Predictors of Embarrassment in Daily Social Interactions in Social Phobia, Major Depression and Healthy Controls

Introduction: Embarrassment is a social affect. Once experienced in social interactions (SIs), it can be a precursor of clinical symptoms like depersonalization and ruminative thinking. This experience sampling study investigated predictors of embarrassment in social phobia (SP), major depressive disorder (MDD), and controls. Methods: For seven days, a total of n = 165 patients (n = 47 SP, n = 118 MDD) and n = 119 controls completed five surveys per day on their smartphones. The effect of social anxiety and depression facets on embarrassment was examined in contemporaneous and time-lagged models. Results: Individuals with SP or MDD experienced more embarrassing SIs than controls. Among facets of depression, feelings of guilt, and low self-worth significantly predicted embarrassment in contemporaneous, but not in time-lagged models. Among facets of social anxiety, worries about other people's opinion and worries of saying or doing something wrong during a social interaction significantly predicted embarrassment (contemporaneous and time-lagged; all p < .05). Discussion: The study reveals important cognitive factors that accompany embarrassment in SIs and that connect social experience and clinical symptoms. Targeting these putative dysfunctions could be an important strategy in therapy. The differential patterns in SP and MDD are discussed.