Social Anxiety and Communication in Intimate Relationships: Identifying Core Challenges while Navigating Conflict and Seeking Support

Abstract

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most prevalent psychological disorders and one that is particularly disruptive of social relationships. Socially anxious individuals often have trouble forming and maintaining intimate relationships, as evidenced by a high divorce rate and low relationship satisfaction within existing relationships. However, little is known about the specific reasons why relationships involving socially anxious individuals suffer. Initial research suggests that such relationships may be characterized by lower levels of emotional intimacy and difficulties managing and resolving conflict. The current study aimed to detect specific problems socially anxious individuals have communicating with their partners during conflict and support-seeking conversations. Male (n = 50) and female (n = 57) undergraduates ("actors") and their intimate partners ("partners") completed two videotaped conversations in our laboratory. One conversation featured a topic of conflict within the relationship, whereas the other focused on a personal problem experienced by the actor. Outcomes of interest included level of engagement and expressiveness of the actor, presence of positive (e.g., humor) and negative (e.g., withdrawal) communication behavior by the actor, feelings of satisfaction and closeness of both partners, and emotions experienced by both partners. We hypothesized that social anxiety would be associated with lower levels of engagement and expressiveness overall, but especially during conflict. Further, we hypothesized that those higher on social anxiety would demonstrate more negative communication behavior (such as expressing hostility toward their partners) during conflict. Results provided some evidence that socially anxious individuals were less engaged and expressive when speaking with their partners. However, there was no evidence that they used more negative communication behaviors. Our hypothesis that social anxiety would be associated with greater difficulty during conflict had minimal support; rather, conversations in which the actor elicited support appeared to be the most difficult for socially anxious individuals, particularly when emotional experience was considered. Clinical implications and ideas for further research are explored.