Generalized Anxiety and Social Anxiety in Adolescence: Distinctions Based on Impulsivity, Perceiving Controllability and Cognitive Alternatives

Anxiety disorders are the most common categories of psychological disorders. The present research has conducted with the aim of comparing the impulsivity, perceive the controllability, and perceive and generate the cognitive alternatives in adolescents with generalized anxiety and social anxiety. The research was a study with causal-comparative design. The population was the first high middle school students of Khorramabad city. The examined sample selected using convenience sampling, and conducted impulsivity, cognitive flexibility, generalized anxiety and social anxiety scales for them. Then two groups with generalized anxiety and social anxiety were selected based on the cut of point scores of generalized anxiety and social anxiety scales, and were compared in impulsivity, perceive the controllability, and perceive and generate the cognitive alternatives. The analysis by Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) indicated a significant difference in the linear composition of dependent variables of these two anxious groups. Univariate analysis of variance also indicated that adolescents with social anxiety had more ability to perceive and generate cognitive alternatives compared to adolescents with generalized anxiety (Individuals with generalized anxiety had more difficulties in this component). This difference existed in females and not in males of two anxious groups. In impulsivity and perceiving controllability, there were not significant differences between the two groups. In conclusion, adolescents, specially, females with generalized anxiety and social anxiety are different in cognitive flexibility (perceive and generate cognitive alternatives). So, their diagnosis and appraisal, and also their therapeutic programs must conduct regarding these differences.