Afraid of Praise? Linking Childhood Social Anxiety, Fear of Positive Evaluation, and Prosociality

• In Event: Poster Session 01
  In Poster Session: PS 01 Topic - Developmental Psychopathology

Abstract

Social anxiety is characterized by fear, nervousness, and avoidance in social situations and can emerge as early as middle childhood (Ollendick & Hirshfeld-Becker, 2002). A common perception is that social anxiety is characterized primarily by fear of negative evaluation – such as being rejected or criticized by social partners (Weeks et al., 2005). However, emerging theoretical models of social anxiety have proposed that socially anxious individuals may also possess fear of positive evaluation – such as receiving praise and positive recognition. Indeed, empirical work has revealed that fear of positive evaluation is a unique and distinct cognitive component of social anxiety in adults (Weeks et al., 2008). To our knowledge, the role of fear of positive evaluation in childhood social anxiety has not been examined. In the current study, we first examined the longitudinal relation between children’s social anxiety and fear of positive evaluation, and second, tested if this cognitive bias served as a mechanism linking social anxiety to lower levels of prosocial behavior. At Time 1 (T1), 125 children (Mage = 7.82 years, SD = 0.43) visited the laboratory and participated in a videotaped speech task, from which socially anxious behaviors were coded (i.e., latency to speak, speaking duration, gaze aversion, full body avoidance), and parents also reported on the child’s social anxiety symptoms (Child Screen for Anxiety and Related Disorders, Birmaher et al., 1997). Approximately one year later [Time 2 (T2); Mage = 8.77 years, SD = 0.44], parents completed questionnaires related to the child’s fear of positive evaluation (Brief Fear of Positive Evaluation; Lipton et al., 2014; Weeks et al., 2008) and prosocial behavior (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; Goodman, 1997). To address our objectives, we used a bootstrapping procedure with 10,000 resamples of the data with 95% confidence intervals (CI). The longitudinal mediation model depicted in Figure 1 indicated that higher levels of child social anxiety at T1 significantly predicted higher levels of fear of positive evaluation at T2, controlling for gender and age, B = 7.36, SE = 1.46, 95% CI [4.45, 10.16], p < .001. In turn, this increased fear of positive evaluation predicted lower levels of prosocial behavior at T2, controlling for gender and age, B = -0.033, SE = 0.15, 95% CI [-0.06, -0.002], p = .031. A significant indirect effect of child social anxiety at T1 on prosociality at T2 through fear of positive evaluation was found, B = -0.243, SE = 0.12, 95% CI [-0.52, -0.043], p = .042. These findings provide support that fear of positive evaluation is a cognitive component of social anxiety beginning in childhood, and may be a mechanism linking social anxiety to fewer prosocial behaviors. Because socially anxious children may fear positive evaluation from others, they may be less likely to engage in social acts that will be positively acknowledged and recognized, such as prosocial behaviors. Given that acting in a prosocial manner is an important element in developing social relationships, targeting socially anxious children’s fears related to positive evaluation may help to promote adaptive social behavior.

Authors

• Kristie Poole, Brock University
  Presenting Author

• Louis A. Schmidt, McMaster University
  Non-Presenting Author