Abstract
Purpose
There has been limited research conducted on the nature and consequences of excessive reassurance seeking in individuals with social anxiety, who tend to worry about the impression they make in evaluative social contexts. We examined the effects of self-reported trait social anxiety, low self-certainty, and engagement in post-event processing on reassurance seeking behaviours.
Methods
The sample consisted of 399 non-clinical undergraduate participants who completed self-report questionnaires in an online pre-registered correlational study.
Results
Partially consistent with our preregistered hypothesis, hierarchical regression analyses revealed that each predictor variable explained unique variance in reassurance seeking behaviours over and above the others, but interaction effects were non-significant for the main outcome variable measuring overall reassurance-seeking. Ancillary analyses revealed a significant three-way interaction between social anxiety symptoms, self-certainty, and post-event processing on engagement in evaluative threat-related reassurance seeking specifically.
Conclusions
Future prospective, naturalistic, and experimental research is needed to verify that evaluative threat-related reassurance seeking in social anxiety may be driven by heightened self-doubt and engagement in post-event processing, which may hinder socially anxious individuals from receiving high-quality support from those in their social network.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abramowitz, J. S., Schwartz, S. A., & Whiteside, S. P. (2002). A contemporary conceptual model of hypochondriasis. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 77(12), 1323–1330. https://doi.org/10.4065/77.12.1323.
Baumgardner, A. H. (1990). To know oneself is to like oneself: Self-certainty and self-affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58(6), 1062–1072. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.58.6.1062.
Blackie, R. A., & Kocovski, N. L. (2018). Examining the relationships among self-compassion, social anxiety, and post-event processing. Psychological Reports, 121(4), 669–689. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294117740138.
Brozovich, F. A., & Heimberg, R. G. (2013). Mental imagery and post-event processing in anticipation of a speech performance among socially anxious individuals. Behavior Therapy, 44(4), 701–716. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2013.07.001.
Campbell, J. D. (1990). Self-esteem and clarity of the self-concept. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59(3), 538–549. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.59.3.538.
Campbell, J. D., Trapnell, P. D., Heine, S. J., Katz, I. M., Lavallee, L. F., & Lehman, D. R. (1996). Self-concept clarity: Measurement, personality correlates, and cultural boundaries. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(1), 141–156. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.1.141.
Carter, M. M., Hollon, S. D., Carson, R., & Shelton, R. C. (1995). Effects of a safe person on induced distress following a biological challenge in panic disorder with agoraphobia. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 104, 156–163. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.104.1.156.
Clark, D. A. (2004). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD. Guilford Press.
Clark, D. M., & Wells, A. (1995). A cognitive model of social phobia. In R. G. Heimberg, M. R. Liebowitz, D. A. Hope, & F. R. Schneier (Eds.), Social phobia: Diagnosis, assessment, and treatment (pp. 69–93). The Guilford.
Clark, G. I., Rock, A. J., Clark, L. H., & Murray-lyon, K. (2020). Adult attachment, worry and reassurance seeking: Investigating the role of intolerance of uncertainty. Clinical Psychologist, 24(3), 294–305. https://doi.org/10.1111/cp.12218.
Connor, K. M., Davidson, J. R., Churchill, L. E., Sherwood, A., Foa, E., & Weisler, R. H. (2000). Psychometric properties of the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN). New self-rating scale. The British Journal of Psychiatry: The Journal of Mental Science, 176(4), 379–386. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.176.4.379.
Cougle, J. R., Fitcha, K. E., Finchamb, F. D., Riccardia, C. J., Keough, M. E., & Timpano, K. R. (2012). Excessive reassurance seeking and anxiety pathology: Tests of incremental associations and directionality. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 26(1), 117–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2011.10.001.
Coyne, J. C. (1976). Depression and the response of others. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 85(2), 186–193. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.85.2.186.
Einstein, D. A. (2014). Extension of the transdiagnostic model to focus on intolerance of uncertainty: A review of the literature and implications for treatment. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 21(3), 280–300. https://doi.org/10.1111/cpsp.12077.
Evraire, L. E. (2014). The contribution of attachment styles and reassurance seeking to daily mood and relationship quality in romantic couples. Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 2525. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/2525.
