For a study, researchers sought to understand that despite well-researched and efficient therapies for social anxiety disorder, most persons with the illness do not go to therapy and those who generally suffer for years before doing so. Therefore, understanding the factors that affected a person’s decision to seek therapy for social anxiety disorder was essential. Using the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (NESARC-III), a sizable representative adult sample from the United States, this study examined the relationships between treatment seeking for social anxiety disorder and demographic characteristics, psychiatric comorbidities, social anxiety disorder symptomatology, and specific feared situations. The DSM-V criteria were used to identify socially anxious people (n=1,255), and treatment seeking was assessed by receiving either professional help or medication to diminish social anxiety disorder symptoms. The results showed significant connections between treatment seeking, age, and co-occurring anxiety disorders. In addition, it’s significant that this research discovered a strong and distinctive link between increased treatment seeking for social anxiety disorder and certain symptoms like panic attacks (AOR=2.92). Anxiety over specific dreaded situations, such as speaking in front of small groups (AOR=1.78) and small groups in general (AOR=1.66), was 1 of these symptoms.
Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0887618522000895
