Am I Experiencing Social Anxiety?
Social anxiety disorder is characterized by persistent fear or anxiety concerning social or performance situations that is out of proportion to the actual threat posed by the situation or context. Am I Experiencing Social Anxiety? is an indicative screening questionnaire designed to help clients self-assess whether they might meet diagnostic criteria for social anxiety disorder, or whether their experiences might warrant further investigation.
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Offers theory, guidance, and prompts for mental health professionals. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
Client version
Includes client-friendly guidance. Downloads are in Fillable PDF format where appropriate.
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Introduction & Theoretical Background
Social anxiety disorder is characterized by persistent fear or anxiety concerning social or performance situations that is out of proportion to the actual threat posed by the situation or context. Social anxiety is experienced by between 2 and 7 people out of every 100 (Stein, 2016; Kessler et al, 2005) but like many anxiety disorders, it is under-diagnosed and often goes unrecognized (Kasper, 2006).
DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for social anxiety disorder include:
- Marked fear or anxiety about one or more social situations in which the individual is exposed to possible scrutiny by others. Examples include social interactions (e.g., having a conversation, meeting unfamiliar people), being observed (e.g., eating or drinking), and performing in front of others (e.g., giving a speech).
- Relevant social situations almost always provoke fear or anxiety.
- The fear or anxiety is out of proportion to the actual threat posed by the social situation and to the
Therapist Guidance
"Some people who report similar experiences to yours have a condition called social anxiety. Would you like to try a short quiz that could give us an idea whether this is a problem that troubles you?"
References And Further Reading
- American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
- Kasper, S. (2006). Anxiety disorders: under-diagnosed and insufficiently treated. International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 10(sup1), 3-9.
- Kessler, R. C., Chiu, W. T., Demler, O., & Walters, E. E. (2005). Prevalence, severity, and comorbidity of 12-month DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(6), 617–627.
- Stansfeld, S., Clark, C., Bebbington, P., King, M., Jenkins, R., & Hinchliffe, S. (2016). Chapter 2: Common mental disorders. In S. McManus, P. Bebbington, R. Jenkins, & T. Brugha (Eds.), Mental health and wellbeing in England: Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2014. Leeds: NHS Digital.
- Stein, D. J., Lim, C. C., Roest, A. M., De Jonge, P., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Al-Hamzawi, A., ... & De Girolamo, G. (2017). The cross-national epidemiology of social anxiety disorder: Data from the World Mental Health Survey Initiative. BMC medicine, 15(1), 143.