12 percent of people reported having the necessary symptoms to receive a diagnosis of 
social anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. In fact, social anxiety disorder was 
found to be the fourth most prevalent psychological problem in this study, after depres -
sion, alcohol abuse, and speciﬁc phobias (for example, phobias of animals, blood, needles, 
heights, ﬂying, and so on). Other researchers have found the prevalence of social anxiety 
disorder to be lower than 12 percent, but almost all studies have conﬁrmed that social 
anxiety disorder is a common problem (Kessler et al., in press).
Differences Between Men and Women
Shyness and social anxiety are common across both sexes, although most studies 
have found that social anxiety disorder is slightly more prevalent in women than in men 
(Somers et al. 2006). There are a number of possible explanations for why women are 
more likely than men to report fearing social situations. First, it’s possible that men are 
actually more anxious in social situations than they are willing to admit. For example, 
there is evidence from studies of other phobias that men underestimate their levels of 
fear (Pierce and Kirkpatrick 1992). Also, in Western societies, women are often expected 
to be more socially active than men. Therefore, men may be able to avoid certain types 
of social situations more easily than women, without being harassed about their absence 
and without experiencing as much social pressure from others in their day-to-day lives.