What the study found
Repeated exposure to a social-evaluative task was associated with better self-ratings in children with social anxiety disorder, but they still viewed their own performance more negatively than healthy peers. Observer ratings of performance did not show group differences or changes across sessions.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors conclude that negative self-appraisal is a core feature of childhood social anxiety disorder and may be partly modifiable. They suggest that repeated exposure to social stress, together with brief support, may modestly improve self-perception, and they say targeting distorted self-appraisals remains a key clinical focus.
What the researchers tested
The study included 76 children from an urban setting in Germany: 33 with social anxiety disorder and 43 healthy controls. In two sessions one week apart, all children gave a 5-minute speech to a peer video audience; in the second session, they received either brief parental support or a self-instruction during preparation.
What worked and what didn't
Self-rated performance improved across sessions in both groups. Children with social anxiety disorder consistently rated themselves more negatively than healthy controls, while three independent blinded coders rated performance similarly across groups and sessions.
What to keep in mind
No differential effects were found between the two support types, so the results do not show that one brief support strategy worked better than the other. The abstract also suggests that the improvement may reflect exposure itself rather than any specific support, and it does not describe additional limitations beyond the available study summary.
Key points
- Children with social anxiety disorder rated their performance more negatively than healthy controls.
- Self-rated performance improved across two speech sessions in both groups.
- Observer-rated performance did not differ between groups or across sessions.
- Brief parental support and self-instruction did not show different effects.
- The authors describe negative self-appraisal as a core feature of childhood social anxiety disorder.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Repeated exposure improved self-ratings in childhood social anxiety disorder
- Authors:
- Nadine Vietmeier, Brunna Tuschen-Caffier, Julia Asbrand
- Institutions:
- Bielefeld University, Hochschule Bielefeld, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, University of Freiburg, Friedrich Schiller University Jena
- Publication date:
- 2026-03-12
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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