January 1, 2011
1 min read
Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAmOccupational Hazard: Social Anxiety More Likely than Depression to Keep People Unemployed
Social Anxiety More Likely than Depression to Keep People Unemployed
By Erica Westly
On supporting science journalism
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Job interviews are stressful for most, but the process can be unbearable for people with social anxiety. As a result, social anxiety sufferers often wind up unemployed or in jobs below their training level. Ethan Moitra, a clinical psychologist at Brown University, decided to quantify this problem by comparing unemployment rates across similar disorders. His results were surprising: individuals with social anxiety were more than twice as likely to be unemployed as those with depression and generalized anxiety, which had minimal effects on employment. Psychotherapy can help reduce social anxiety, Moitra says, but early detection is key.
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