A lack of adaptive stress responses may heighten social anxiety in adolescents

An eight-year study examined the relationship between adolescent coping strategies and social anxiety. Findings suggest that a lack of adaptive coping strategies is related to the development of social anxiety. Those subjects who demonstrated maladaptive coping mechanisms when experiencing stress were more likely to develop social anxiety later. In addition, the researchers found that social anxiety often caused maladaptive stress responses and vice versa. This relationship between maladaptive coping mechanisms and social anxiety indicates that if coping strategies for stress were taught early...