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Public speaking is one of the most commonly feared situations reported in both community and university samples. Despite extensive theoretical models and empirical studies aimed at delineating the underlying factors of Public Speaking Anxiety (PSA), the specific variables contributing to its onset remain incompletely characterised. The research involved 297 participants from an AmazonTurk survey, engaging with virtual public speaking scenarios differentiated by audience size, engagement levels, and room spatial dimensions. Participants' anticipated anxiety levels were quantitatively assessed across these scenarios, enabling a comprehensive exploration of the interaction between situational variables and PSA, thereby providing a framework to explore the influence of audience size, engagement, and spatial dimensions on PSA. The mixed-effect model revealed a significant interaction among audience size, audience engagement, and room spatial dimensions. Further analyses using principal axis factoring and multiple regression identified three main factors: F1 (Engagement in a Large Audience), F2 (Confinement or Evaluation Anxiety), and F3 (Audience Disengagement). These factors significantly predict PSA scores. This study reveals that PSA is influenced by a complex interplay of audience size, room dimensions, and audience engagement. The finding underscores the viable way to incorporate these situational variables in both empirical investigations and therapeutic interventions. Specifically, it introduces a novel framework for standardising audience size relative to room capacity. • Investigated factors influencing Public Speaking Anxiety (PSA) in virtual scenarios • Mixed-effect model shows interaction of audience size, room dimensions, and engagement. • Identified three key factors: Large Audience Engagement, Evaluation Anxiety, and Audience Disengagement • Factors significantly predict PSA scores in diverse public speaking situations. • Introduced a new framework for standardising audience size relative to room capacity [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is a highly heterogeneous disorder. To enlighten its heterogeneity, this study focused on recalled parental behavior and aimed to empirically identify if there are subgroups of SAD based on recalled parental behavior by means of cluster analysis. Further, the study investigated whether those subgroups differed on clinical, trauma, and personality variables. This study included 505 individuals diagnosed with SAD and 98 adult controls who were asked to fill out the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (ACE), and the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Cluster analysis determined whether there are meaningful SAD subgroups based on PBI. The clusters obtained were compared with each other and with the control group with regard to clinical, ACE, and TCI variables. The cluster analysis revealed two SAD clusters based on recalled parental behavior. SAD individuals in the first cluster (49.3 %) perceived their parents as intermediately caring, but not as overcontrolling. SAD individuals in the second cluster (50.7 %) perceived their parents as less caring and overcontrolling, reported more severe clinical symptoms and trauma, and had lower values in Self-Directedness and Cooperativeness. The present study is cross-sectional, therefore unable to confirm causal interpretations. Parenting is meaningful to enlighten the heterogeneity of SAD symptomatology and to specify treatment approaches as there are two meaningful subgroups in individuals with SAD corresponding to differences in clinical presentation, trauma, and personality. • Parental behavior is of great relevance for SAD and can uncover its heterogeneity. • Based on recalled parental behavior cluster analysis can identify two subgroups of SAD. • Subgroups account for 50.7 % and 49.3 % of 505 individuals with SAD. • Less care and overcontrol characterize the clinically more severe subgroup. • Subgroups differ significantly in character dimensions according to the TCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies comparing the brain functions of major depressive disorder (MDD) and social anxiety disorder (SAD) at the regional and network levels remain scarce. This study aimed to elucidate their pathogenesis using neuroimaging techniques and explore biomarkers that can differentiate these disorders. Resting-state fMRI data were collected from 48 patients with MDD, 41 patients with SAD, and 82 healthy controls. Differences in the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) among the three groups were examined to identify regions showing abnormal regional spontaneous activity. A seed-based functional connectivity (FC) analysis was conducted using ALFF results as seeds and different connections were identified between regions showing abnormal local spontaneous activity and other regions. The correlation between abnormal brain function and clinical symptoms was analyzed. Patients with MDD and SAD exhibited similar abnormal ALFF and FC in several brain regions; notably, FC between the right superior frontal gyrus (SFG) and the right posterior supramarginal gyrus (pSMG) in patients with SAD was negatively correlated with depressive symptoms. Furthermore, patients with MDD showed higher ALFF in the right SFG than HCs and those with SAD. Potential effects of