Excessive social anxiety is a feature of the diagnostic criteria for which disorder?

• A. Schizoid Personality Disorder
• B. Schizophrenia
• C. Avoidant Personality Disorder
• D. Schizotypal (Personality) Disorder

Answer: (D)

Pervasive fear of negative evaluation drives excessive social anxiety that is characteristic of Avoidant Personality Disorder. This disorder presents with marked social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to rejection or criticism, leading to avoidance of most interpersonal situations despite a desire for closeness.

Schizoid Personality Disorder is about detachment and a lack of interest in social relationships, not anxiety about them. Schizotypal Personality Disorder involves social discomfort related to odd beliefs, behaviors, and perceptions, along with eccentricities, rather than being driven primarily by anxiety about negative evaluation. Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder with symptoms like delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thinking, not a personality‑disorder diagnosis with pervasive social anxiety as a defining feature.