Is Social Anxiety Associated With Both Interpersonal Avoidance and Interpersonal Dependence?

Cognitive Therapy and Research, Vol. 29, No. 2, April 2005 ( CDOI: 10.1007/s10608-005-3163-4We tested the hypothesis that social anxiety is associated with both interpersonal

avoidance and interpersonal dependency. Specifically, we predicted that dependence

would be evident in developmentally salient close relationships upon which socially

anxious people may rely. One hundred sixty-eight young people undergoing the transition to adulthood completed self-report measures of anxiety and interpersonal patterns. Results indicated that both dependent and avoidant interpersonal styles in romantic relationships, but not other relationships, were uniquely associated with social

anxiety. These results remained when controlling for depressive symptoms, anxiety

sensitivity, and trait anxiety. Our findings illustrate that social anxiety is not characterized solely by interpersonal avoidance as current conceptualizations suggest. Implications for models and treatment of social anxiety are discussed.KEY WORDS: social anxiety; interpersonal dependency; avoidance; close relationships.Social anxiety, defined as either a diagnosable disorder or as elevated levels of

anxiety about social scrutiny, has been characterized by the avoidance of social situations due to fear of negative evaluation, and in line with this, research supports

the presence of avoidant styles of interacting among socially anxious people (e.g.,

Alden, Bieling, & Meleshko, 1995; Alden & Phillips, 1990; Dow, Bigland, & Glaser,

1985; Leary, Knight, & Johnson, 1987; Leary & Kowalski, 1995). However, another

line of research suggests that social anxiety is characterized by a dependent style

of relating to others. For example, socially anxious people often have higher levels of interpersonal dependency than individuals with other types of anxiety related

problems (e.g., Alnaes & Torgersen, 1988; Bornstein, 1995; Overholser, 1997). In-1The Shield Institute, Flushing, New York.2State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York.3Present address: Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Miami, Florida.4Present address: Department of Psychology, SUNY Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York.5Present address: Department of Psychology, SUNY Buffalo, Buffalo, New York.6Correspondence should be directed either to Joanne Davila, Department of Psychology, SUNY Stony

Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794-2500; e-mail: [email protected] or to J. Gayle

Beck, Department of Psychology, SUNY Buffalo, Park Hall, Buffalo, New York 14260; e-mail: [email protected] or to Kevin Darcy; e-mail: [email protected]/05/0400-0171/0 C 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2005), pp. 171186Is Social Anxiety Associated With Both Interpersonal

Avoidance and Interpersonal Dependence?Kevin Darcy,1,3,6 Joanne Davila,2,4,6 and J. Gayle Beck2,5,6172 Darcy, Davila, and...