How understanding personality can help us understand social anxiety

Typically characterized by persistent and overwhelming nervousness and worry surrounding social situations, social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a mental illness that can affect how individuals interact with others and function in day-to-day life. In some cases, SAD can be associated with various personality traits, such as higher-than-average neuroticism and lower-than-average extraversion. For professional help coping with symptoms of social anxiety disorder, consider scheduling a session with an online or in-person therapist.

What is social anxiety disorder?

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) can be defined as a mental illness usually marked by nervousness and worry in social situations. One of the most common symptoms of social anxiety disorder may be a persistent and overwhelming fear of being evaluated negatively in social situations. While some nervousness can be common in many situations, such as on a date or during a presentation, those with SAD often feel strong feelings of anxiety and self-consciousness during day-to-day interactions.

For someone experiencing social anxiety, symptoms may disrupt daily life. They may have trouble maintaining healthy relationships, experience limitations in their professional or academic pursuits, and miss out on activities they enjoy.

Those who live with social anxiety disorder may require treatment to alleviate symptoms. Treatment may consist of therapy, medication, or a combination of the two. Many people who live with social anxiety disorder experience improvements in their abilities to interact with others, maintain relationships, and participate in social activities after receiving treatment.

The links between big five personality traits and social anxiety disorder

For example, someone who is afraid of being judged could experience social anxiety due to low self-esteem.  

Because of these common characteristics, some researchers believe that personality traits can help create subtypes within social anxiety disorder and that treatment options could be guided by these classifications. 

A study titled “Higher- and lower-order personality traits and cluster subtypes in social anxiety disorder” may elucidate the relationship between personality traits and social anxiety disorder. This study generally looked at various facets of personality using the five-factor model of personality, in which the Big Five personality traits are measured, including the following:

• Neuroticism

• Extraversion

• Openness

• Agreeableness

• Conscientiousness

Previous research found that those diagnosed with SAD usually score higher for the neuroticism personality trait and lower for the extraversion trait on average.

Relevant research on personality and SAD

The diversity of SAD’s presentation has long been recognized, and researchers have previously tried to divide social anxiety disorder into subtypes. However, these subtypes have not always been supported by clinical research. The study “Higher- and lower-order personality traits and cluster subtypes in social anxiety disorder” primarily set out to create new categorizations based on personality, through the lens of the Big Five traits. 

Before beginning this study, researchers generally expected that those with SAD would likely have higher levels of neuroticism and lower extraversion than the control group would. They also expected higher scores on personality items related to anxiety and behavioral inhibition.

Study setup

When setting up the study, 265 individuals with SAD and 164 controls without a SAD diagnosis were given personality tests in a home environment. All participants in this study were volunteers in a neuroimaging trial, and the details was garnered between 1998 and 2018. 

All individuals in this trial with a SAD diagnosis typically had a marked fear of social situations and public speaking. Of the individuals involved in the trial, 44 were diagnosed with a comorbid Axis I disorder, 21 had two comorbidities, and two individuals had three comorbidities. 

Comorbid conditions included generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobias, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and mild depression.

How personality was measured

To assess personality, the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP) were used. The NEO-PI-R normally consists of 240 items that can be rated from zero (absolute disagreement) to four (absolute agreement).

The KSP inventory usually has 135 items grouped into 15 scales. Five of these scales typically consider the propensity of an individual to experience anxiety states, three of these scales may consider the susceptibility to behavioral disinhibition, and the remaining scales can be associated with hostility and aggression.

The results

When looking at the study results, there were usually several personality trait differences between the control group and the participants diagnosed with SAD. Those living with SAD frequently had higher scores related to anxiety, vulnerability, irritability, detachment, and indirect aggression, as well as lower scores related to socialization than the control group without a SAD diagnosis.

The NEO-PI-R instrument generally showed a positive correlation between neuroticism—which tends to be related to anxiety, worry, and low self-confidence—and SAD symptoms. There was usually also a negative correlation between extraversion—which can refer to sociability—and SAD symptoms. While there may have been associations between SAD and multiple other domains of personality, neuroticism and extraversion were generally the strongest indicators of whether someone would have a SAD diagnosis.

Study findings also showed those with SAD often have lower assertiveness scores and higher self-consciousness scores, along with lower scores on the positive emotion sections of the analysis. Those living with SAD usually also scored lower on conscientiousness, which can refer to an individual’s ability to make sound decisions, work hard, and be responsible. 

Another goal of this study may have been to identify subtypes of SAD based on the Big Five personality dimensions. When performing an analysis of the results of the study, three personality cluster types were found.

• Prototypical Cluster: These individuals typically had higher levels of neuroticism and lower levels of extraversion and openness than other clusters. They also tended to show low trust, competence, achievement-striving, and self-discipline relative to the control group. This cluster usually had the highest level of social anxiety symptom severity.

• Introvert-Conscientious Cluster: These individuals included 29% of the sample and were generally characterized by higher conscientiousness levels (similar to the controls) and lower levels of neuroticism than other clusters. In this group, participants typically scored low on openness and impulsivity. They also tended to show lower somatic anxiety and irritability but similar levels of guilt as the controls.

• Instable-Open Cluster: This cluster was the largest, making up 38% of the sample. These individuals normally had very high levels of neuroticism but similar openness levels to controls. They also usually scored high on extraversion scales. They may have been indistinguishable from controls related to activity and excitement seeking but tended to score higher on impulsivity compared to other groups.

The findings of this study may further highlight the connections between high levels of neuroticism, low levels of extraversion, and the likelihood of developing social anxiety disorder. The study may have also shown that social anxiety can differ based on the individual, which could necessitate treatment that is more tailored to specific versions of the disorder.

Researchers noted that only one-third of the participants generally matched the personality type that was previously thought to dominate the disorder, which they labeled prototypical. They found that there were often differences in participants’ negative emotions, openness to ideas, excitement-seeking, and ability to be self-reliant. This finding may be useful, not only for practitioners to understand the presentation and treatment of social anxiety, but also for individuals to understand how personality traits and social anxiety may be intertwined.

Benefits of online therapy

If you believe you may be experiencing social anxiety and want to understand your treatment options, the licensed therapists at BetterHelp can help you navigate your mental health. With online therapy through BetterHelp, you can connect with a mental health professional who knows how to address your specific areas of concern. You can fill out a questionnaire when you sign up and get matched with an appropriate licensed therapist. You can participate in online therapy remotely through video call, voice call, or online chat. 

Effectiveness of online therapy

Research shows that online therapy can help individuals with social anxiety work through their symptoms. For example, in one study, researchers found that online cognitive behavioral therapy could significantly decrease symptoms of social anxiety disorder, noting that 47% of participants no longer met the criteria for SAD after treatment.