Table 6. Studies of the DBS in Anxiety.
| Author & Year | Sample | Gender | Age | DBS Measure | Anxiety Measure | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-Report and Observational Findings | ||||||
| *Allan & Gilbert (1997) | 332 students and 136 psychiatric outpatients | Both | Mstudents =22.9 Mclinical =39.7 |
SBS | SCL-90-R Anxiety | Submissiveness correlated with anxiety, r =.36 among students and r =.48 among patients. |
| Antony et al. (2005) | 59 people with social phobia and 58 healthy controls | Both | M =34 | Modified RSCD completed daily for 2 weeks | SCID social phobia diagnoses | The social phobia group did not report engaging in more social comparisons |
| Cain et al. (2010) | 77 socially phobic outpatients | 57% male | M =32.78 | IIP | SCID-IV social phobia diagnoses | Persons with social phobia endorsed elevated submissiveness compared to normative data. |
| Fodor & Wick (2009) | 259 undergraduates | Both | College aged | PSE N Pow | ABS, electromyographic recording of brow supercilii | Need for power predicted greater increase in self-reported anxiety and facial expressions of anxiety in response to negative feedback on a speech. |
| *Gilbert, Broomhead et al. (2007) | 207 outpatients diagnosed with depression | 13% male | M =21.77 | SAIS, HCA, SCS, SBS | DASS21 | In a regression model, only submissive behavior (SBS) uniquely related to anxiety, r2 =.28 |
| *Gilbert, McEwan, Bellew et al. (2009) | 45 outpatients and 17 inpatients | 42% male | M =44.32 | SAIS, SCS, SBS, OAS | DASS21 | Anxiety correlated with self-ratings of more insecure striving (SAIS), r =.52, lower social comparison (SCS), r =-.36, more submissive behavior (SBS), r =.46, and more shame (OAS), r =.54. |
| Halvari & Gjesme (1995) | 33 undergraduates who engaged in sports | 64% male | 20-32 | Outcome of competition for a 25 second motor task | SCAT before and after the competition, STAI State Anxiety Scale | Those who did well in the competition experienced a significant drop in anxiety (SCAT), whereas those who did poorly experienced a significant increase in anxiety. |
| *Harder, Cutler, Rockart (1992) | 71 undergraduates | Both | College aged | ASGS Shame | SCL-90-R | Shame proneness correlated with anxiety, r =.31. |
| *Harder & Lewis (1987) | 120 undergraduates | Both | Single item rating of shame (other measures with poor psychometric characteristics) | SAS | Shame proneness correlated with social anxiety, r =.31. | |
| *Harder & Zalma (1990) | 63 undergraduates | 59% male | M =18.46 | ASGS Shame, PFQ-2 Shame | SAS | Social anxiety correlated with ASGS Shame, r =.39 and demonstrated a nonsignificant positive correlation with the PFQ2 Shame, r =.23. |
| Heerey & Kring (2007) | 120 undergraduates | Both | Not specified | Behavioral ratings of dyadic social interactions | IAS | Socially anxious participants engaged in more reassurance-seeking behavior. |
| *Horowitz et al. (1988) | 103 outpatients | 14% male | 20-64 (M=32.7) | IIP | SCL-90-R Anxiety | Submissiveness correlated with anxiety, r =.32, but anxiety was related to many interpersonal problems on the IIP. |
| *Kasser & Ryan (1993), Study 2 | 198 students | Both | M =20 | Aspiration Index | STAI | High aspirations for financial success, r =.32, and low aspirations for affiliation, r =-.37, related to higher anxiety (STAI). |
| Lennox & Wolfe (1984) | 224 college students | Both | College aged | CAS | FNE | Social anxiety correlated with threat from social comparisons, r =.64. |
| *Mehrabian & Bernath (1991) | Undergraduates Study 1 n =124 Study 2 n =129 |
Both | College aged | PAD Do | 29 measures of depression and anxiety | Submissiveness correlated with anxiety in both samples. |
| Mehrabian & O'Reilly (1980) | 211 undergraduates | Both | College aged | PAD Do | STAI | Submissiveness correlated with trait anxiety; r =-.37. |
| *Krueger et al. (1996) | 897 Dunedin community residents | 52% male | 18 | MPQ SPS | DIS Diagnoses | Dominance motivation was unrelated to anxiety disorder |
