Interpersonal Subtypes in Social Phobia: Diagnostic and Treatment Implications

Abstract

Interpersonal assessment may provide a clinically useful way to identify subtypes of social phobia. In this study, we examined evidence for interpersonal subtypes in a sample of 77 socially phobic outpatients. A cluster analysis based on the dimensions of dominance and love on the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems–Circumplex Scales (Alden, Wiggins, & Pincus, 1990) found 2 interpersonal subtypes of socially phobic patients. These subtypes did not differ on pretreatment global symptom severity as measured by the Brief Symptom Inventory (Derogatis, 1993) or diagnostic comorbidity but did exhibit differential responses to outpatient psychotherapy. Overall, friendly-submissive social phobia patients had significantly lower scores on measures of social anxiety and significantly higher scores on measures of well-being and satisfaction at posttreatment than cold-submissive social phobia patients. We discuss the results in terms of interpersonal theory and the clinical relevance of assessment of interpersonal functioning prior to beginning psychotherapy with socially phobic patients.

Notes

¹It is important to note that the angular locations of each group as defined by a circular mean will differ slightly from the angular displacement given by the structural summary method. The reason is that circular means are calculated using only angular locations and not the vector length from the origin of the circle. By not taking vector length into account, all angles are accorded equal weight in the equation. The structural summary method accounts for data that not only differ in angular location but also vector length, thus according differing weights to each subject's angle when calculating the overall displacement for the group. In defining groups based on circular statistics, some of the information given by the structural summary method is lost; but what is gained is the ability to statistically compare separate groups (Wright, Pincus, Conroy, Hilsenroth, et al., 2009).