Evaluation of Children With Selective Mutism and Social Phobia: A Comparison of Psychological and Psychophysiological Arousal

Young, Brennan J.; Bunnell, Brian E.; Beidel, Déborah C.

doi:10.1177/0145445512443980

Cited by 56 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…On the item level, adolescents with SM also perceived themselves as significantly more shy than those with SP and as having more deficits in social and communicative skills. These findings at least partially contradict prior studies, which noted similar social anxiety rates in SM and SP or even mixed anxiety groups and healthy controls in parent ratings or self-report [12,16,17,19,20,23]. Our discrepant findings might be in part explained by the fact that previous studies included children with SP in their mixed anxiety groups, hence elevating social anxiety means.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 98%

“…It is unclear whether children with SM suffer from higher social anxiety levels than those with SP, as previous studies produced inconsistent results. Inconsistencies seem to be attributed to different raters, but also due to small sample sizes [16,17], variable age and control groups examined and methods applied. Four studies so far compared SM and SP [12,15,16,17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Inconsistencies seem to be attributed to different raters, but also due to small sample sizes [16,17], variable age and control groups examined and methods applied. Four studies so far compared SM and SP [12,15,16,17]. Although conclusions are additionally limited by missing inclusion of preschool children and older adolescents [12,15,17], the findings justly enhanced the consensus on the close relation between SM and SP, resulting in the change of the DSM-5 classification of SM.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whereas clinicians have consistently rated children with SM as more socially anxious than children with SP [12,15,16], self-report data throughout have yielded similar anxiety rates [12,15,16,17]. Moreover, no difference in self-reported anxiety was found during an elaborate peer interaction task between SM and SP groups [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, no difference in self-reported anxiety was found during an elaborate peer interaction task between SM and SP groups [12]. Furthermore, children with SM showed similar or even lower psychophysiological arousal levels during behavioral tasks than children with SP or controls [16]. However, in both studies most participants with SM failed to communicate verbally so that a specific avoidance mechanism with low anxiety and psychophysiological arousal has been repeatedly postulated [12,16,18], which may bias the results.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Selective Mutism: The Fraternal Twin of Childhood Social Phobia

et al. 2016

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Background: Selective mutism (SM) is an anxiety disorder with a close link to childhood social phobia (SP). Our studies compare behavioral problem profiles in children and adolescents with SM and SP and control groups and assess the comorbidity patterns of SM and SP. Methods: Participants aged 3-18 years with SM (n = 95), SP (n = 74) and internalizing disorders (INT, n = 46) and a typically developing control group (CG, n = 119) were assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL); adolescents were additionally assessed with the Youth Self-Report (YSR). Comorbidity was assessed in SM and SP participants with a diagnostic interview. Results: SP was detected in 94% of children with SM. SM participants showed different behavioral and psychiatric symptoms than SP: they were more frequently affected by lifetime separation anxiety disorder (SM: 45%, SP: 26%) and oppositional defiant disorder (SM: 22%, SP: 5%), and less by generalized anxiety disorder (SM: 6%, SP: 20%) and major depression (SM: 12%, SP: 26%). Adolescents with SM showed high rates of agoraphobia (SM 27%; SP 10%) and more social problems (YSR), and were more withdrawn (CBCL, YSR) than those with SP alone. Specific behavioral problems of SM and SP compared to INT and CG were observed. Conclusion: SM and SP represent separate but closely related disorders, distinct from other INT and CG, with specific patterns of lifetime comorbidities.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Selective Mutism: The Fraternal Twin of Childhood Social Phobia

et al. 2016

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Selective Mutism

Kearney

Ross

2015

The Encyclopedia of Clinical Psychology

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Selective mutism (SM) is a persistent and debilitating condition in which a child fails to speak in public situations where speaking is expected. It is commonly linked to social anxiety, mild oppositional behavior, and developmental problems. The assessment of SM can involve various methods but the general goal is to evaluate the parameters and function of a child's failure or refusal to speak. Primary assessment methods include interviews, questionnaires, behavioral observations, and formal testing. Treatments for youths with SM are designed to increase the audibility and frequency of speech in public contexts, such as school. Common treatments include exposure‐based practices integrated with stimulus fading, self‐modeling, as well as shaping and prompting. Supplementary procedures include social skills and language training, anxiety‐management techniques, parent‐based contingency management, and family therapy.

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Physiological correlates of anxiety in childhood and adolescence: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Ko,

Jones,

Francis

et al. 2024

Stress and Health

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Anxiety is one of the most prevalent problems that affects children and adolescents. The vast majority of diagnostic tools for anxiety depend on written or verbal reports from children and adolescents or their significant others. The validity and reliability of such reports can be compromised by their subjective nature. Thus, there is growing interest in whether anxiety can be indexed with objective physiological measures. The key aim of this systematic review and meta‐analysis was to determine which physiological measures are most reliably associated with elevated levels of anxiety amongst children and adolescents. Online databases (e.g., PsycINFO, Embase, Medline) were searched for relevant studies according to pre‐determined criteria. Twenty‐five studies comprising 2502 participants (N = 1160 with high anxiety) met inclusion, identifying 11 groups of physiological measures. Our meta‐analysis revealed that skin conductance level is the most sensitive measure of anxiety (d = 0.83), followed by electromyography (EMG) measures (d = 0.71) and skin conductance response (d = 0.58). However, the included studies varied in terms of subjective measures, study designs, experimental task measures, and physiological measures. Consideration of these differences in methodology offer potential directions for future research.

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Evaluation of Children With Selective Mutism and Social Phobia: A Comparison of Psychological and Psychophysiological Arousal

Cited by 56 publications

References 42 publications

Selective Mutism: The Fraternal Twin of Childhood Social Phobia

Selective Mutism: The Fraternal Twin of Childhood Social Phobia

Selective Mutism

Physiological correlates of anxiety in childhood and adolescence: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

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