| *Tangney et al. (1992) | Undergraduates Study 1 n =245 Study 2 n =234 |
Both | College aged | SCAAI, TOSCA | SCL-90 Anxiety and Social Phobia scales, STAI | Shame proneness was related to all anxiety indices. |
| Trower et al. (1998) | 24 students | 29% male | First year undergraduates | After a stressful dyadic interaction, participants were asked to rate their dominance from a videotape of the interaction. | High and low scores on the FNE scale | Students in the socially anxious group rated themselves as less dominant than did those in the control group. |
| Walters & Hope 1998) | 53 people diagnosed with social phobia and 28 healthy controls | Both | Not specified | Behavioral coding of a structured social interaction with a stranger | ADIS-R Social Phobia Diagnoses | The social phobia group engaged in less dominant behavior (commands, bragging) than the control group. |
| Biological Findings | ||||||
| *Granger et al. (2003) | 213 students | 50% male | M =13.66 | Saliva samples gathered three times per day on multiple days to form latent constructs for T M level and diurnal variation | Anxiety-depression scale formed using latent modeling of the CBCL, A-YSR, and DISC. | Low mean T and slower diurnal decline of T over the day related to anxiety/depressive symptoms but only among boys. |
| Maner et al. (2008) | 64 undergraduates | 36% male | M =18.9 | Baseline T and change in T in response to competition | SPS | Basal T was unrelated to anxiety. Social anxiety predicted more of a drop in T after losing the competition among men, not women. |
| *Olweus et al. (1980) | 58 students | Male | 15-17 | Serum samples of T averaged across 2 morning sample | MCA | T was unrelated to anxiety. |
| *Susman et al. (1991) | 108 students | 52% male | 9-14 | Serum levels of T averaged across 3 samples gathered in an hour | DISC number of anxiety symptoms, CBCL Internalizing scale | Contrary to hypotheses, higher T related to anxiety at baseline among boys. T was unrelated to anxiety among girls. |
| van Honk et al. (2005) | 16 community residents | Females | 19-26 | Single dose of 5 mg T or placebo | STAI | T was unrelated to anxiety. |
Note. ABS =Affect Balance Scale (Downey & Feldman, 1996); A-CBCL =Abbreviated Version of the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1991a); ADIS-R =Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule-Revised (DiNardo & Barlow, 1988); ASGS =Adapted Shame and Guilt Scale; CAS =Concern for Appropriateness Protective Social Comparison Scale; CBCL =Child Behavior Checklist; DASS21 =Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale; DISC =Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children; DIS =Diagnostic Interview Schedule; FNE =Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (Watson & Friend, 1969); HCA =Hypercompetitive Attitudes Scale; IAS =Interaction Anxiousness Scale (Leary & Kowalski, 1993); IIP =Inventory of Interpersonal Problems; M =mean; MCA =Multi-Component Anxiety Inventory (Schalling, Cronholm, & Asberg, 1975); MPQ SPS =Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire Social Potency Scale; OAS =Other as Shamer Scale; PAD Do =Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance Scales – Dominance Scale; PFQ-2 =Personal Feelings Questionnaire-Revised; PSE N Pow =Picture Story Exercise Need for Power; RSCD =Rochester Social Comparison Diary (Wheeler & Miyake, 1992); SAIS =Striving to Avoid Inferiority Scale; SAS =Social Anxiety Scale (Fenigstein, Scheier, & Buss, 1975); SBS =Submissive Behavior Scale; SCAAI =Self-Conscious Affect and Attribution Inventory; SCAT =Sport Competition Anxiety Test (Martens, 1977); SCS =Social Comparison Scale; SCID =Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Diagnoses; SCL-90 =The Symptom Checklist 90; SCL-90-R =Symptom Checklist-90-Revised; SPS =Social Phobia Scale (Mattick & Clarke, 1998); STAI =The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; T =testosterone; TOSCA =Test of Self-Conscious Affect.
Findings from this study are described in another table.