurrently, most often generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder and specific phobia. Recent findings indicate that a new psychosocial treatment (Social Effectiveness Therapy for Children; SET-C) is efficacious for children ages 8-12, resulting in reduction in emotional distress and improvement in social functioning, and the treatment effects have been maintained for up to 6 months. However, the long-term effects of this treatment, or any other treatment, for childhood social phobia are unknown. The study proposed in this application is designed to extend the followup period for those children who were successfully treated with SET-C in our current study (MH53703). The study is designed to extend the followup period for these children to 5 years posttreatment. Assessments will include diagnostic interviews, self-report inventories, parental and clinician ratings, behavioral assessments of social skill, and daily diaries. This followup study will provide the longest followup to date for children treated for childhood social phobia. The assessment strategy is designed to allow for the determination of the durability of treatment, determination of risk factors for relapse or the development of other disorders, gauge academic, social, and emotional functioning. Data from this study will be particularly useful because the followup period will cover the children during the age of highest risk for social phobia (15-18 years).