COGNITIVE FACTORS OF SOCIAL PHOBIA AMONG CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a common mental disorder in childhood and adolescence that is chronic and persists into adulthood.The present study aimed to develop a therapeutic tool through virtual reality exposure, designed for use in treating social anxiety among children and adolescents.The virtual reality exposure tool is intended to assist in overcoming emotional and behavioral challenges while facilitating the development of social skills Furthermore, the study explored the cognitive model of social anxiety in children and adolescents using virtual reality.The experiment included 200 participants aged 8 to 16 years.In addition to completing self-report questionnaires, participants engaged in virtual self-presentation (during the initial exposure) and an unpredictable arithmetic task (during the subsequent exposure).Pulse measurements were taken at the study's outset, during each exposure session, and at the study's conclusion.Among children and adolescents with social anxiety, heightened levels of self-attention, rumination, and negative content in repetitive thoughts following social events were observed compared to their peers without social anxiety.Across the entire sample, subjective anxiety level and pulse rate were highest during the self-presentation task.The study found that there was an association between the experimental group membership and the negative interpretation of environmental stimuli.