SOCIAL ANXIETY AND PERCEPTION OF EARLY PARENTING AMONG AMERICAN, CHINESE AMERICAN, AND SOCIAL PHOBIC SAMPLES.

Emotionally distant and controlling child-rearing attitudes have been reported to characterize the parents of American or western European social phobics in previous research. However, the motion that these parental attitudes may be associated with social anxiety only in some cultures has not been investigated. The present study examined social anxiety among American social phobics and American and Chinese/Chinese American volunteer samples and how it may relate to their parentsߣ child-rearing attitudes. Multivariate analyses of variance revealed overall group differences. Both volunteer samples reported lower levels of anxiety than social phobics. Parents of Chinese/Chinese Americans and social phobics were reported to he similar in their (1) isolation of children firm social activities; (2) over-emphasis of othersߣ opinions; and (3) use of shame tactics for discipline (more so than American volunteersߣ parents), However, parentsߣ of nonsocial phobics were more likely to attaint family social activities than social phobicsߣ parents. Overall, the association between a reported parenting style emphasizing othersߣ opinions and shame tactics and social anxiety in their adult children was more evident in both American samples than among Chinese/Chinese Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]