Social Anxiety Disorder in Children and Adolescents: An overview of psychological treatments.

Abstract

Social anxiety disorder is characterized by persistent fear and avoidance of social situations where the individual is afraid of being negatively evaluated by others. It is one of the most prevalent and debilitating disorders, its onset is usually in adolescence, and it tends to follow a chronic course if left untreated. Therefore, its early detection and treatment may prevent future difficulties and comorbidities. Cognitive and behavioural interventions are among the most efficacious interventions in anxiety disorders in general and in social anxiety disorder in particular. This paper will present an overview of individual and group interventions applied to children and adolescents, presenting their theoretical base, structure and efficacy results.