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Sociophobia is more common in shy children
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
A common form of mental disorder that is more common in children who are shy and very attached to their parents.
Social phobia (social anxiety disorder) affects about 5% of teenagers aged 13 to 18, both boys and girls. Social phobia is one of the most common mental disorders that occurs among children and teenagers.
Western specialists from the National Institute of Mental Health and the Universities of Waterloo and Maryland conducted a long-term study involving more than 160 Europeans and Americans. All study participants were middle class and above. At the start of the study, all participants were four months old.
At first, specialists monitored children aged 1 year and 2 months and their parents in a laboratory setting. At first, scientists monitored the reactions of children who were separated from their parents. During the observations, scientists noted which children had a weak attachment to their parents, and which had a rather strong, dangerous attachment.
When in safe contact with their parents, the children returned to contact with their parents normally after their return. If such participants started to act up, they calmed down quite quickly after their parents came back.
If the connection with the parents was unsafe, then after the parents returned, the children did not notice them and avoided any contact with them, or reached out to them, made contact, but could not calm down for a long time after their arrival.
Next, the specialists observed the behavior of children aged 1 year 2 months, 2 years 4 months, and 7 years in different situations. The parents had to fill out questionnaires in which they described the behavior of their children in a new situation and when meeting their peers. As a result, the specialists determined how reserved and shy the experiment participants were. After the volunteers reached 14-17 years of age, the parents and their children filled out questionnaires, which allowed the specialists to assess the children's anxiety level.
Teens with social anxiety disorders were found to be more nervous than other children when attending parties and other places where there were many unfamiliar people. They also had difficulty speaking in front of a large crowd or participating in sports competitions.
During the study, experts noted that teenagers who had a dangerous attachment to their parents in childhood later grew up shy and suffered from mental disorders in adolescence, in particular from social phobia.
The scientists also found that the connection between shyness and social anxiety was strongest in those participants in the experiment who, as children, reacted with anger to their parents’ return after a long absence and were unable to calm down for a long time.
As a result, the scientists concluded that insecure attachment to parents and shyness in the future significantly increase the risk of developing social phobia.
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