Evraire, L. E., & Dozois, D. J. A. (2011). An integrative model of excessive reassurance seeking and negative feedback seeking in the development and maintenance of depression. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(8), 1291–1303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2011.07.014.
Gavric, D., Moscovitch, D. A., Rowa, K., & McCabe, R. E. (2017). Post-event processing in social anxiety disorder: Examining the mediating roles of positive metacognitive beliefs and perceptions of performance. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 91, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2017.01.002.
Gavric, D., Cameron, D., Waechter, S., Moscovitch, D. A., McCabe, R. E., & Rowa, K. (2023). Just do something: An experimental investigation of brief interventions for reducing the negative impact of post-event processing in social anxiety disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 98, 102744. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2023.102744.
Gillett, D. A., & Mazza, S. J. (2018). Clarifying a construct: An integrative functional model of reassurance-seeking behaviors. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 36(4), 362–377. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-018-0291-9.
Grant, D. M., Judah, M. R., Mills, A. C., Lechner, W. V., Davidson, C. L., & Wingate, L. R. (2014). Rumination and excessive reassurance seeking: Mediators of the relationship between social anxiety and depression? Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 36(3), 465–474. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-013-9399-5.
Heerey, E. A., & Kring, A. M. (2007). Interpersonal consequences of social anxiety. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 116(1), 125–134. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.116.1.125.
Hirsch, C. R., & Mathews, A. (2000). Impaired positive inferential bias in social phobia. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109(4), 705–712. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.109.4.705.
Jacobson, J. A., & Weary, G. (1999). The role of causal uncertainty in the reassurance-seeking-depression relation. Psychological Inquiry, 10(4), 288–290. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2007.26.8.922.
Joiner, T. E. (1994). Contagious depression: Existence, specificity to depressed symptoms, and the role of reassurance seeking. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(2), 287–296. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.67.2.287.
Joiner, T. E., & Metalsky, G. I. (1995). A prospective test of an integrative interpersonal theory of depression: A naturalistic study of college roommates. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(4), 778–788. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.69.4.778.
Joiner, T. E., & Metalsky, G. I. (2001). Excessive reassurance seeking: Delineating a risk factor involved in the development of depressive symptoms. Psychological Science, 12(5), 371–378. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.00369.
Joiner, T. E., Metalsky, G. I., Katz, J., & Beach, S. R. H. (1999). Depression and excessive reassurance seeking. Psychological Inquiry, 10(4), 269–278. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1004_1.
Kobori, O., & Salkovskis, P. (2013). Patterns of reassurance seeking and reassurance-related behaviours in OCD and anxiety disorders. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 41(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465812000665.
Lohr, J. M., Olatunji, B. O., & Sawchuk, C. N. (2007). A functional analysis of danger and safety signals in anxiety disorders. Clinical Psychology Review, 27(1), 114–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2006.07.005.
McEvoy, P. M., & Kingsep, P. (2006). The post-event processing questionnaire in a clinical sample with social phobia. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(11), 1689–1697. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2005.12.005.
Mellings, T. M., & Alden, L. E. (2000). Cognitive processes in social anxiety: The effects of self-focus, rumination and anticipatory processing. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 38(3), 243–257. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0005-7967(99)00040-6.
Moscovitch, D. A., Orr, E., Rowa, K., Reimer, S. G., & Antony, M. M. (2009). In the absence of rose-colored glasses: Ratings of self-attributes and their differential certainty and importance across multiple dimensions in social phobia. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 47(1), 66–70.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2008.10.007.
Moscovitch, D. A., Rowa, K., Paulitzki, J. R., Ierullo, M. D., Chiang, B., Antony, M. M., & McCabe, R. E. (2013). Self-portrayal concerns and their relation to safety behaviors and negative affect in social anxiety disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 51(8), 476–486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2013.05.002.
Moscovitch, D. A., Moscovitch, M., & Sheldon, S. (2023). Neurocognitive model of schema-congruent and -incongruent learning in clinical disorders: Application to social anxiety and beyond. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 17456916221141351, https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916221141351. Advance online publication.
Oppenheimer, C. W., Technow, J., Hankin, B. L., Young, J. F., & Abela, J. R. (2012). Rumination and excessive reassurance seeking: Investigation of the vulnerability model and specificity to depression. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 5(3), 254–267. https://doi.org/10.1521/ijct.2012.5.3.254.
