Social anxiety disorder: recent findings in the areas of epidemiology, etiology, and treatment

Social anxiety disorder is a common and chronic disorder that leads to substantial psychosocial impairment. The disorder occurs early in childhood, and is frequently comorbid with a variety of other psychiatric diagnoses like depression, other anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and eating disorders. Given these serious implications of social anxiety disorder, early effective treatment is extremely important. Pharmacotherapy, with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, and cognitive behavioral therapy are the first choice of treatments for social anxiety disorder. This paper reviews recent findings on the epidemiology, etiology, and treatment for social anxiety disorder, and highlights areas where future research should be directed.