What’s behind the link between social anxiety and low friendship satisfaction? Exploring the role of perceived closeness, self-disclosure, friendship maintenance behaviours, and relational reciprocity

Prior studies have found that high socially anxious (SA) individuals suffer from lower quality friendships and poorer social supports, which contribute to chronic feelings of loneliness and social isolation as well as diminished overall well-being and life satisfaction. The present research sought to clarify the relationship between SA and friendship satisfaction across different levels of friendship intimacy. We also aimed to gain insight into the associations between trait SA, friendship satisfaction, and key relationship characteristics that relational scientists have deemed important to the development and maintenance of friendships, including levels of self-disclosure, use of “friendship maintenance behaviours” (FMBs), and focus on relational reciprocity. To this end, we conducted two online studies, in which participants completed a variety of questionnaires in which they reported on their thoughts and behaviours in relationships with three specific individuals in their life representing different levels of friendship intimacy: a superficial friend (acquaintance), casual friend, and close (or best) friend. In study 1, we recruited 177 undergraduate students at the University of Waterloo, whereas in Study 2 we recruited 320 community-based North American adults through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Results revealed that for both undergraduate students and community adults, friendship satisfaction increased with increasing levels of friendship intimacy, but SA was consistently associated with lower friendship satisfaction. Irrespective of trait SA, both self-disclosure and use of FMBs increased as friendships deepened and increases in both were associated with greater friendship satisfaction. However, for student (but not community) participants, trait SA was marginally significant in moderating the relation between FMBs and friendship satisfaction, such that FMBs may be a more important for friendship satisfaction among higher SA individuals. Finally, participants reported that their focus on strict reciprocity decreased as relationships became more intimate, but individuals with higher SA endorsed more concern over reciprocity than individuals lower in SA within all types of friendships and greater preoccupation with reciprocity predicted lower friendship satisfaction. Lower friendship satisfaction, in turn, predicted reduced well-being across several domains. These findings offer preliminary insights into potential reasons for lower friendship satisfaction among high SA individuals, providing clues about potential targets for developing interventions that could be used to help socially anxious clients improve aspects of their relationships and, in turn, enhance their life satisfaction and overall well-being

Delayed contact sensitivity on the lips and oral mucosa due to propolis-case report

We report a rare case of a patient who was referred to the Department of Oral medicine in Zagreb, Croatia. The patient was 20 years old, otherwise healthy and not taking any medication. She presented with irregular erosions partially covered with pseudomembranes that involved both lips and retrocomissural mucosa. Discrete erosion was also noticed on her lower lingual gingiva in the area 42. She reported a propolis solution self-medication for treatment of recurrent aphthous ulcers. After ten days of propolis application, lip and oral lesions developed. Patch test to propolis was proven. We highlight the fact that some folk medicine medications, such as propolis, although being known for many decades to be helpful in various conditions, in some individuals might lead to unwanted side-effects due to its antigenic potential. Additionally, every colleague, during the differential diagnosis of the oral lesions must bear in mind unwanted reactions to folk medicine products

Coping with negative mental images in social anxiety disorder: Investigating the potential benefits of image morphing

Negative mental imagery contributes to symptom maintenance in social anxiety disorder (SAD). Here, we investigated the effects of image morphing, a brief mental strategy designed to facilitate access to positive images. Participants with SAD and healthy control (HC) participants were randomly assigned to receive either image morphing or supportive counseling. Although initial training and 1-week daily practice were successful in equipping morphing participants across groups with the required skill, those assigned to morphing failed to demonstrate differential improvements in positive affect, negative affect, or self-perception relative to control participants during a subsequent social stress task. Ancillary analyses revealed that the number of positive details contained in retrieved or morphed images prior to the task significantly predicted the level of positive affect reported after the task, but this effect was observed only for HC participants. We discuss the need for future research to refine innovative imagery-based psychotherapeutic strategies for social anxiety.This research was undertaken thanks to funding awarded to the third author from the Canada Research Chairs Program, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Evaluation of pretreatment serum interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor alpha as a potential biomarker for recurrence in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma

Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) constitutes 3 percent of all cancers with predominant occurrence in middle aged and elderly males. Tumour recurrence worsens disease prognosis and decreases quality of life in patients with OSCC. Proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) have been suggested to play a certain role in variety of tumours. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of pretreatment serum IL-6 and TNF-α levels on tumour recurrence in patients with OSCC in order to identify potential biomarkers for the early detection of disease recurrence. Material and Methods: The patients with newly diagnosed OSCC were treated and followed from the first visit from November 2006 until January 2008. Serum IL-6 and TNF-α concentrations were measured. The records of the patients were re-examined in July 2012 and data were recorded about cancer characteristics and tumour recurrence. Disease free survival was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier survival curves, log rank test and Cox proportional hazards regression. Results: Serum IL-6 was shown as an independent risk factor for tumour recurrence. Conclusions: Pretreatment serum IL-6 concentration may be a useful biomarker for identification of OSCC patients with increased risk of the disease recurrence

