As crenças cognitivas e suas relações com sintomas de ansiedade social e depressão

Abstract

Social Anxiety has been underdiagnosed at psychology clinics due the comorbidities it shows. Depression appears frequently between those psychologycal disorders related to social anxiety, figuring as one of the most severe, capable of causing the patient's death. In these cases, diagnoses may be confusing, affecting treatment. Objective: this study sought to better understand, through cognitive beliefs, the similarities and differences between these disorders and its mutual influences, helping to identify them and to improve interventions through more focused perceptions. The main objective was to correlate the groups of social anxious and depressed, and understand which beliefs they share and its intensity. Methods: subjects of the study were people older than 18 years under treatment at the Applied Center of Psychology (CPA) - UFJF and at the Psychologycal Clinic of CES, JF. It was agreed with these institutions and the therapeuts to select those who started their treatment at CPA and CES, and whose complaints leans to a diagnosis of depression or social anxiety. Afterwards, it was applied the following instruments of research: Liebowitz Social Anxiety Inventory, Baptista Depression Scale for Adults - EBADEP-A and Cognitive Triad Inventory - ITC. The first two screened the possibility of social anxiety and depression diagnosis, and the last assessed cognitive beliefs in these groups. Results: the results indicate that depressed individuals experience more dysfunctional beliefs about themselves, the world and the future when compared with socially anxious individuals. Hence, both groups are significantly different concerning this criterion. The group of comorbidity between social anxiety and depression appeared much more affected than the others concerning these beliefs, differing from the depression group only in the "negative future" belief. Those who exhibited high scores only for social anxiety didn't differed significantly from subjects who didn't achieved substantial scores at EBADEP-A and Liebowitz.