Differences In Social Anxiety Research Articles

Social anxiety disorder: prevalence and dominant factor among adolescents in urban and rural school

In the age range of 16-18 years, commonly known as adolescence, individuals undergo a period of self-discovery in their socio-emotional development. Failures during this process can lead to individuals experiencing anxiety in social interactions, which can have a negative impact on their mental health. The Indonesia National Adolescent Mental Health Survey (I-NAMHS), findings also indicate that the most prevalent mental disorder among adolescents is anxiety disorder (a combination of social phobia and generalized anxiety disorder), is equivalent to 15.5 million. The widespread use of the internet and social media, on one hand, has led to a high dependency on smartphones among teenagers, causing them to spend more time interacting in the virtual world. Over an extended period, this condition can lead to social anxiety due to the fear of failure and lack of success. The objective of this research is to explore whether there is a difference in social anxiety among teenagers living in rural or urban areas, related to factors such as the duration of smartphone usage, school activities, and so on. The results of this research are crucial for providing feedback to high schools, especially for early detection of potential anxiety symptoms from the beginning, in order to prevent and provide appropriate treatment for social anxiety, thus not affecting students' academic achievements. It is recommended that schools conduct early detection measures.

Social anxiety and fear of intimacy among young adults

This study was conducted to better understand the relationship between social anxiety and fear of intimacy among young adults. Socially anxious individuals characteristically report fear of evaluation and scrutiny by others, we hypothesized that there is no impact of social anxiety on fear of intimacy among young adults, including the difference in social anxiety and fear of intimacy among males and females. Self-report data were collected from 81 males and 119 females aged 18- 25 years of age residing in the city of Bangalore, India. The tools used in the study were Social interaction anxiety scale (SIAS) was designed by Mattick and Clarke and The Fear of Intimacy Scale designed by Michelle, Mark & Thelen. The study found a positive correlation between social anxiety and fear of intimacy in young adults, rejecting the hypothesis that there is no relationship between the two variables. The independent t-test showed no significant difference in social anxiety or fear of intimacy between males and females. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that social anxiety affects fear of intimacy, as an increase in anxiety leads to an increase in social anxiety. Therefore, the hypothesis that social anxiety impacts fear of intimacy was rejected. The findings suggest that social anxiety may be a significant factor in determining social anxiety levels. The study provides insights into the challenges young adults with social anxiety face in forming close relationships, suggesting that identifying social anxiety could predict and address intimacy fear, potentially leading to more comprehensive treatment plans.

간호학생의 첫 임상실습에서 사회불안과 임상수행능력의 관계에 미치는 자기관리역량의 매개효과

Objectives This study was conducted to investigate the mediating effect of self-management competency in the relationship between social anxiety and clinical competency in nursing students' first clinical practice. This study analyzed the differences in social anxiety, self-management competency and clinical competency before and during clinical practice in nursing students' first clinical practice and verified the mediating effect of self-management competency in the relationship between social anxiety and clinical competency.
 Methods The subjects of the study were 95 third-year nursing students experiencing their first clinical practice at a university in Chungbuk. The research data measured social anxiety, self-management competency and clinical competency twice before and during the first clinical practice. The difference analysis before and during the first clinical practice was performed by paired t-test, the relationship between variables was analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis, and the mediating analysis was analyzed by hierarchical regression analysis and the significance of the path was analyzed by boostwrapping using SPSS macro process Model 4.
 Results In the first clinical practice of nursing students, there was no significant difference between social anxiety and self-management competency, but clinical competency was significantly improved in the measurement results before and during clinical practice. The relationship between variables showed a negative correlation between social anxiety and self-management competency, and a negative correlation between social anxiety and clinical competency but a positive correlation between self-management competency and clinical competency. This study found full mediating effect of self-management competency on the relationship between social anxiety and clinical competency.
 Conclusions The Self-management competency has been identified as a necessary competency to overcome social anxiety and achieve the goal of clinical competency in nursing students' university life and clinical practice, and it is necessary to develop a program to improve self-management competency in the future.

