Social anxiety disorder: Beyond shyness - ARCHIVED

The article "Social anxiety disorder-beyond shyness" is the first of several articles to be released this fall in Focus on Mental Health, this year's annual supplement to Health Reports' How Healthy are Canadians? series.

Based on data from the 2002 Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health and Well-being, it provides prevalence estimates of social anxiety disorder (also know as social phobia) among the Canadian population aged 15 or older. The age of onset, duration of symptoms and relationship with other mental disorders are discussed. To assess the burden of social anxiety disorder, associations with social support, functional disability and quality of life are examined. The number of people who sought treatment to help them deal with their social fears is also explored.