Social anxiety and romantic relationships

Adolescent romantic involvement is statistically normative and makes important contributions to relational development. Social anxiety is a prevalent problem in adolescents and is likely to interfere with the development of healthy romantic functioning. In the current chapter, we first review the nature of adolescent romantic relationships and their implications for social development. We then discuss associations between romantic processes in adolescence and social anxiety. We note that social anxiety impairs peer processes that are likely to impact romantic functioning and review research drawn from the adolescent and adult literatures, showing that social anxiety predicts low engagement in romantic relationships and dysfunction in existing relationships. Finally, we discuss possibilities for future research and implications for treatment and prevention programs.