The relation between social anxiety and perceptions of likeability and friendship in adolescents

Background: This study investigated how different social anxiety symptoms (i.e., worrying about negative evaluation versus avoidance tendencies) in adolescents are related to the perception accuracy of likeability by peers and friendships with peers. Method: A community sample of 263 adolescents between 12 and 15 years old reported on their social anxiety symptoms. In addition, they estimated how much their peers liked them, indicated how much they liked their peers, and who their friends were in their classroom. Results: Results showed that socially anxious adolescents who mainly worried about negative evaluations, underestimated their likeability by peers. Adolescents with strong social avoidance tendencies had a more accurate perception of their likeability and friendships; they were less liked by their peers and had fewer friends. Conclusion: The results emphasize the importance of treating avoidance behavior in social anxiety since avoidance tendencies may not only maintain the social anxiety symptoms but are also related to a more negative judgment by others.