Social Interaction Anxiety in Developmental Prosopagnosia: Prevalence, Severity, and Individual Differences

Objective: While elevated social anxiety in developmental prosopagnosia (DP) has been reported in anecdotal and qualitative studies, the current study sought to better quantify the prevalence and severity of social anxiety in a large DP sample. Method: 88 DPs and 58 controls completed the validated Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) and assessments of face recognition, autism traits, personality (Big Five Inventory), and coping strategies. Results: DPs reported greater social anxiety symptoms (M=30.25) than controls (M=17.19), with 44% of DPs above a probable clinical cutoff compared to 14% of controls. DPs’ social anxiety was largely specific to items pertaining to mixing socially or interacting with unfamiliar people. Notably, several DPs reported minimal social anxiety, which was associated with being more extraverted and having fewer autism traits. A follow-up survey revealed that extraverted DPs more openly disclosed face recognition inabilities than introverted DPs, which may be a factor in their reduced social anxiety. Conclusion: These results better quantify the potential serious psychosocial impacts of DP while highlighting the importance of individual differences and targeted intervention.