Safety behaviors (anxiety)

Safety behaviors (also known as safety-seeking behaviors) are coping behaviors used to reduce anxiety and fear when the user feels threatened.[1] An example of a safety behavior in social anxiety is to think of excuses to escape a potentially uncomfortable situation.[2] These safety behaviors, although useful for reducing anxiety in the short term, might become maladaptive over the long term by prolonging anxiety and fear of nonthreatening situations.[1][3] This problem is commonly experienced in anxiety disorders.[4] Treatments such as exposure and response prevention focus on eliminating safety behaviors due to the detrimental role safety behaviors have in mental disorders.[5][6] There is a disputed claim that safety behaviors can be beneficial to use during the early stages of treatment.[7]

  1. ^ a b Salkovskis, P. M. (1991). The importance of behaviour in the maintenance of anxiety and panic: A cognitive account. Behavioural Psychotherapy, 19(1), 6–19. doi:10.1017/S0141347300011472
  2. ^ Cuming, S., Rapee, R. M., Kemp, N., Abbott, M. J., Peters, L., & Gaston, J. E. (2009). A self-report measure of subtle avoidance and safety behaviors relevant to social anxiety: Development and psychometric properties. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23(7), 879–883. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2009.05.002
  3. ^ Rachman, S. (1984). Agoraphobia—A safety-signal perspective. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 22(1), 59–70. doi:10.1016/0005-7967(84)90033-0
  4. ^ Helbig-Lang, S., & Petermann, F. (2010). Tolerate or eliminate? A systematic review on the effects of safety behavior across anxiety disorders. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 17(3), 218–233. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2850.2010.01213.x
  5. ^ Wells, A., Clark, D.M., Salkovskis, P., Ludgate, J., Hackmann, A., & Gelder, M. (1995). Social phobia: The role of in-situation safety behaviors in maintaining anxiety and negative beliefs. Behavior Therapy, 26(1), 153–161. doi:10.1016/S0005-7894(05)80088-7
  6. ^ van den Hout, M., & Kindt, M. (2004). Obsessive–compulsive disorder and the paradoxical effects of perseverative behaviour on experienced uncertainty. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 35(2), 165–181. doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2004.04.007
  7. ^ Rachman, S., Radomsky, A. S., & Shafran, R. (2008). Safety behaviour: A reconsideration. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 46, 143–173. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2007.11.008