My Thoughts about Selective Mutism

Do children with selective mutism have fear of positive evaluation？

2014-02-25T17:43:00.004+09:00

Socially anxious individuals are afraid of negative evaluation like criticism, ridicule, contempt and disapproval. In fact, Watson & Friend.(1969) measured such anxiety using the Fear of Negative Evaluation(FNS) scale.

Watson & Friend.(1969) is as follows.

Watson, D., & Friend, R. (1969). Measurement of social-evaluative anxiety. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology, 33(4), 448. doi:10.1037/h0027806.

Since Watson & Friend.(1969), Many researchers have studied the association between social anxiety and fear of negative evaluation. However, a research team consisting of Adult Anxiety Clinic of Temple University and Department of Psychology in Washington University developed The Fear of Positive evaluation scale(FPES) to assess fear of receiving praise in undergraduate students(Weeks et al., 2008).

Weeks et al.(2008) is as follows.

Weeks, J. W., Heimberg, R. G., & Rodebaugh, T. L. (2008). The Fear of Positive Evaluation Scale: Assessing a proposed cognitive component of social anxiety. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 22(1), 44-55. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2007.08.002.

Weeks et al.(2008) found the FPES correlated positively with measures of social interaction anxiety and fear of negative evaluation. The results of their study show that fear of positive evaluation and fear of negative evaluation are separate constructs. Therefore, social anxiety may be related to not only fear of criticism but also fear of praise.

On the other hand, many children with selective mutism are socially anxious or have social anxiety disorder(also known as social phobia). Although not every selectively mute child has high level of social anxiety, it is possible that they are afraid of positive evaluation.

However, there is no research surveying fear of positive evaluation as well as fear of negative evaluation possibly underlying selective mutism. All we need is study！

Behavioral Inhibiton and Selective Mutism

2011-08-03T15:09:00.000+09:00

Some children are innately predisposed to react to novelty with worries and anxiety. They tend to avoid new situations, places, and people. Some infants move their limbs vigorously in stressful cognitive tasks. Many, but not all, infants with these characteristics tend to become behavioral inhibition, avoidant and anxious behavior to novelty, in his/her later live. Most important thing is that children with inhibited temperament will have social anxiety disorder and/or major depression or other psychiatric disorders as adolescent.

On the other hand, selective mutism is reckoned as a childhood anxiety disorder, although no conclusion has yet been drawn. But, given behavioral inhibition and selective mutism have childhood anxiety in common, I wonder whether selectively mute children is characterised by inhibited temperament or not. What percentage of children with selective mutism exhibit behavioral inhibition?

Selective Mutism Defined with DSM-Ⅳ-TR

2011-05-24T14:11:00.003+09:00

The Diagostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSM) is widely used by many psychiatrists in the world to identify mental disorders. The first DSM, DSM-1, was published in 1952 and has been revised, resulting in the newest DSM-Ⅳ-TR, the current(2011) version of the DSM.

Selective mutism is defined with DSM-Ⅳ-TR as follows.

・Consistent failure to speak in specific social situations (in which there is an expectation for speaking, e.g., at school) despite speaking in other situations.

・The disturbance interferes with educational or occupational achievement or with social communication.

・The duration of the disturbance is at least 1 month (not limited to the first month of school).

・The failure to speak is not due to a lack of knowledge of, or comfort with, the spoken language is required in the social situation.

・The disturbance is not better accounted for by a Communication Disorder (e.g., Stuttering) and does not occur exclusively during the course of a Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Schizophrenia, or other Psychotic Disorder.

Although the DSMⅣ-TR refers to selective mutism, there is no meaning if psychiatrists don't know that. At least in Japan, I think, a few pediatricians or psychiatrists note selective mutism conditions in spite of confronting children showing mute behaviors. They might think such children are just shy, timid, or subdued. So, the population of mute children probably remains underestimated until the concept of selective mutism becomes widespread.

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2011-05-18T14:37:00.005+09:00

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What is Selective Mutism?

2011-05-16T14:29:00.005+09:00

Selective mutism is a childhood anxiety disorder characterized by an inability to talk in one or more social settings, such as school. The symptom usually emerges when children start to go to school although some cases are later induced. Perhaps this condition could lead to anxiety disorders when they grow up to adolescents or even adults. Anxiety disorders include social phobia(social anxiety disorder), obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and so on.

Unfortunately, selective mutism is little known and understood in the world, causing disappointment among people with selective mutism and parents of children with it. Some adults are surprised to recognize it because their conditions at younger ages look the very same of description about selective mutism. Among those don't have the knowledge about it are psychotherapists, parents of children with potential mutism and preschool and school teachers. So, we don't have the knowledge of how many people with selective mutism don't know their conditions, I'm sure there are.