Practicing self-compassion weakens the relationship between fear of receiving compassion and the desire to conceal negative experiences from others

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Mindfulness. The final authenticated version is available online from Springer at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0792-0Disclosure of personal distress is linked to important inter- and intrapersonal benefits. However, people who tend to view self-disclosure as being risky are likely to conceal their feelings and forgo opportunities to receive valuable social support. One such group of people may be those who fear receiving compassion. The current study of 85 female undergraduates investigated (a) whether fear of receiving compassion would predict decreased distress disclosure, and (b) whether inducing a self-compassionate mindset could help to temper the association between fear of receiving compassion and perceived risks of revealing one’s distress to others. Participants completed self-report questionnaires to measure trait-like fears of receiving compassion as well as general distress disclosure tendencies. They were then enrolled in a laboratory experiment in which they recalled a personal past negative experience and were randomly assigned to write about it in a self-compassionate, self-esteem enhancing, or non-directive way. Finally, they rated how risky disclosing their experience would feel and disclosed the event in a written letter to another person. At a trait level, results indicated that the more participants feared receiving compassion, the less they tended to disclose. Moreover, self-compassion training – but neither of the comparison conditions – significantly weakened the positive link between fear of receiving compassion and perceived risks of distress disclosure. These novel findings suggest that practicing self-compassion could help to neutralize the maladaptive relationship between fear of receiving compassion and perceived risk of disclosure.Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Grant 435-2012-0017 || Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Grant 430-2013-000757|| Canada Research Chairs, Grant 950-22314

Is anxiety sensitivity a risk factor for, or complication of, alcohol misuse? A meta-analysis

Anxiety sensitivity (AS) refers to a dispositional tendency to respond to one's anxiety sensations with fear. Longstanding theoretical accounts implicate AS in alcohol misuse; however, the relationship between AS and alcohol misuse remains unclear. We addressed this by testing whether AS is a risk factor for, and/or complication of, alcohol misuse by conducting a rigorous meta-analysis using random effect models. Our literature search yielded 15 studies (N = 9459). Studies were included if they used a longitudinal design, assessed AS and alcohol misuse at baseline, and assessed alcohol misuse and/or AS at follow-up. Results failed to support AS as a risk factor for, or complication of, alcohol misuse. Researchers are encouraged to test if the link between AS and alcohol misuse emerges under specific conditions (e.g., elevated state anxiety)

Autobiographical memory retrieval and appraisal in social anxiety disorder

The final publication is available at Elsevier via https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2018.06.008 © 2018. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SADs; n = 41) and healthy controls (HCs; n = 40) were administered the Waterloo Images and Memories Interview, in which they described mental images that they tend to experience in both anxiety-provoking and non-anxiety-provoking social situations. Participants then recalled, in as much detail as possible, specific autobiographical memories of salient aversive and non-aversive social experiences that they believed led to the formation of these images. Audio-recorded memory narratives were transcribed and coded based on the procedure of the Autobiographical Interview, which provides a precise measure of the degree of episodic detail contained within each memory. Participants also rated the subjective properties of their recalled memories. Results revealed that participants across the two groups retrieved equivalent rates of both aversive and non-aversive social memories. However, SAD participants' memories of aversive events contained significantly more episodic detail than those of HCs, suggesting that they may be more highly accessible. Moreover, participants with SAD appraised their memories of aversive experiences as more distressing and intrusive than HCs, and perceived them as having a significantly greater influence on their self-perception. In contrast, no group differences were observed for memories of non-aversive events. Findings have the potential to shed new light on autobiographical memory in SAD, with implications for psychotherapeutic intervention.Canada Research Chairs ProgramSocial Sciences and Humanities Research Council of CanadaCanadian Institutes of Health Researc

Perfectionism and the five-factor model of personality: A meta-analytic review

Over 25 years of research suggests an important link between perfectionism and personality traits included in the five-factor model (FFM). However, inconsistent findings, underpowered studies, and a plethora of perfectionism scales have obscured understanding of how perfectionism fits within the FFM. We addressed these limitations by conducting the first meta-analytic review of the relationships between perfectionism and FFM traits (k = 77, N = 24,789). Meta-analysis with random effects revealed perfectionistic concerns (socially prescribed perfectionism, concern over mistakes, doubts about actions, discrepancy) were characterized by neuroticism (rc+ = .50), low agreeableness (rc+ = –.26), and low extraversion (rc+ = –.24); perfectionistic strivings (self-oriented perfectionism, personal standards, high standards) were characterized by conscientiousness (rc+ = .44). Several perfectionism-FFM relationships were moderated by gender, age, and the perfectionism subscale used. Findings complement theory suggesting perfectionism has neurotic and non-neurotic dimensions. Results also underscore that the (mal)adaptiveness of perfectionistic strivings hinges on instrumentation