All in the mind's eye? : The observer perspective and the applicability of the adult models of social phobia to children

Abstract

Social phobia is one of the most common anxiety disorders in childhood.  However, there is currently no widely used and accepted model of social phobia for young people.  In the literature reviews, the adult models of social phobia are discussed and researched based on them reviewed.  Current models of anxiety and social anxiety in children are then considered and the research conducted on children is described.  Comparisons between the adult and child models are made and suggestions for a more comprehensive model of social phobia for children, based on the Clark and Wells (1995) adult model of social phobia, are proposed.

As part of their model, Clark and Wells (1995) propose that negative self-images, often visual images seen and recalled from the perspective of an observer (OP), are an important maintaining factor in social phobia.  The OP can be contrasted with a field perspective (FP; where visual images are recalled from an individual’s perspective).  The present empirical study explored the relevance of the OP to children.  Fifty-eight children (aged 7 – 14 years) recalled memories of social and physical situations and were asked to label the perspective they used (OP or FP).  Social anxiety, memory distress and memory age were also measured.  Children did recall OP memories.  OP was not related to child’s age, social anxiety or social memories.  Interestingly, OP was related to older social memories, but not to memory distress.  Possible reasons for the findings and the potential implications for the models of social phobia in child development are discussed.

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