Perinatal complications are associated with social anxiety: Indirect effects through temperament.

The current investigation examines the relation between perinatal complications and social anxiety incorporating the potential indirect effect of child temperament. Participants were 149 children 9 to 12 years of age (Mage=9.97, SDage=1.00) screened for behavioral inhibition (BI) and assessed for social anxiety symptoms using parent- and child-report. Participating families also reported on the presence of perinatal complications. Results indicated that children who experienced perinatal complications were higher in BI and social anxiety, compared to children who did not experience complications. Furthermore, there was an indirect effect between perinatal complications and social anxiety via BI. These findings provide further support for the established relation between perinatal complications and anxiety and demonstrate, for the first time, that this relation may be mediated by temperament, setting the stage for longitudinal analyses.