Psychophysiological mechanisms underlying the failure to speak: a comparison between children with selective mutism and social anxiety disorder on autonomic arousal.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Selective mutism (SM) has been conceptualized as an extreme variant of social anxiety disorder (SAD), in which the failure to speak functions as an avoidance mechanism leading to a reduction of intense fear arousal. However, psychophysiological studies in children with SM are scarce and physiological mechanisms underlying the failure to speak are largely unknown. In contrast, children with SAD are characterized by a combination of a chronically elevated physiological arousal and a blunted physiological fear response to social stress. Due to the large overlap between SM and SAD, similar mechanisms might apply to both disorders, while differences might explain why children with SM fail to speak. The aim of our study is to investigate psychophysiological mechanisms of the f

SUBMITTER: Vogel F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8715622 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature