not by itself pathological. In some societies, shyness is even evaluated positively. How-
ever, when there is a significant adverse impa ct on social, occupational, and other impor-
tant areas of functioning, a di agnosis of social anxiety disord er should be considered, and
when full diagnostic criteria for social anxiety disorder are met, the disorder should be di-
agnosed. Only a minority (12%) of self-identif ied shy individuals in the United States have
symptoms that meet diagnostic crit eria for social anxiety disorder.
Agoraphobia. Individuals with agoraphobia may fear an d avoid social situations (e.g., go-
ing to a movie) because escape might be difficult or help might not be available in the event of
incapacitation or panic-like sy mptoms, whereas individuals with  social anxiety disorder are
most fearful of scrutiny by others. Moreover, in dividuals with social anxiety disorder are likely
to be calm when left entirely alone, wh ich is often not the case in agoraphobia.
Panic disorder. Individuals with social anxiety disord er may have panic attacks, but the
concern is about fear of negative evaluati on, whereas in panic disorder the concern is
about the panic attacks themselves. 
Generalized anxiety disorder. Social worries are common in generalized anxiety disorder,
but the focus is more on the nature of ongoing relationships rather than  on fear of negative
evaluation. Individuals with generalized anxiety disorder, particularly children, may have ex-
cessive worries about the quality of their social performance, bu t these worries also pertain to
nonsocial performance and when the individual is not being evaluated by others. In social anx-
iety disorder, the worries focus on social performance and others’ evaluation. 
Separation anxiety disorder. Individuals with separation anxiety disorder may avoid