The legacy of social anxiety-linked negative expectancy: A pathway from pre-event negative expectancies to post-event negative thinking
Basanovic, J; Kowal, L; Millward, S; et al.MacLeod, C
Date: 17 December 2023
Article
Journal
Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry
Publisher
Elsevier
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Abstract
Background and objectives: Following engagement in a social event people with heightened vulnerability to social
anxiety report elevated levels of negative thinking about the event, and this post-event negative thinking is
implicated in the maintenance of social anxiety vulnerability. It has also been established that heightened ...
Background and objectives: Following engagement in a social event people with heightened vulnerability to social
anxiety report elevated levels of negative thinking about the event, and this post-event negative thinking is
implicated in the maintenance of social anxiety vulnerability. It has also been established that heightened social
anxiety vulnerability is associated with disproportionately negative expectations of upcoming social events.
However, contribution of social anxiety-linked pre-event negative expectancy to post-event negative thinking has
not been directly investigated. The objective of the present study was to test the hypothesis that the relationship
between social anxiety vulnerability and post-event negative thinking is mediated by pre-event negative expectancies that drive increased state anxiety at the time of encountering the event.
Methods: One-hundred and ten participants who varied in social anxiety vulnerability completed a simulated job
interview. Participants reported negativity of expectancies before the event, state anxiety experienced at the time
of encountering the event, and post-event negative thinking across the seven days following the event.
Results: Analyses revealed elevated social anxiety predicted increased negative post-event thinking. The association between social anxiety and post-event negative thinking was fully mediated by a mediation pathway
involving pre-event negative expectancies and state anxiety at the time of encountering the interview event.
Limitations: The study used a laboratory-based social experience, and conclusions could usefully be tested in the
context of natural social events.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that social anxiety-linked variation in pre-event negative expectancy may
contribute to post-event negative thinking following a social event via its impact on state anxiety.
Psychology
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's licence is described as © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).