Multidimensional profiles reveal diverse characteristics of social anxiety, implying personalized assessments.
Key Points
The study aims to characterize socially anxious individuals through multidimensional psychological profiles rather than traditional diagnostic categories.
Conducted hierarchical and k-means cluster analyses on 412 adults scoring above a threshold for social anxiety.
Included 20 standardized indicators and applied various validation techniques for robustness.
Evaluated external validity through clinical thresholds, impairment, and diagnosis history.
Identified four distinct profiles: Severe–Internalizing, Sociable–Distressed, Withdrawn–Low Drive, and Low Symptom–Stable.
Profiles differed significantly across 19 of 20 assessment indicators.
External validators displayed unique patterns of clinical burden and diagnostic history.