Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is the most common anxiety disorder among adolescents. In SAD, gender differences are more prominent in adolescence (i.e. a higher prevalence amongst females). As...Show moreSocial anxiety disorder (SAD) is the most common anxiety disorder among adolescents. In SAD, gender differences are more prominent in adolescence (i.e. a higher prevalence amongst females). As research on gender differences in SAD is scarce, it is still unknown why gender differences in SAD exist and why they are more prominent in adolescents. A factor contributing to the development of SAD is attachment, as it contributes to the way individuals explore a social life. Compared to securely attached adolescents, insecurely attached adolescents experience more difficulty dealing with social situations, placing them at risk for SAD signs. Moreover, an insecure attachment is more common in females than in males. Thus, adolescents' attachment might explain the gender differences in the prevalence of SAD. The current cross-sectional study investigated the relationship between gender and SAD signs, with attachment as a mediator. We also explored whether this differed between maternal and paternal attachment. It was expected that (1) gender would predict SAD signs; (2) attachment would predict SAD signs; and (3) attachment would mediate the relationship between gender and SAD signs (i.e. females would be more insecurely attached and would therefore show more SAD signs than males). In total, 116 adolescents aged 9-12 years completed the YAM-5 and IPPA-R to measure their SAD signs and attachment to their parents, respectively. Regression analyses yielded three main findings. First, contrary to our hypotheses, gender did not significantly predict SAD signs (B = .145; p = .126) and adolescents’ attachment to their parents. Second, consistent with our hypotheses, both maternal (B = -.314; p < .001) and paternal attachment (B = -.393; p < .001) significantly predicted SAD signs. Thus, adolescents’ attachment did not mediate the relationship between gender and SAD signs, but directly affected SAD signs. Attachment-based interventions are effective, but future research is needed to examine if these will also be effective for adolescents with SAD. Additionally, paternal attachment significantly predicted SAD signs. Most previous research, however, has solely focused on maternal attachment. This study, therefore, highlights the importance of more father representation in future research regarding attachment.Show less
Early adolescence, between the age of 10 to 13, is characterized by gaining more autonomy and an increase in complex social relationships. To engage in these social relations, prosocial giving...Show moreEarly adolescence, between the age of 10 to 13, is characterized by gaining more autonomy and an increase in complex social relationships. To engage in these social relations, prosocial giving behaviour and self-concept play an important role. Within gifted adolescents the social development is different from non-gifted adolescents, which might affect the development of prosocial giving behaviour and self-concept. In the current research we were interested in prosocial giving behaviour towards different targets and academic/non-academic self-concept within and between non-gifted and gifted adolescents. We recruited 112 children in the 7th and 8th grade from schools with regular and full-time gifted education. The Standard Progressive Raven Matrices was used to assess IQ, the Prosocial Giving Task to measure giving behaviour towards different targets and the Competentiebelevingsschaal voor Kinderen to measure self-concept on six areas. The results showed that adolescents gave more to in-group targets than to out-group targets. We also found that within non-gifted adolescents the academic self-concept was lower than the non-academic self-concept. Within gifted adolescents, there was no difference between the academic and non-academic self-concept. For both prosocial giving behaviour and self-concept, we did not find a difference between non-gifted and gifted adolescents. Furthermore, there was not an association between prosocial giving behaviour and self-concept for both non-gifted and gifted adolescents. Future research could consider to take the transition to high school into account. This transition might influence the development of both prosocial giving behaviour and self-concept during early adolescence within both non-gifted and gifted adolescents.Show less
This study examined differences in prosocial giving behavior of gifted and nongifted young adolescents towards five targets (a friend, disliked person, a stranger, and the participant’s father and...Show moreThis study examined differences in prosocial giving behavior of gifted and nongifted young adolescents towards five targets (a friend, disliked person, a stranger, and the participant’s father and mother), and the effects of perspective taking. 93 Dutch students between the ages of 9 and 12 were assessed using the Perspective Taking scale of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and the Prosocial Donation task, a donation game in which participants divided ten coins between themselves and various targets. Findings showed that gifted young adolescents showed less prosocial giving towards their mother than nongifted young adolescents. No difference in prosocial giving behavior was found between gifted and nongifted young adolescents towards the other targets (a friend, a disliked person, a stranger, and the participant’s father). Gifted young adolescents overall donated an equal number of coins as their nongifted peers, despite differentiating differently across targets. Furthermore, participants showed more prosocial giving behavior towards friends than strangers, which supports previous findings involving prosocial giving behavior and ingroup-outgroup differentiation. Contrary to expectations, perspective taking did not have an effect on the level of prosocial giving in young adolescents – neither gifted nor nongifted, and no difference in perspective taking was found between gifted and nongifted young adolescents. These findings show that gifted young adolescents are not so dissimilar from their nongifted peers. Our results challenge false stereotypes of gifted youth as possessing characteristic social and emotional problems. This study expanded on previous research by including giftedness and examining prosocial giving behavior to parents. Future research into prosocial giving behavior of early adolescents could include even more detailed assessments of interpersonal relationships between participants and their parents.Show less
Early adolescence is a turbulent period in the life of most youth. With the transition from childhood into adolescence, problems such as fear of failure, maladaptive perfectionism and anxiety...Show moreEarly adolescence is a turbulent period in the life of most youth. With the transition from childhood into adolescence, problems such as fear of failure, maladaptive perfectionism and anxiety become increasingly common and prominent. To some degree, these are part of the normal development. However, even subclinical anxiety symptoms negatively affect the lives of many children and adolescents. To improve this, more knowledge is needed on the mechanisms underlying generalised anxiety. This study was the first to investigate the relation between fear of failure, maladaptive perfectionism, and generalised anxiety in early adolescents (aged 9-12 years). These concepts were measured using the short-form Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory, the short-form Child and Adolescent Perfectionism Scale and the Youth Anxiety Measure, respectively. We demonstrated that maladaptive perfectionism partially mediates the relation between fear of failure and generalised anxiety. Fear of failure most likely motivates maladaptive perfectionism, which is in turn a risk factor for generalised anxiety symptoms in early adolescents. The current findings therefore highlight the importance of prevention and intervention efforts aimed at reducing fear of failure and maladaptive perfectionism in early adolescents. This would serve to prevent and/or reduce generalised anxiety and its detrimental consequences both in early adolescence itself and possibly later in life as well.Show less
