Social Worries and Difficulties: Autism and/or Social Anxiety Disorder?

Abstract

(from the chapter) Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is the third most common psychiatric disorder, with 2.8% of individuals meeting diagnostic criteria in a 12-month period and lifetime prevalence estimated to be between 5.0 and 12.1% among adults. In children, estimated prevalence of SAD is 3-4%, and among adolescents, prevalence is approximately 9%. While epidemiologic studies tend to find higher rates of SAD in females, the distribution of males and females in treatment-seeking samples is approximately equal. Most individuals with SAD report onset in late childhood or adolescence. The mean age of onset is between 15.1 and 16.5 years, with a median of 12.5-14 years. Furthermore, the distribution of age of onset appears to be bimodal, with peaks at younger than 5 years of age and between the ages of 13 and 15 and it appears that very few people develop SAD after the early- to the mid-20s. Untreated SAD runs a fairly chronic course with some waxing and waning of symptoms over time. In studies, mean duration of lifetime SAD in adults is 16.3 years, with the mean duration of avoidance being 15.3 years and mean duration of social distress being 20.9 years. The duration of symptoms is likely related to the fact that most individuals with SAD delay seeking treatment; there was an average of 12 years between mean age of onset and mean age of first treatment. This chapter discusses social anxiety disorder and how it relates to autism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)