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Epidemiology of social phobia: a clinical approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

C. Faravelli ,
T. Zucchi ,
B. Viviani ,
R. Salmoria ,
A. Perone ,
A. Paionni ,
A. Scarpato ,
D. Vigliaturo ,
S. Rosi  and
D. D’adamo
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C. Faravelli
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Unit, Department of Neurologic and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Florence, Policlinico Careggi, Viale Morgagni 85, 50134Florence, Italy
T. Zucchi
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Unit, Department of Neurologic and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Florence, Policlinico Careggi, Viale Morgagni 85, 50134Florence, Italy
B. Viviani
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Unit, Department of Neurologic and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Florence, Policlinico Careggi, Viale Morgagni 85, 50134Florence, Italy
R. Salmoria
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Unit, Department of Neurologic and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Florence, Policlinico Careggi, Viale Morgagni 85, 50134Florence, Italy
A. Perone
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Unit, Department of Neurologic and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Florence, Policlinico Careggi, Viale Morgagni 85, 50134Florence, Italy
A. Paionni
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Unit, Department of Neurologic and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Florence, Policlinico Careggi, Viale Morgagni 85, 50134Florence, Italy
A. Scarpato
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Unit, Department of Neurologic and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Florence, Policlinico Careggi, Viale Morgagni 85, 50134Florence, Italy
D. Vigliaturo
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Unit, Department of Neurologic and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Florence, Policlinico Careggi, Viale Morgagni 85, 50134Florence, Italy
S. Rosi
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Unit, Department of Neurologic and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Florence, Policlinico Careggi, Viale Morgagni 85, 50134Florence, Italy
D. D’adamo
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Unit, Department of Neurologic and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Florence, Policlinico Careggi, Viale Morgagni 85, 50134Florence, Italy
D. Bartolozzi
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Unit, Department of Neurologic and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Florence, Policlinico Careggi, Viale Morgagni 85, 50134Florence, Italy
C. Cecchi
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Unit, Department of Neurologic and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Florence, Policlinico Careggi, Viale Morgagni 85, 50134Florence, Italy
L. Abrardi
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Unit, Department of Neurologic and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Florence, Policlinico Careggi, Viale Morgagni 85, 50134Florence, Italy
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Summary

The recent epidemiologic studies report extremely varied rates for social phobia (SP). One of the reasons for this may be the difficulty in diagnosing SP, the boundaries of which are uncertain. A community survey was carried out using doctors with experience in clinical psychiatry as interviewers, and a clinical diagnostic instrument. Two thousand three hundred and fifty-five people (out of the 2,500 randomly selected from the population) living in Sesto Fiorentino, a suburb of Florence, Italy, were interviewed by their own general practitioner, using the MINI plus six additional questions. Six hundred and ten of the 623 subjects that were found positive for any form of psychopathology at the screening interview, and 57 negative subjects, were re-interviewed by residents in psychiatry using the Florence Psychiatric Interview (FPI). The FPI is a validated composite instrument that has the format of a structured clinical research record. It was found that 6.58% of subjects showed social anxiety not attributable to other psychiatric or medical conditions during their life. Social or occupational impairments meeting DSM-IV diagnostic requirements for SP was detected in 76 subjects (lifetime prevalence = 3.27%). Correction for age raises the lifetime expected prevalence to 4%. Sex ratio was approximately (F:M) 2:1. The most common fear was speaking in public (89.4%), followed by entering a room occupied by others (63.1%) and meeting with strangers (47.3%). Eighty-six point nine percent of subjects with SP complained of more than one fear. The mean age of onset (when the subjects first fully met DSM-IV criteria for SP) was 28.8 years, but the first symptoms of SP usually occurred much earlier, with a mean age of onset at 15.5 years. Ninety-two percent of cases with SP also showed at least one other co-morbid psychiatric disorder during their life. Lifetime prevalence of avoidant personality disorder (APD) was 3.6%. Forty-two point nine percent of cases with SP also had APD, whereas 37.9% of cases with APD developed SP.

Keywords

avoidanceco-morbiditycostepidemiologysocial anxietysocial phobia
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , 2000 , pp. 17 - 24
Copyright
Copyright © Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS 2000

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