Social anxiety disorder occurs more often in females than males. The prevalence of social phobia appears to be increasing among white, married, and well-educated individuals. As a group, those with generalized social phobia are less likely to graduate from high school and are more likely to rely on government financial assistance or have poverty-level salaries. Surveys carried out in 2002 show the youth of England, Scotland, and Wales have a prevalence rate of 0.4 percent, 1.8 percent, and 0.6 percent, respectively. In Canada, the prevalence of self-reported social anxiety for Nova Scotians older than 14 years was 4.2 percent in June 2004 with women (4.6 percent) reporting more than men (3.8 percent). In Australia, social phobia is the 8th and 5th leading disease or illness for males and females between 15 and 24 years of age as of 2003. Because of the difficulty in separating social phobia from poor social skills or shyness, some studies have a large range of prevalence. The table also shows higher prevalence in Sweden. Terminology
It has also been referred to as anthropophobia, meaning "fear of humans", from Greek: άνθρωπος, ánthropos, "human" and φόβος, phóbos, "fear". Other names have included interpersonal relation phobia. A specific Japanese cultural form is known as taijin kyofusho. See also
Alexithymia
Agoraphobia
Asociality
Highly sensitive person
Impostor syndrome
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Phobia
Scopophobia
Selective mutism
Social inhibition
Social rejection

References
Further reading
Belzer K. D.; McKee M. B.; Liebowitz M. R. (2005). "Social Anxiety Disorder: Current Perspectives on Diagnosis and Treatment". Primary Psychiatry. 12 (11): 40–53. Archived from the original on 2012-05-12. Retrieved 2006-06-21. Beidel, D. C., & Turner, S. M. (2007).
To some extent, this "heritability" may not be specific – for example, studies have found that if a parent has any kind of anxiety disorder or clinical depression, then a child is somewhat more likely to develop an anxiety disorder or social phobia. Studies suggest that parents of those with social anxiety disorder tend to be more socially isolated themselves (Bruch and Heimberg, 1994; Caster et al., 1999), and shyness in adoptive parents is significantly correlated with shyness in adopted children (Daniels and Plomin, 1985). Growing up with overprotective and hypercritical parents has also been associated with social anxiety disorder. Adolescents who were rated as having an insecure (anxious-ambivalent) attachment with their mother as infants were twice as likely to develop anxiety disorders by late adolescence, including social phobia.A related line of research has investigated behavioural inhibition in infants – early signs of an inhibited and introspective or fearful nature. Studies have shown that around 10–15 percent of individuals show this early temperament, which appears to be partly due to genetics. Some continue to show this trait into adolescence and adulthood and appear to be more likely to develop a social anxiety disorder. Social experiences
A previous negative social experience can be a trigger to social phobia, perhaps particularly for individuals high in "interpersonal sensitivity".