medications, comorbidities, and data type could not be ignored. MDD and SAD showed common and distinct aberrant brain function patterns at the regional and network levels. At the regional level, we found that the ALFF in the right SFG was different between patients with MDD and those with SAD. At the network level, we did not find any differences between these disorders. [Display omitted] • Local brain activity and its connectivity during rest were compared in MDD and SAD. • MDD and SAD showed similar ALFF and rsFC in several brain regions. • In the right superior frontal gyrus, MDD had increased ALFF than SAD. • Different ALFF and rsFC were significantly correlated with clinical data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study focused on the emotional experience of anger among individuals with and without social anxiety disorder (SAD). Eighty-eight participants took part in the study, half (n = 44) met diagnostic criteria for SAD and half (n = 44) did not meet criteria for SAD. Participants completed a 21-day experience sampling measurement (ESM) in which they reported on daily social interactions and emotions. Using multilevel linear modeling we found that individuals with SAD experienced more anger compared to individuals without SAD. We also found a Diagnosis × Social Context interaction such that interactions with distant others were associated with elevated anger compared to interactions with close others for individuals with SAD but not for individuals without SAD. Finally, we found that for individuals with SAD (but not those without SAD) anger on a given day (day t) was associated with elevated anxiety on the following day (day t + 1), above and beyond previous anxiety, sadness and guilt (i.e. anxiety, sadness and guilt reported on day t). This suggests that anger may play a unique role in maintaining or exacerbating anxiety among individuals with SAD. Additional implications of our findings for models of psychopathology and for treatment of SAD are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mini Social Phobia Inventory (Mini-SPIN) is a short 3-item measure of social anxiety disorder (SAD). Using existing data, the current study examined the psychometric properties of the Mini-SPIN using a large, treatment seeking sample of children aged 6–16 years with data available for youth (n = 695, 170) and their caregivers (n = 703, 177) at pre-treatment and follow-up, respectively. The ability of the Mini-SPIN to discriminate between those with and without SAD was examined at pre-treatment and 6-month follow-up, across caregiver and child report. The criterion group validity, internal consistency and construct validity of the measure was also examined. Results revealed that at pre-treatment the Mini-SPIN demonstrated good discriminant validity in detecting cases of SAD from non-SAD (with cut-off of 4 on child report, and 6 on caregiver report). At 6-month follow-up, the discriminant ability of the Mini-SPIN was found to be less than acceptable for child reported scores, but acceptable for caregiver reported scores. The Mini-SPIN further demonstrated good criterion group validity, internal consistency and construct validity across caregiver and child report. Overall, the findings from the current study lend further support for the use of the Mini-SPIN as a screening tool for SAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: While abnormal responses to threat, including overgeneralization to conditioned fear, have been postulated to play a critical role in pathological anxiety, the relevance of previous findings to social anxiety disorder (SAD) is unclear. We investigated conditioned and generalized fear responses in patients with SAD using socially relevant stimuli. Methods: A total of 26 patients with SAD and 25 healthy controls participated in a fear conditioning and generalization paradigm consisting of two neutral faces as conditioned stimuli (CS+ or CS-) and an angry face with contemptuous comments as unconditioned stimuli. Eight morphed faces of two conditioned stimuli in each continuum were given to test generalization. Behavioral data and physiological responses were acquired. Results: Successful conditioning was observed in the risk ratings for both groups, while only a marginal indication of conditioning was noted in physiological measures. During the generalization phase, patients rated the risk higher than CS-when the stimuli close to CS- contained a portion of CS+ features. Larger skin conductance responses to this stimulus were linked to higher fear of negative evaluation. In addition, patients spent a longer time evaluating safe and ambiguous stimuli than healthy controls and exhibited consistently high levels of subjective arousal. Discussion: Taken together, our findings suggest that SAD patients may exhibit a tendency towards overgeneralization of fear responses and show distinct patterns in processing generalized threat stimuli compared to healthy controls. Even though overgeneralization was not evident in physiological measures, it is necessary to consider this behavioral characteristic in the clinical management of patients with SAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) commonly cooccurs with social anxiety disorder (SAD). With changes to diagnostic criteria of psychiatric disorders in the DSM-5, the present study sought to observe the associations between daily alcohol use, AUD, and social anxiety in a large sample