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Chronic blushing, self-consciousness, and social anxiety

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Abstract

This study was designed to investigate factors associated with chronic blushing. One hundred seven self-defined chronic blushers completed the Self-Consciousness Scale (SCS), the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (SADS), and two single-item ratings for severity and effect of blushing. Mean SADS scores obtained in the present study were not dissimilar to those obtained in studies of DSM-III-defined socially phobic patients. There was a predicted significant positive correlation between the severity/effect of blushing and the SADS and the Public and Private Self-Consciousness and Social Anxiety subscales of the SCS. The implications of the results for understanding chronic blushing are discussed.

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Edelmann, R.J. Chronic blushing, self-consciousness, and social anxiety. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 12, 119–127 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00960761

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