Social phobia:: Control processes in anxiety-provoking situations

Control of anxiety-related emotions in anxiety-provoking situations was qualitatively examined for 21 social phobic clients before treatment. A model illustrating the functional coherence of the control processes across those situations was constructed based on narratives of problematic situations. Results indicated that the model reflects fundamental processes in social phobia, possibly resulting from early attachment In addition three groups were identified that differed in respect to control-activity. These results indicate that the differences reflect surface variation of processing resulting from development and interaction in adolescence and adulthood. Both the coherence and the variation should be taken into account when dealing with and developing treatment procedures for social phobics.