The Relationship of Social Anxiety and Past Peer Victimization: A Review of the Literature and Recommendations for Augmenting Existing Psychological Treatment

Bullying, also known as peer victimization, is a growing problem facing today’s youth. Already, the mental health effects of bullying on adolescents have been well-documented, and include social anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. Recently, however, these effects have also been noted to last well into adulthood. Peer victimization in adolescence is especially linked to social anxiety disorder (SAD) later in life, which, if left untreated, is a notably unremitting diagnosis. Importantly, college-aged adults (18-22 years old) with SAD are often unlikely to seek treatment, which can lead to further social isolation and worsening of symptoms. To date, there is no set of treatment guidelines that are specifically formulated for college-aged adults with social anxiety who were bullied as adolescents. The purpose of this paper is to address this dearth in the literature by providing a comprehensive set of treatment recommendations that will outline the assessment and treatment of social anxiety in this population using both cognitive-behavioral therapy and emotion-focused therapy.