Cognitive Components of Social Anxiety

117 Pages·2016·2.76 MB·English

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Dissertations Graduate College
12-1999
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Jeffery Alan McNeil
Western Michigan University
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McNeil, Jeffery Alan, "Cognitive Components of Social Anxiety: A Comparison of Elderly and Young
Adults" (1999). Dissertations. 1519.
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COGNITIVE COMPONENTS OF SOCIAL ANXIETY: A COMPARISON
OF ELDERLY AND YOUNG ADULTS
by
Jefi&ey Alan McNeil
A Dissertation
Submitted to the
Faculty of The Graduate College
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the
Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Counselor Education
and Counseling Psychology
Western Mchigan University
Kalamazoo, Michigan
December 1999
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COGNITIVE COMPONENTS OF SOCIAL ANXIETY: A COMPARISON
OF ELDERLY AND YOUNG ADULTS
Jeffrey Alan McNeil, Ph.D.
Western Michigan University, 1999
The present study investigated the underlying cognitive elements of social
anxiety in elderly and young adult samples. The young adult participants in this study
were 99 undergraduate students from a Midwestern university, recruited through
scheduled undergraduate classes from both the Communication and Education
Departments. Fifty elderly participants from two independent living senior residence
centers were recruited through organizational meetings and contacts coordinated
through the housing director or the wellness director. One senior residential center
was located in the Midwest, while the other was in the Southeast. The study
employed well recognized self-report cognitive measures to assess social anxiety: the
Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (FNE), Self-Consciousness Scale (SCS), and the
Irrational Beliefs Test (IBT). The Social Anxiety subscale of the Self-Consciousness
Scale was used as the dependent variable, and the Social Avoidance and Distress
Scale was employed to calculate convergent validity for the elderly sample. The Brief
Symptom Inventory (BSI) was administered to assess psychological symptoms in the
elderly sample. The Somatization subscale of the BSI was used to test for social
anxiety with the elderly population. The Depression subscale (BSI-D) was used as a
variable in the analysis of cognitive differences of social anxiety between the elderly
and young adult sample. Regression analyses were employed to investigate the
cognitive differences between the elderly and young adults on measures of social
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anxiety and to identify the cognitive components of social anxiety for both samples.
It was found that social anxiety levels for young and elderly adults were not
significantly different. In comparison to elderly adults, young adults reported
significantly higher levels of the cognitive components of social anxiety. It was
discovered that the cognitive components explained a greater amount of the variance
in social anxiety scores for the elderly adult participants than that of the young adult
participants. The cognitive specificity of social anxiety was confirmed for this sample
of elderly adults, while the sample of young adults’ scores on depression and anxiety
were significantly correlated. Discussion concerning the results of the investigation is
presented and integrated with the current literature. Implications for clinical
applications and future research are also provided.
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Copyright by
Jeffrey Alan McNeil
1999
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to dedicate this dissertation to my late grandmother, Blanche S.
Michelson, my intellectual mentor and best friend. She inspired me to pursue higher
education and encouraged me to develop my critical thinking abilities. I extend my
heartfelt gratitude to my wife, Teresa, for her love, insight, and patience. Thanks to
my parents for their love, inspiration, and unwavering support. I would like to
express my appreciation to Dr. Robert Betz and the other members of my committee
for their feedback, input, and guidance. Special thanks is also extended to Garin Ness
for her hard work and professionalism. Finally, I would like to recognize Connie
Bowman for her valuable assistance and support in the recruitment of participants.
Jeffrey Alan McNeil
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.................................................................................... ü
LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................. vü
CHAPTER
I. INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW.................................. 1
Introduction .......................................................................................... 1
Elderly and Anxiety....................................................................... 1
Cognitive Model ............................................................................ 2
Literature Review.................................................................................. 3
Social Anxiety and the Elderly....................................................... 3
General Cognitive Tenets of Social Anxiety.................................. 5
Social Anxiety and Social Phobia: Implications From
Clinical Samples............................................................................. 8
Social Anxiety in the Elderly Compared to Young Adults 10
Conclusion................................. 16
Statement of Purpose ............................................................................ 17
Hypotheses............................................................................................ 18
n. METHOD .................................................................................................. 20
Power Analysis for Sample Size ........................................................... 20
Instrumentation...................................................................................... 21
The Brief Symptom Inventory....................................................... 22
The Revised Self-Consciousness Questionnaire:
Public Self-Consciousness Subscale and
Social Anxiety Subscale ............................................................... 24
iii
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