Unexplored issues and future directions in social phobia research

There have been significant advances in recent years in the understanding and treatment of social phobia, which are summarised in this Special Issue. This paper outlines and describes some further priority areas for future research. It is suggested that social phobia should be investigated as a developmental condition, with special attention to the first two years of life; and subtypes of social phobia be further explored and their implication for treatment. Social phobia is often comorbid with other disorders and its relationship with these disorders warrants further investigation with respect to causality and treatment implications. Lastly, the investigation of social phobia within a health services research context is highlighted with the necessity of refining the design of clinical trials to establish the efficacy and effectiveness of current treatments.