Pediatric Social Phobia

Abstract

Social phobia (SP) is a common psychological disorder characterized by excessive fear and avoidance of social situations. With a typical onset in late childhood/early adolescence, its course is chronic and unremitting if left untreated. SP has shown to have high psychiatric comorbidity, particularly with depression and other anxiety disorders. Neuroimaging studies show hyperactivity in the amygdala and prefrontal regions in response to social threat in children with social phobia. The past decade has seen a significant increase in validated measures used to screen for and diagnose SP. Effective treatments for pediatric SP include cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and SSRI pharmacotherapy, either alone or in combination. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)(chapter)