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Models of social anxiety (SA) place the self as an organizing and causal center involved in the maintenance of this condition. An integrative conceptual framework for the understanding of the self is used to review the literature on the self in SA. Two main distinctions are emphasized: the self-as-a-subject (I-self) versus self-as-an-object (Me-self), and the evolutionary-based distinction of social rank versus affiliation. We argue that (a) although much progress has been made in understanding the association between SA and Me-self, the association between SA and I-self remains largely unexplored (with the important exception of anxiety-related processes in social situations); and (b) experiences and representations of the self in SA center on social rank. We suggest that in SA, social rank themes constitute the linchpins of identity, defined as the content and structure of the Me-self. We speculate that processes related to low social rank contribute to the focus on representational (Me), rather than experiential (I), self-aspects. Finally, we delineate the ways in which such an understanding may direct and refine the construction of novel, individually tailored, therapeutic approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Traumatic events tend to play a major role in the way we perceive ourselves. Whereas the links between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and self-perceptions are well examined, less is known regarding other factors that may be involved in the erosion of self-perceptions. We sought to examine the contribution of trauma-centrality and trauma-type to the erosion of self-perceptions following trauma. Our hypotheses were (a) trauma-centrality is significantly related to impairments in self-perceptions, (b) sexual assault (SA) is related to greater erosion in self-perceptions compared with motor vehicle accident (MVA) and to unexpected death (bereavement), and (c) the effects of trauma-centrality and trauma-type on self-perceptions remain significant when statistically controlling for levels of PTSD symptoms., Method: Adult American women ( N = 108: SA = 48, MVA = 38, bereavement = 22) were recruited via online labor market and completed self-report measures of trauma history, PTSD symptoms, trauma-centrality, and several aspects of self-perceptions., Results: PTSD symptoms, trauma-centrality, and trauma-type were each found to contribute to the prediction of certain aspects of self-perceptions. Specifically, trauma-centrality was related to negative posttraumatic cognitions above and beyond the effects of PTSD symptoms. In addition, SA was related to greater impairments in global and domain-specific self-perceptions compared with MVA and bereavement., Conclusion: Our findings highlight the roles of trauma-centrality and trauma-type in the erosion of self-perceptions following trauma. Our data emphasize the importance of considering the multiple factors influencing self-perceptions and of adopting a multifaceted conceptualization of the self in trauma-related research and clinical practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: The unique characteristics of sexual assault (SA)-a toxic mix of an interpersonal harm, a violent exploitation of one's body, and a transformation of an act of connectedness into an act of submission-are postulated to negatively affect the self-concept. We sought to deepen the understanding of self-concept impairments among sexually assaulted women with varying levels of posttraumatic distress. To this end, we compared women with a main trauma of SA to women with a main trauma of motor-vehicle accident (MVA) and to nontraumatized (NT) women on several self-concept aspects. Our main hypotheses were (a) sexually assaulted women without PTSD exhibit impaired self-concept as compared with NT women and (b) SA is related to greater self-concept impairments as compared with MVA, even when posttraumatic distress is statistically controlled., Method: Women (N = 235: NT = 69, MVA = 87, SA = 79) completed a web-based survey including measures designed to assess the global and domain-specific contents and structure of the self-concept as well as background and clinical questionnaires., Results: Sexually assaulted women without PTSD reported impaired self-concept as compared with NT women. Furthermore, SA was related to greater self-concept impairments as compared with MVA, even when considering participants' levels of posttraumatic distress., Conclusions: SA is related to unique self-concept impairments that extend beyond symptoms, emphasizing the need to assess and address self-concept impairments in sexually assaulted women. The importance of adopting a multifaceted conceptualization of the self to gain a deeper understanding of the aftermath of trauma is highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record, ((c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).)