Research Topic · Peer-Reviewed

Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety disorder, also termed social phobia, is a chronic anxiety condition defined by intense, persistent fear of social or performance situations in which a person anticipates scrutiny, negative evaluation, embarrassment or humiliation. Feared situations such as public speaking, meeting unfamiliar people or…

Curated from this journal's research 📚 12 peer-reviewed articles cited Cited 98× across the literature 🔖 ISSN 2574-612X 🗓 Reviewed July 2026

Overview

Social anxiety disorder, also termed social phobia, is a chronic anxiety condition defined by intense, persistent fear of social or performance situations in which a person anticipates scrutiny, negative evaluation, embarrassment or humiliation. Feared situations such as public speaking, meeting unfamiliar people or eating in public are avoided or endured with marked distress, accompanied by physiological arousal including blushing, sweating, trembling, palpitations and difficulty speaking. The disorder typically begins in childhood or adolescence and, if untreated, follows a persistent course associated with educational underachievement, occupational impairment, social isolation and elevated risk of depression and substance use. Cognitive models implicate biased attention toward perceived threat, heightened self-focus, anticipatory and post-event rumination, and overestimation of social danger, with contributing temperamental, genetic and environmental factors. Diagnosis is clinical, supported by validated severity scales, and first-line treatment combines cognitive behavioural therapy, including exposure and cognitive restructuring, with pharmacotherapy where appropriate. The peer-reviewed studies gathered here address related themes in clinical psychology and psychotherapy, including cognitive behavioural intervention for childhood anxiety and excessive blushing, psychological responses to illness, mindfulness and perceived stress, emotional repression and wellbeing, and psychosocial interventions, situating social anxiety within the wider study of anxiety and its evidence-based treatment.

Research published in this journal

12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.

How this research is being cited

The 12 articles above have been cited 98 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.

A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Social Anxiety Disorder, linking to each citing work.

Editorial oversight

Curated from peer-reviewed research published in International Journal of Psychotherapy Practice and Research (ISSN 2574-612X).

Journal editorial board
Karim Sedky · United States Tullio Scrimali · Italy DAMIANA SCUTERI · Italy

This page summarises published research for orientation; it is not medical or professional advice.