[Gender and age differences in the cognitive, psychophysiological, and behavioral responses of social anxiety in adolescence].

The aim of this study was to analyze gender and age differences in adolescents' social anxiety in the factor scores of the Social Phobia subscale from the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SP-SPAI): Social Interactions, Focus of Attention, Cognitive and Somatic Symptoms and Avoidance and Escape Behaviors. The sample consisted of 2,543 students of Secondary Education between 12 and 17 years. Results are shown for the general sample (N= 2,543) and for the sample of adolescents classified as high social anxiety group (n= 317). Regarding the first group, girls obtained higher total scores on the Social Phobia scale and on all factors except for Avoidance and Escape (d= .32 - .35). Concerning the high anxiety group, the analyses revealed that boys avoid and escape from social situations more frequently than girls (d= .23). No age differences were found in the factor scores for any of the two samples.