Share of Cost, Social anxiety is highly heritable but is affected by environment
Genes play a crucial role over time although environmental factors matter most in the short term, according to a major study into social anxiety and avoidant personality disorders from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
“The results show a surprisingly high heritability of the long-term risk of developing social anxiety,” says Fartein Ask Torvik, a researcher in the Department of Genetics, Environment and Mental Health at the institute.
It has long been known that both genetics and the environment play a role in the development of social anxiety, but researchers have been previously unaware of the strong effect of genetic factors over time.