Testing a Moderated Mediation Model of Social Withdrawal and Intimacy: The Roles of Interpersonal Distrust and Retrospective Bullying Victimization

Abstract

Given that social withdrawal has been consistently linked to intimacy, an examination of the mediating effect of interpersonal distrust on the relationship between social withdrawal and intimacy could offer potential insights into a possible explanatory mechanism. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate interpersonal distrust as a mediator of the relationship between social withdrawal and intimacy, and whether retrospective bullying victimization moderates this mediation. Participants included 160 university students who completed measures of social withdrawal, interpersonal distrust, intimacy, and retrospective bullying victimization. Results indicated that interpersonal distrust mediated the relationship between social withdrawal and intimacy. Retrospective bullying victimization in primary school, however, did not moderate the mediation model. In light of these findings, appropriate implications and suggestions for interventions are discussed.