Sociocultural contexts of anthropophobia: a sample of Chinese youth

Background: Anthropophobia, a subtype of social phobia, is prevalent in Chi nese and Japanese societies. This study investigated sociocultural influenc es on the course of this culturally specific mental disorder. Method: One h undred and fifty subjects, including 50 anthropophobic, 50 neurasthenic, an d 50 community subjects, were interviewed in Beijing, China for the assessm ent of their early life experiences (child-parent relationships and sexual experiences), collectivism disposition, sexual attitudes, and communication behaviors. Logistic and linear regression analyses were performed to exami ne significant predictors of the occurrence and the symptom level of anthro pophobia. Results: Regression models explained 69% of variance in the diagn osis and 57% of variance in the symptom level of anthropophobia among anthr opophobic and community subjects. They also explained 48% and 47% of varian ce respectively in the diagnosis and the level of symptoms among anthropoph obic and neurasthenic subjects. Anthropophobic subjects had more problemati c relationships with parents than did community and neurasthenic subjects. They also exhibited significantly stronger characteristics of collectivism than did community subjects. Sexual contact with a non-family member prior to age 19 and a feeling of discomfort when interacting with the opposite se x were significantly associated with the diagnosis and symptom level of ant hropophobia. Conclusions: It was concluded that anthropophobic subjects' ea rly sexual experiences and need for parental approval shaped their conformi ty to social norms and negative sexual attitudes, which were reinforced by the collective-orientated cultural environment, and contributed to the deve lopment of anthropophobia.