Parrish, C. L., & Radomsky, A. S. (2010). Why do people seek reassurance and check repeatedly? An investigation of factors involved in compulsive behavior in OCD and depression. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 24(2), 211–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2009.10.010.
Parrish, C. L., & Radomsky, A. S. (2011). An experimental investigation of factors involved in excessive reassurance seeking: The effects of perceived threat, responsibility and ambiguity on compulsive urges and anxiety. Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, 2(1), 44–62. https://doi.org/10.5127/jep.011110.
Rachman, S., Grüter-Andrew, J., & Shafran, R. (2000). Post-event processing in social anxiety. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 38(6), 611–617. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0005-7967(99)00089-3.
Radomsky, A. S., Neal, R. L., Parrish, C. L., Lavoie, S. L., & Schell, S. E. (2021). The Covert and overt reassurance seeking inventory (CORSI): Development, validation and psychometric analyses. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 49(1), 3–20. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465820000703.
Rapee, R. M., & Heimberg, R. G. (1997). A cognitive-behavioral model of anxiety in social phobia. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35(8), 741–756. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0005-7967(97)00022-3.
Rector, N. A., Kamkar, K., Cassin, S. E., Ayearst, L. E., & Laposa, J. M. (2011). Assessing excessive reassurance seeking in the anxiety disorders. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 25(7), 911–917. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2011.05.003.
Romano, M., Ma, R., Moscovitch, M., & Moscovitch, D. A. (2020). Autobiographical memory bias. In J. S. Abramowitz & S. M. Blakey (Eds.), Clinical handbook of fear and anxiety: Maintenance processes and treatment mechanisms (pp. 183–202). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000150-011.
Salkovskis, P. M., & Kobori, O. (2015). Reassuringly calm? Self-reported patterns of responses to reassurance seeking in obsessive compulsive disorder. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 49(Part B), 203–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2015.09.002.
Sheehan, K. H., & Sheehan, D. V. (2008). Assessing treatment effects in clinical trials with the Discan metric of the Sheehan disability scale. International Clinical Psychopharmacology, 23(2), 70–83. https://doi.org/10.1097/YIC.0b013e3282f2b4d6.
Sheehan, D. V., Harnett-Sheehan, K., & Raj, B. A. (1996). The measurement of disability. International Clinical Psychopharmacology, 11(3), 89–96. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004850-199606000-00015.
Starr, L. R., & Davila, J. (2008). Excessive reassurance seeking, depression, and interpersonal rejection: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 117(4), 762–775. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013866.
Stopa, L., & Clark, D. M. (1993). Cognitive processes in social phobia. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 31(3), 255–267. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(93)90024-o.
Stopa, L., & Clark, D. M. (2000). Social phobia and interpretation of social events. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 38(3), 273–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(99)00043-1.
Stopa, L., Brown, M. A., Luke, M. A., & Hirsch, C. R. (2010). Constructing a self: The role of self-structure and self-certainty in social anxiety. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48(10), 955–965. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2010.05.028.
Taylor, C. T., & Alden, L. E. (2011). To see ourselves as others see us: An experimental integration of the intra and interpersonal consequences of self-protection in social anxiety disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 120(1), 129–141. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022127.
Ward, A., Lyubomirsky, S., Sousa, L., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2003). Can’t quite commit: Rumination and uncertainty. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29(1), 96–107. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167202238375.
Weinstock, L. M., & Whisman, M. A. (2007). Rumination and excessive reassurance-seeking in depression: A cognitive-interpersonal integration. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 31(3), 333–342. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-006-9004-2.
Wilson, J. K., & Rapee, R. M. (2006). Self-concept certainty in social phobia. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(1), 113–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2005.01.006.
Wilson, G. A., Koerner, N., & Antony, M. M. (2018). An examination of feedback seeking in individuals with social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or no history of mental disorder using a daily diary method. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 32(1), 15–37. https://doi.org/10.1891/0889-8391.32.1.15.
Funding
This work was supported by Insight Grant 435-2018-0959 awarded to David Moscovitch by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic Supplementary Material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Bui, V., Moscovitch, D.A. Predictors of Excessive Reassurance Seeking in Social Anxiety. Cogn Ther Res 48, 292–302 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-024-10473-1
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-024-10473-1