Supervisors info:
Αικατερίνη Παπανικολάου, Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Γεράσιμος Κολαΐτης, Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Γεώργιος Γιαννακόπουλος, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
Background. Attachment theory studies the emotional linked relationships between infants and their caregivers. The link between insecure attachment and the manifestation of anxiety and social anxiety disorder has been argued. Social anxiety affects about one in ten people while age-related data link adolescence as the onset period of the disorder. Research data correlating adolescents' social anxiety with attachment types is limited.
Aim. The present study attempted to investigate the linked relationship between parental attachment type and the signs of social anxiety in communal adolescent populations.
Methods. A cross sectional study, in which participated 351 students of 2nd and 3rd grade of Lyceum (M.O.16,5) from schools of Athens out of which 35,5% were boys and 64,6% were girls, was carried out. An improvised demographic questionnaire was used for data collection along with the Relationship Scale Questionnaire (RSQ) and the Social Phobia Inventory (SoPhI).
Results. A negative correlation was found between the symptoms of social anxiety and the secure attachment (rho=,51, p<,001) and a positive correlation with the dimensions of the fearful type ( rho=,61, p<,001) and the ambivalent type of attachment (rho=,37, p<,001). The predominance of girls in the symptoms of social anxiety was also concluded (U=7239, p<,001). Finally, it turned out that adolescents who participated in extracurricular activities did not show social anxiety (Β=-0,04, t(11)=-3,06, p=,002).
Conclusions. The findings of the present study can predict and lead to more effective preventive and therapeutic interventions of social anxiety disorder in adolescence. The participation of adolescents in extracurricular activities can be further studied as a protective factor for the appearance of social anxiety disorder.
Keywords:
Attachment theory, Attachment styles, Adolescence, Social anxiety