of individuals with lifetime (N = 1255) and past-year (N = 908) SAD. The sample was derived from a large nationally representative study of adults in the United States. Of note, we found that at the symptom level, daily alcohol use and AUD were significantly related to panic attacks due to social anxiety, subjective distress, and impairment in relationships. Daily alcohol use and AUD were significantly associated with lifetime SAD severity; however, only past-year daily alcohol use was significantly related to past-year SAD severity. We also found that AUD was significantly related to greater treatment-seeking for SAD, and both AUD and daily alcohol use were significantly associated with lifetime history of suicide attempts even after covarying for SAD severity. The present study provides an updated investigation of alcohol use in individuals with DSM-5 SAD, and it underscores the significance of daily alcohol use as an important factor to consider in individuals with SAD. • Social anxiety is highly comorbid with alcohol use; further investigation using DSM-5 criteria is necessary. • We examined AUD and daily alcohol use in lifetime and past-year samples of individuals with SAD. • Daily alcohol use and AUD were significantly associated with lifetime SAD severity. • Only daily alcohol use was associated with past-year SAD. • AUD was related to greater odds of treatment seeking and suicide attempt history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temperamental trait behavioral inhibition (BI) is related to the development and maintenance of anxiety, particularly much so to social anxiety disorder. We investigated if BI and social anxiety disorder predicted cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) outcomes for youth anxiety. Youth (N = 179; Mage = 11.6 years) were assessed 4 years following a randomized controlled CBT effectiveness trial. BI was measured by the parent-reported Behavioral Inhibition Questionnaire at baseline. The outcomes were diagnostic recovery, youth- and parent-reported anxiety symptoms, and clinical severity at post-treatment, 1-year, and 4-year follow-up. Having social anxiety disorder negatively predicted diagnostic recovery and predicted higher clinical severity at all assessment points and was the only significant predictor of outcomes at 4-year follow-up. Higher BI negatively predicted diagnostic recovery and predicted higher clinical severity and parent-reported symptom levels at post-treatment and 1-year follow-up, and predicted higher youth-reported anxiety levels at 1-year follow-up. Higher BI was the only predictor of youth- and parent-reported anxiety symptoms. BI and social anxiety disorder seem to be unique predictors of CBT outcomes among youth with anxiety disorders. CBT adaptations may be indicated for youth with high BI and social anxiety disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the development of novel anxiolytics, the endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a promising therapeutic target primarily due to its ability to modulate synaptic plasticity and to act as a retrograde regulator of several neurotransmitter systems. Pharmacologically, it can target at CB1 and CB2 receptors (agonistitic or antagonistic activity) or by inhibiting FAAH and MAGL enzymes, which are involved in endocannabinoid degradation. The aim of this article is to provide a comprehensive systematic review of the clinical use of the endocannabinoid system as a pharmacotherapeutic target in anxiety spectrum disorders (posttraumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia, and panic disorder). Method: In May 2023, a systematic search through the Medline (PubMed) and Web of Science (WOS) databases was performed. The keywords used were "(cannabinoid* OR endocannabinoid* OR cannabidiol* OR tetrahydrocannabinol*) AND ((PTSD OR posttraumatic stress disorder) OR (GAD OR generalized anxiety disorder) OR (PA OR panic attack) OR (SAD OR social anxiety disorder))" in the "Title OR Abstract" fields. Exclusion criteria included non-English language records, case reports, conference abstracts, and preclinical studies. Thus, only prospective, retrospective, randomized controlled trials using fixed doses of cannabinoids or combinations of cannabinoid receptor ligands compared with placebo were included in the review article. Results: Using the Medline and Web of Science databases, 420 and 458 publications respectively were retrieved, of which 410 and 454 were excluded from the review for not meeting the inclusion criteria. Thus, ten publications that were relevant to the topic were included in the review. There were six studies dealing with cannabinoids in the treatment of PTSD and further four studies referring to the use of cannabinoids in the treatment of SAD and GAD. Clinical trials in the treatment of panic disorder have not yet been conducted. Conclusion: Based on the results of clinical trials published to date, it appears that endocannabinoids have been tested in recent years as an alternative or complementary therapy in the indications of anxiety disorders, particularly PTSD, GAD and SAD. Four randomised clinical trials, which investigated the effect of cannabinoids in the treatment of SAD, found cannabidiol to be effective. Out of the six open-label or retrospective studies evaluating the effect of cannabinoids in the treatment of PTSD, nabilone or tetrahydrocannabinol have demonstrated efficacy in three