Does centrality in a cross-sectional network suggest intervention targets for social anxiety disorder? (Links to an external site)

Objective: Network analysis allows us to identify the most interconnected (i.e., central) symptoms, and multiple authors have suggested that these symptoms might be important treatment targets. This is because change in central symptoms (relative to others) should have greater impact on change in all other symptoms. It has been argued that networks derived from cross-sectional data may help identify such important symptoms. We tested this hypothesis in social anxiety disorder.

Unreliability as a threat to understanding psychopathology: The dot-probe task as cautionary tale. (Links to an external site)

The use of unreliable measures constitutes a threat to our understanding of psychopathology, because advancement of science using both behavioral and biologically oriented measures can only be certain if such measurements are reliable. Two pillars of the National Institute of Mental Health’s portfolio-the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative for psychopathology and the target engagement initiative in clinical trials-cannot succeed without measures that possess the high reliability necessary for tests involving mediation and selection based on individual differences.

Interpersonal impairment conferred by generalized social anxiety disorder is evident on a behavioral economic task. (Links to an external site)

Abstract: Although social anxiety disorder appears to confer interpersonal impairment in friendships, evidence beyond self-report is minimal. We used the flexible iterated prisoner’s dilemma as a simulated interaction with a friend to determine whether generalized social anxiety disorder conferred constrained behavior characterized by low warmth (coldness), nonassertiveness, and reduced responsiveness.

Social phobia and perceived friendship quality. (Links to an external site)

Abstract: Although it is clear that people with social phobia have interpersonal impairment, evidence that social phobia (as opposed to other mental disorders) affects friendship in particular is lacking. Two large epidemiological datasets were used to test whether diagnosis of social phobia is related to perceived friendship quality above and beyond perceived family relationship quality, diagnosis of other mental disorders, and a variety of demographic variables.

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