Love is a losing game: The experience of romantic love in social anxiety disorder

The present study aimed to examine the temporal relationship between the experience of love and subsequent anxiety among individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD, n = 44), panic disorder (PD, n = 29), and a control group with neither disorder (n = 43). Using a daily diary design, participants completed measures of emotions for 21 consecutive days. Using multilevel linear modeling, we found that individuals with SAD reported significantly lower levels of love compared to the other groups (B = 0.623; SE = 0.053; p < .001; 95% Bootstrapped CI = 0.513–0.722; Cohen’s d = 0.34). Consistent with our preregistered hypotheses, in the SAD group, daily experiences of love significantly predicted increased anxiety on the following day (B = 0.071; SE = 0.037; p = .018; 95% Bootstrapped CI = 0.020–0.124; Cohen’s d = 0.69). In contrast, for the PD group, daily love predicted a decrease in subsequent anxiety (B = −0.063; SE = 0.042; p = .041; 95% Bootstrapped CI = −0.149 to −0.009; Cohen’s d = 0.53). No significant temporal association was found for the control group (p > .05). Findings suggest that individuals with SAD may perceive love as a threat or a sign of weakness, leading to elevated anxiety. Our results highlight the importance of addressing the fear of positive emotions, specifically love, in clinical interventions for SAD.