studies. The remaining three studies showed clinical effect however not statistically significant or assessable. The favourable results of the studies may be affected by the low number of subjects and, in some studies, the absence of a control group. In addition, some studies have drawn conclusions based on the dose-response relationship with the use of measures such as neuroimaging and subjective scores on anxiety assessments, without assessing plasma levels of administered cannabinoids. Thus, although the available data suggest a promising potential for cannabinoids in the treatment of anxiety disorders, we should interpret the results with caution for the reasons mentioned above. Thus to draw evidence-based conclusions for clinical practice, it will be necessary to wait for the results of well-designed prospective, randomized, controlled trials to confirm the findings definitively [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Shame is an important emotion in social anxiety disorder (SAD). However, gender differences in shame, as well as the temporal relationship between shame and anxiety in SAD have not been examined. The present study aimed to address these gaps. Methods: Participants were 88 individuals (44 with SAD and 44 without SAD) who completed a 21-day experience sampling measurement (ESM). Specifically, participants reported on their emotions once a day at random times. Results: Hierarchical Linear Modeling indicated that individuals with SAD reported significantly more shame compared to individuals without SAD. In addition, women reported significantly more shame compared to men. Importantly, gender differences in shame were more pronounced among individuals with SAD compared to those without SAD. Finally, we found that for individuals without SAD, shame on a given day significantly predicted anxiety on the following day among men but not among women, whereas for individuals with SAD, shame on a given day significantly predicted anxiety on the following day among both men and women. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that shame may play a role in the maintenance of SAD. In addition, our findings suggest that social anxiety disorder may impact women's experience of shame more than men's. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Social fear resiliency and susceptibility are associated with microbiota community composition. • Social fear response is strongly correlated with microbiota variability. • Alterations align with gene sets associated with behaviour, inflammation and immunity, and microbe-host interaction. Social anxiety disorder is a common psychiatric condition that severely affects quality of life of individuals and is a significant societal burden. Although many risk factors for social anxiety exist, it is currently unknown how social fear sensitivity manifests biologically. Furthermore, since some individuals are resilient and others are susceptible to social fear, it is important to interrogate the mechanisms underpinning individual response to social fear situations. The microbiota-gut-brain axis has been associated with social behaviour, has recently been linked with social anxiety disorder, and may serve as a therapeutic target for modulation. Here, we assess the potential of this axis to be linked with social fear extinction processes in a murine model of social anxiety disorder. To this end, we correlated differential social fear responses with microbiota composition, central gene expression, and immune responses. Our data provide evidence that microbiota variability is strongly correlated with alterations in social fear behaviour. Moreover, we identified altered gene candidates by amygdalar transcriptomics that are linked with social fear sensitivity. These include genes associated with social behaviour (Armcx1 , Fam69b , Kcnj9 , Maoa , Serinc5 , Slc6a17 , Spata2 , and Syngr1), inflammation and immunity (Cars , Ckmt1 , Klf5 , Maoa , Map3k12 , Pex5 , Serinc5 , Sidt1 , Spata2), and microbe-host interaction (Klf5 , Map3k12 , Serinc5 , Sidt1). Together, these data provide further evidence for a role of the microbiota-gut-brain axis in social fear responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Although static abnormalities of functional brain networks have been observed in patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD), the brain connectome dynamics at the macroscale network level remain obscure. We therefore used a multivariate data‐driven method to search for dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) alterations in SAD. Methods: We conducted spatial independent component analysis, and used a sliding‐window approach with a k‐means clustering algorithm, to characterize the recurring states of brain resting‐state networks; then state transition metrics and FNC strength in the different states were compared between SAD patients and healthy controls (HC), and the relationship to SAD clinical characteristics was explored. Results: Four distinct recurring states were identified. Compared with HC, SAD patients demonstrated higher fractional windows and mean dwelling time in the highest‐frequency State 3, representing "widely weaker" FNC, but lower in States 2 and 4, representing "locally stronger" and "widely stronger" FNC, respectively. In State 1, representing "widely moderate" FNC, SAD patients showed decreased FNC mainly between the default mode network and the attention