Onset of Illness and Developmental Factors in Social Anxiety Disorder: Preliminary Findings from a Retrospective Interview

Although many advances have been made in the 7 treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), less is known 8 about its onset and factors related to its course and sever9 ity. The current study aimed to investigate developmental 10 factors (e.g., onset of illness, behavioral inhibition, socially 11 traumatic experiences) that research has suggested are re12 lated to the course and severity of SAD in a sample of adults 13 diagnosed with generalized SAD. Results showed behavioral 14 inhibition to be the only consistent predictor of current sever15 ity. Results for age of onset were consistent with previous 16 studies suggesting an early childhood and later adolescent 17 pattern. In addition, an earlier age of onset negatively im18 pacted improvement in cognitive behavior therapy for SAD, 19 but no other developmental factors were related to treat20 ment outcome. Future research using longitudinal designs 21 and multiple informants is needed to confirm findings from 22 retrospective reports. 23