Cognition, Imagery and Coping among Adolescents with Social Anxiety and Phobia: Testing the Clark and Wells Model in the Population

Abstract

Social anxiety associates with observer-perspective imagery and safety behaviours in adolescence. Adolescents with clinical social phobia report frequent negative self-focused thoughts. However, such negative cognitions focused on self do not associate to self-reported social anxiety. The cognitive model of social phobia (Clark & Wells, 1995) is applicable to adolescents.