Why does social anxiety increase in adolescence and how does it grow out of control in some adolescents?

Together with researchers from over the world, the ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group endeavors to unravel the neurobiology of anxiety disorders and related constructs.

Serious forms of anxiety concerning other people’s opinions can hinder teenagers at school in social interactions or carrying out tasks. Psychologist Anne Miers is looking for ways to reduce this so-called ‘social anxiety’.

Our mission is to recognise and treat stress and anxiety in children as early as possible, by connecting scientific research, clinical practice and education.

Primary Objective: The primary aim of the proposed RCT is to evaluate whether LF-TLP in blended form as an indicated prevention for anxiety complaints is more (cost-) effective than TAU according to the NHG guideline Anxiety. We hypothesize that in comparison to TAU, LF-TLP will result in a significantly…

When and how does social anxiety develop? How can it go astray in some adolescents? How can we help troubled young people to attend school regularly and return to a normal developmental pathway?

Social anxiety disorder is one of the most common disorders in children and young people. Social anxiety is characterized by excessive fear and avoidance of social situations. The primary fear in children with social anxiety is that they will be negatively judged by others. To date, the most frequently…

Parents may pass anxiety onto their offspring by exposing them to anxious behaviors in novel situations. Just as the parents’ anxious signals lead to anxiety, parents’ confident signals can ward off anxiety in the offspring. This project is seeking a new way to break anxiety transmission in the family…

Welcome to the Social Anxiety and Specific Phobia (SASP) Research Group!

From basic science to real-world interventions

Is blended care a feasible and effective treatment method for social anxiety in adolescence?

How effective is eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy in targeting epilepsy-related anxiety?

Social anxiety runs in families, but the neurobiology underlying this genetic vulnerability is until now largely unknown. The unique Leiden Family Lab study on Social Anxiety Disorder (LFLSAD) aims to broaden our knowledge with respect to this genetic susceptibility.

What are the developmental pathways to social anxiety (disorder), the causal processes and maintaining factors? How do these factors interact in the development of social anxiety disorder? How can this knowledge be used to design and implement effective preventive intervention programs for youth?

Does the public speaking anxiety that many youngsters experience originates from specific characteristics in their earlier development?

The key question addressed in this family study is whether the psychophysiological and neurocognitive abnormalities often reported in SAD patients are heritable and can thus be found in family members of SAD patients as well. Determination of heritability of these deficiencies is essential for endophenotyping.…

How does stress influence cognitive performance? What is the role of selective attention to threatening information in this effect? Could we prevent stress-induced decline of cognitive performance with pharmacological interventions? Could we use resting state theta/beta ratio as a biomarker for cognitive…

How can we facilitate the early recognition of stress and anxiety in the classroom and collaborate with schools in providing low-threshold interventions?

Do general practitioners recognize children with or at risk of problematic anxiety and is there a pattern that might help differentiate those with and without anxiety disorders in general practice?

The main aim of my Ph.D. thesis is to further explore the value of using early developing zebrafish larvae (up to 5 dpf) as a model to study anxiety-like behaviour and their pharmacological modulation with drugs.

Which adolescents are more at risk of developing social anxiety disorder later in life?

Programs that aim to reduce symptoms of social anxiety in children generally include multiple components, such as exposure and cognitive restructuring. It is unknown if separate components yield positive intervention effects in children or whether a combination of components is required.

Is EEG theta\beta ratio predictive towards the negative effects of stress on cognitive performance in individuals suffering from performance anxiety? Can we improve resilience to performance anxiety by using a theta\beta ratio neurofeedback intervention?

Building cultures of legality: lawmaking and anxiety in the office of the Governor General.

Social and Behavioural Sciences, Psychology

Can zebrafish larvae be used as a behavioural model for screening natural products as potential neurotropic drugs?

In this project we looked at children and their relationships with peers. We wanted to learn more about the well-being of children and how this is linked to topics such as friendships, anxiety and social skills. By looking at these topics and their interplay, we can learn more about how children are…

It was already known that social anxiety disorder often affects more than one person in the same family. But research by PhD student Janna Marie Bas-Hoogendam has now shown that there are genetic brain characteristics that are associated with social anxiety. The PhD ceremony will take place on 14 Ja…

Developmental psychologist Anne Miers of Leiden University is involved in a large-scale research project investigating the efficacy of interventions regarding social skills, resilience and insecurity. The project is funded by a grant from The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research - Health…

Only one in five young people with emotional health problems such as an anxiety disorder receives appropriate professional help. GPs often fail to properly recognise the signals in children and young people, according to psychologist Semiha Aydin. How can we improve this? PhD defence 23 February.

The ‘Leer te Durven!’ program (Learn to Dare) is a preventive training program for children with mild anxiety symptoms (Simon & Bögels, 2014). The program has been developed for children between the ages of 8 and 12 who feel or behave anxiously, avoid situations, are afraid of doing things wrong, appear…

A step-by-step approach to building confidence in anxiety-prone young children.

Our world may seem unpredictable and uncertain, especially when others are involved. When interacting with others, we cannot know for sure what they may be thinking or planning to do, but we do a good job guessing. This may not be so easy for everyone…

Neuroimaging research has greatly advanced our insights on how the brain is organized. Now is the time for the next step: Imagine what would be possible when we cannot only map brain-functioning, but use neuroimaging to voluntarily regulate brain-activity!

Why do some children confront social challenges with confidence, whereas others experience difficulties? What is the role of child temperament and child emotional dispositions? What is the role of parenting? This project aims to shed light on the mechanisms explaining shyness and confidence in response…

Investigating neurobiological endophenotypes of Social Anxiety Disorder

Anxiety disorders, like specific phobias, are among the most prevalent mental health disorders that may hinder children in their development. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is considered an effective treatment for childhood anxiety. After treatment, children are encouraged to practice at home with…

Children with a specific phobia are excessively afraid of certain objects, animals or situations. Specific phobias are common in children, but they can make the child’s life at home, school and outside quite difficult. Together with a large international team, we developed the KibA-program to help children…

A research into for whom, when and why the Cool Little Kids intervention works.

Empathic or anxious mistakes? A neurocognitive investigation of the development of social performance monitoring in youth growing up in stressful versus non-stressful environments

An international mega-analysis on the neurobiological link between inhibited temperament and social anxiety disorder

Delineating psychophysiological endophenotypes of social anxiety disorder

Can positive peer feedback break the cycle of negative self-relevant cognitive processes and reduce self-reported anxiety in early adolescents?