Social anxiety disorder (social phobia) : The South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP) Treatment Guidelines for Psychiatric Disorders

According to epidemiological studies, rates of social anxiety disorder (SAD) or social phobia range from 3% to 16% in the general population. Social phobia and specific phobias have an earlier age of onset than other anxiety disorders. The median age of onset for the disorder is 13 years with an onset after age 25 relatively uncommon. The disorder typically persists throughout adult life and is associated with significant functional impairment. Individuals with SAD are more likely to be females; however in clinical samples SAD seems to be more equally distributed among men and women.