Effects of rejection sensitivity, and anxious, depressed thoughts on undergraduates in teacher-education

Abstract

Effects of interpersonal rejection sensitivity and automatic thoughts relating to social phobia, trait anxiety, and depression, in university students in a teacher education course were investigated to determine if these effects differed between pre- and post-practicum students. We administered questionnaires to first year students (n=84; 37 boys and 47 girls) with no practicum experience (no practicum group) and to fourth year students (n=82; 51 boys and 31 girls) with a practicum experience (practicum group). The results showed that in the no practicum group, “Dependence on Evaluation by Others” and “Negative Expectations for the Future” significantly affected interpersonal rejection sensitivity and automatic thoughts related to social phobia, whereas “Negative Expectation for the Future” had a significant effect on these variables in the practicum group. In addition, “Negative Thoughts about the Self” significantly affected trait anxiety. Furthermore, “Fear of Relationship Failure” and “Unassertive Interpersonal Behavior significantly affected the “Fear of Hurting Others” in the no practicum group, whereas there was a significant effect of “Fear of Criticism by Others” on these variables in the practicum group. In both groups, there was a significant effect of “Negative Expectation for the Future” on depression, whereas in the no practicum group, there was a significant effect of “Positive Automatic Thoughts” on depression.