Self-presentational features in childhood social anxiety

Theoretical and clinical models of social anxiety highlight links with self-presentational concerns and behavior, but little is known about these features in early development. In the present investigation, a nonclinical sample of 196 children aged 8–9 years completed self-report measures of social anxiety, depressive symptoms, and usage of self-presentational tactics, as well as a self-description task measuring the capacity to differentiate between audiences known to have different preferences. After controlling for concurrent depressive symptoms, social anxiety was associated with increased usage of self-presentational tactics, but also with poorer scores on the audience differentiation task. A follow-up assessment of groups identified as highly socially anxious or non-socially anxious showed that these patterns were durable over 12 months. Directions for future research on the social developmental trajectory of children with social anxiety are suggested.