Social Anxiety in Child development and Adolescents Child Development Social anxiety first occurs in infancy and is said

to be a normal and necessary emotion for effective social functioning and developmental growth. However as the child grows and they are exposed to situations new to them they are prone to have behavioral inhibition in which they tend to react negatively to new situations or things. Some infants and children will be very happy and curious about new people and things. However, roughly 15% of children will be shy, withdrawn, and irritable when they are in a new situation or with new people or things. Other children are just fearful in general. Often these children are irritable at infancy; shy and fearful as toddlers and at school age they are cautious, quiet, and introverted. Children who are consistently this way are much more likely to have biological parents with anxiety disorders. They are also more likely to develop Social Anxiety Disorder later in adolescence. Children social anxiety causes extreme distress over everyday activities such as playing with other kids, reading in class, or speaking to adults. On the other and some children with social anxiety will act out because of their fear which makes it harder to diagnose. Children diagnosed with social anxiety can lead to problems with education if not closely monitored. Usually social anxiety in childhood growth is caused by two factors first is genetics and second would be environment in some cases both are distinguished.

Adolescence Social anxiety in teenagers or in adolescent stage is easier to spot than that of children because they tend to shy away from any social situation and keep to themselves. Adolescents have identified their most common anxieties as focused on relationships with peers to whom they are attracted, peer rejection, public speaking, blushing, self-consciousness and past behavior. Adolescents' relationships with friends and peers play a critical role in the development of social skills and feelings of personal competence that are essential for adult functioning (Ingersoll, 1989). Moreover, peer relationships appear to be instrumental in facilitating adolescents sense of personal identity and increasing their independence from family influences (Dusek, 1991; Ingersoll, 1989). It was found that the adolescents with SAD were having less intimate relationships with their parents as compared to adolescents without SAD. Also, they more often reported that they were treated differently as compared to their brothers or sisters. More adolescents with SAD reported that they had limited number of friends compared to adolescents without SAD. Adolescents with SAD have difficulties in coping with studies also. Social phobia in this stage is conscious of their surroundings. Specifically, adolescents with high levels of social anxiety were expected to report less acceptance and support from their peer groups (i.e., classmates) and to perceive themselves as having less romantic appeal. Aside from peer group acceptance, close friendships also represent a critical aspect of adolescents interpersonal functioning. Close

friendships with peers take on increasing importance during adolescence, and

serve several important functions, such as providing companionship, emotional support, intimacy, and a means of expressing emotions and resolving conflicts (Berndt, 1982). In this connection, feelings of social anxiety-particularly

generalized social avoidance and distress-could lead to disengagement from peer interactions (La Greca et aI.,1988) , and interfere with the development of close, supportive ties. Studies have shown that social anxiety does not only affect interactions with peers and people but it also affects a teenagers academic performance. Teenagers with SAD have a difficult time in school. They may avoid participating in school activities, and feel a great deal of anxiety and distress related to such activities. They may have trouble asking a teacher for help with an assignment they don't understand, causing them to struggle in their schoolwork. Presenting in front of the class often causes great anxiety and the student will try to put off presenting or will simply not do the assignment, regardless of how it would affect their grade. For those students who have been absent, missed work will often not be completed because the student will avoid having to ask a classmate or the teacher for the assignment. For some students, being late for class is very distressing, as they do not want the attention of walking into class after everyone else. Some students will simply not go to class to avoid walking in late. Students with severe SAD may refuse to go to school; some may even drop out. In some cases social anxiety can lead to physical illness. Teenagers may complain about muscle tension and cramps, stomachaches, headaches, pain in the limbs and back or discomforts associated with pubertal changes.