Low implicit self-esteem and dysfunctional automatic associations in social anxiety disorder

• Published in: Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry Vol. 44; no. 2; pp. 262 - 270
• Main Authors: Glashouwer, Klaske A, Vroling, Maartje S, de Jong, Peter J, Lange, Wolf-Gero, de Keijser, Jos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Anxiety Disorders - psychology; Anxiety disorders. Neuroses; Association; Automatic associations; Biological and medical sciences; Case-Control Studies; Cues; Dysfunctional; Female; Humans; Implicit beliefs; Implicit self-esteem; Male; Medical sciences; Panic Disorder - psychology; Panic disorders; Phobia; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychiatry; Psychological Tests; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Self Concept; Selfesteem; Sex Characteristics; Single-target implicit association test; Social anxiety; Social anxiety disorder; Social Behavior; Social cues; Social anxiety disorder; Automatic associations; Single-target implicit association test; Implicit self-esteem; Human; Social phobia; Anxiety disorder; Implicit Association Test Greenwald et al; Associative relation; Psychometrics; Self esteem
• ISSN: 0005-7916; 1873-7943
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2012.11.005

Abstract Background and Objectives Negative automatic associations towards the self and social cues are assumed to play an important role in social anxiety disorder. We tested whether social anxiety disorder patients ( n  = 45) showed stronger dysfunctional automatic associations than non-clinical controls ( n  = 45) and panic disorder patients ( n  = 24) and whether there existed gender differences in this respect. Methods We used a single-target Implicit Association Test and an Implicit Association Test to measure dysfunctional automatic associations with social cues and implicit self-esteem, respectively. Results Results showed that automatic associations with social cues were more dysfunctional in socially anxious patients than in both control groups, suggesting this might be a specific characteristic of social anxiety disorder. Socially anxious patients showed relatively low implicit self-esteem compared to non-clinical controls, whereas panic disorder patients scored in between both groups. Unexpectedly, we found that lower implicit self-esteem was related to higher severity of social anxiety symptoms in men, whereas no such relationship was found in women. Conclusions These findings support the view that automatic negative associations with social cues and lowered implicit self-esteem may both help to enhance our understanding of the cognitive processes that underlie social anxiety disorder.