Social Anxiety and Peer Relationships in Early Adolescence: A Prospective Analysis

Abstract Examined relationships over time between social anxiety, friendship qualities, and rejection experiences for 68 early adolescents who had recently relocated. Prospective analyses provide evidence consistent with the view that social anxiety influences the emergence of companionship and intimacy in newly formed friendships but does not play a significant role in determining the frequency of rejection events. Social anxiety also appears to change over time in response to the degree of companionship and intimacy in friendships and to the frequency of rejection experiences.