Social communication deficits: specific associations with Social Anxiety Disorder

Halls, G., Cooper, P. J. and Creswell, C. (2015) Social communication deficits: specific associations with Social Anxiety Disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 172. pp. 38-42. ISSN 0165-0327 doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2014.09.040

Abstract/Summary

Background Social communication deficits are prevalent amongst children with anxiety disorders; however whether they are over-represented specifically among children with Social Anxiety Disorder has not been examined. This study set out to examine social communication deficits among children with Social Anxiety Disorder in comparison to children with other forms of anxiety disorder. Methods Parents of 404 children with a diagnosed anxiety disorder completed the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ; Rutter, M., Bailey, A., Lord, C., 2003. The Social Communication Questionnaire – Manual. Western Psychological Services, Los Angeles, CA). Children with a diagnosis of Social Anxiety Disorder (n=262) and anxious children without Social Anxiety Disorder (n=142) were compared on SCQ total and subscale scores and the frequency of participants scoring above clinical cut-offs. Results Children with Social Anxiety Disorder scored significantly higher than anxious children without Social Anxiety Disorder on the SCQ total (t(352)=4.85, p<.001, d=.55, r=.27), Reciprocal Social Interaction (t(351)=4.73, p<.001, d=.55, r=.27), communication (t(344)=3.62, p<.001, d=.43, r=.21) and repetitive, restrictive and stereotyped behaviors subscales (t(353)=3.15, p=.002, d=.37, r=.18). Furthermore, children with Social Anxiety Disorder were three times more likely to score above clinical cut-offs. Limitations The participants were a relatively affluent group of predominantly non-minority status. The social communication difficulties measure relied on parental report which could be influenced by extraneous factors. Conclusions Treatments for Social Anxiety Disorder may benefit from a specific focus on developing social communication skills. Future research using objective assessments of underlying social communication skills is required.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/38062
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Department of Psychology Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Development Interdisciplinary centres and themes > Winnicott Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Psychopathology and Affective Neuroscience Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Anxiety and Depression in Young People (AnDY)
Uncontrolled Keywords	Social Anxiety Disorder; Child; Social communication; Autism spectrum; Anxiety
Publisher	Elsevier
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