and perceptual networks. Some aberrant dFNC signatures correlated with illness duration. Conclusion: These aberrant patterns of brain functional synchronization dynamics among large‐scale resting‐state networks may provide new insights into the neuro‐functional underpinnings of SAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cognitive therapy for social anxiety disorder (CT-SAD) has extensive empirical support and is recommended in several national guidelines. However, ensuring access to evidence-based psychological therapies such as CT-SAD remains a global challenge. An internet-delivered version of this treatment protocol (iCT-SAD) has recently been developed in the UK as a way to overcome this challenge, demonstrating comparable outcomes to face-to-face CT-SAD whilst requiring less therapist time per client. Initial findings also suggest its cross-cultural transferability, but the previous studies in other cultural settings used the English language programme and only included English-fluent participants as a second language. It is not yet known what outcomes can be achieved once the programme has been translated and adapted for a different cultural context. Therefore, this trial aims to evaluate the clinical efficacy of Japanese iCT-SAD when combined with treatment as usual (TAU) in clients with SAD. Methods: This two-arm, parallel-group, superiority randomised controlled trial will recruit 60 Japanese participants with SAD, randomly assigning them to either Japanese iCT-SAD + TAU or TAU alone at a ratio of 1:1. The primary outcome measure is the self-report Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, and secondary.outcomes include other measures of social anxiety symptoms and processes, general mood and functioning, and response to treatment. We will also assess treatment acceptability and gather participant feedback. Assessments will take place at baseline (week 0), mid-treatment (week 8), and post-treatment (week 15), with a further 3-month follow-up (week 27) for the iCT-SAD + TAU arm. The primary analyses will be conducted on an intent-to-treat basis, comparing the primary and secondary outcome measures between groups using linear mixed-effect models, along with additional mediation analysis. Discussion: Investigating the efficacy of translated and culturally adapted iCT-SAD in different cultural contexts is an important step in evaluating the global reach of internet interventions. This trial will provide valuable insights into the effects of iCT-SAD combined with usual care, and how this treatment could be delivered in routine clinical settings in Japan. Trial registration: International Standard Randomized Controlled Trials (ISRCTN), ISRCTN82859645, registered on January 19, 2024. UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN-CTR), UMIN000052702, registered on November 6, 2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) experience overall emotion regulation difficulties, but less is known about the long-term role of such difficulties in cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for SAD. Forty-six patients with SAD receiving internet-delivered CBT, and matched healthy controls (HCs; n = 39), self-reported the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS-SR), and participated in anticipatory speech anxiety behavioral experiments. Patients were measured at seven time points before, during and after CBT over a total period of 28 months, and HCs at two timepoints. Disaggregated growth curve models with a total of 263 observations were used, as well as intra-class correlation coefficients and regression models. Patients’ LSAS-SR and DERS ratings were reliable (ICC = .83 and .75 respectively), and patients, relative to controls, showed larger difficulties in emotion regulation at pre-treatment (p < .001). During CBT, within-individual improvements in emotion regulation significantly predicted later LSAS-SR reductions (p = .041, pseudo-R2 = 43%). Changes in emotion regulation may thus be important to monitor on an individual level and may be used to improve outcomes in future developments of internet-delivered CBT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) have depressive symptoms that meet criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD). In our study, we examined the temporal relationship between symptoms of social anxiety and symptoms of depression during the course of an 11-week internet-delivered cognitive behavioral treatment (ICBT) for SAD (n = 170). Specifically, we investigated whether weekly changes in social anxiety mediated changes in depression, changes in depression mediated changes in anxiety, both or neither. In addition, we compared individuals with SAD and MDD (n = 50) and individuals with SAD and no MDD (n = 120) to examine the role of MDD as a moderator of the social anxiety—depression relationship. Lower-level mediational modeling revealed that changes in social anxiety symptoms mediated changes in depression symptoms to a greater extent than vice versa. In addition, mediation among individuals with SAD and MDD was significantly greater compared to individuals with SAD and no MDD. Our findings suggest that ICBT is effective in treating individuals with SAD regardless of comorbid depression, and that focusing ICBT interventions on social anxiety can lead to significant reductions in depression among individuals with SAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]