In literature the relationship between the disorder of social anxiety (Sad) and the avoidant personality disorder (DEA) is very debated.
According to several authors, the two disorders would be similar and differentiated only based on the symptomatological level, while for others the two psychopathological paintings would refer to different constructs (aspects of personality versus anxious reactivity), while presenting symptomatological overlaps.
When both were included in the DSM III, the principle to differentiate them was based on a single empirical study in which only the fear for performance recognized the DAS, while in the DEV the discomfort for social interaction seemed to be prevalent; During the DSM updates, this difference has failed by helping to confuse syndromes.
In a recent article, Kieran and coll. (2016, Doi 10,1002/PMH.1349) investigated this two pathologies again trying to make a contribution to the debate. The purpose of the study is to determine whether the DEP and the SAD can be differentiated on the basis of personality traits or for the severity of the symptoms.
In this study two champions were enrolled, which in the end were 131 subjects (university champion) and 271 subjects (sample taken from the general population).
The tests administered were: Infrequency Scale, Scid-II, Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire- 4, WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0, Who Quality of Life-BF, Measuring Distorted Personal Functioning, Social Functioning Questionnaire, Social Phobia Inventory, Personality Inventory DSM 5, Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire BF.
The results highlighted, first of all, that there does not seem to be a difference based on personality traits. The study, in fact, recognizes how the DEF is no longer a personality disorder than the Sad is and highlights how more appropriate it is to reason in terms of personality traits than anxiety symptoms for both ailments.
Furthermore, even from a symptomatological point of view there does not seem to be a difference between the DEP and the Sad, observing how for both syndromes the impairment be particularly marked.
Finally, as of practice, the authors review the possible limitations of the study, in particular due to the online recruitment of the sample taken from the general population and the fact that the sample was not clinical.
In any case, the study represents a useful contribution to the debate on social anxiety disorders And, although not providing definitive answers, it offers a starting point to perhaps better understand how DAS is a disorder still underestimated and little considered for the aspects of personality that perhaps represent the central element of the disorder itself.