Exploring the Relationship between Insecure Attachment Styles and Social Anxiety in Undergraduate Students

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the correlation between Avoidant and Anxious Attachment Styles and Social Anxiety, contributing to a deeper understanding of these interconnected factors among undergraduate students.
 Methodology: Convenient Sampling was used to recruit 350 participants aged 18-26 from Forman Christian College (FCCU) in Lahore, Pakistan. The study administered the Revised Adult Attachment Scale (R-AAS) for close relationships and the Social Anxiety Scale (SAS). Data analysis was conducted using SPSS v.20, with Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient, Simple Linear Regression, and Independent Sample t-Test applied.
 Findings: A statistically significant positive correlation was found between Anxious Attachment Style and Social Anxiety. Anxious Attachment Style was revealed to positively predict 19% variance in Social Anxiety with p value <.001. A significant gender difference was found among Social Anxiety and Anxious Attachment Style, but none among Avoidant Attachment Style.
 Implications: Practical implications include tailored clinical interventions and support groups for holistic treatment. Recognizing attachment styles can improve intimate relationships. Gender differences in social anxiety suggest women may need gender-sensitive therapy to address social challenges in education and careers.

"Unpacking" cultural differences in social anxiety between Japanese and European Americans: the roles of threat appraisal and attentional bias.

Cultural differences in self-reported social anxiety between people of East Asian heritage and European heritage may be related to differences in independent and interdependent self-construals, which potentially influence the processing of social threat. We examined the roles of two different aspects of threat bias: threat appraisal (Study 1) and attentional bias (Study 2) to explain cultural group differences in social anxiety between Japanese and European American college students. Study 1 demonstrated that sequential mediations of lower independent self-construal and higher appraisal of threat among Japanese could explain their higher social anxiety compared to European Americans. However, Study 2 failed to find the relation between cultural group differences in self-construals and attentional bias. In addition, the cultural group differences in attentional bias were unexpectedly due to stronger selective attention toward neutral stimuli among European Americans, rather than bias toward social threat among Japanese. After selective attention was experimentally manipulated, there were significant cultural group differences in self-reported social anxiety and anxious behavior in a speech task. These conflicting findings suggested that an alternative theoretical framework other than the self-construal theory might be needed to fully account for cultural differences in attentional bias in explaining cultural group differences in social anxiety.

The Association between Internalizing Symptoms and Witnessing School Bullying and Defending Behavior: An Analysis of Gender Differences among Elementary and Middle School Students.

Bullying is a significant public health concern that begins as early as elementary school and peaks in middle school. Although researchers have demonstrated the relationship between internalizing symptoms and being a target of bullying, there is limited research examining the association between internalizing symptoms and witnessing school bullying and defending targets or gender differences in these relationships. In this cross-sectional study, we examined gender as a moderator of the relationships between internalizing symptoms (e.g., depressive symptoms and social anxiety) and witnessing school bullying and defending behavior in a sample of elementary and middle school students (N = 126; 51.6% female; 3rd-8th grade). Results demonstrated that witnessing school bullying was a significant predictor of depressive symptoms. For social anxiety, the gender x witnessing school bullying interaction was significant for social avoidance and distress (SAD), such that among female students, SAD was positively related to witnessing school bullying. In contrast, the gender x defending behavior interaction was significant for fear of negative evaluation (FNE), such that among male students, FNE was positively related to defending behavior. Findings suggest bullying prevention should incorporate bystander training programs that include a focus on gender differences in social anxiety associated with being a bullying bystander.

A study on the relationship between social anxiety and mental resilience of college students

To explore the relationship between mental resilience and social anxiety of college students, and to provide some theoretical support for improving social anxiety of college students. 100 college students in a university were investigated by using the mental resilience scale and social anxiety scale. According to the survey results, there is no significant gender difference in social anxiety of college students; The social anxiety of college students has significant difference in grade; There is a significant negative correlation between college students' mental resilience and social anxiety. Psychological resilience has a significant predictive effect on social anxiety of college students. Improving the mental resilience of college students can improve their social anxiety. This paper mainly analyzes the relationship between social anxiety and psychological resilience of college students.

Latent profiles of cyberbullying among university students and its relationship with social anxiety and aggressiveness

Cyberbullying has generated interest for researchers in the field of psychology and education in recent years. While most studies have focused on samples of adolescents, the university environment also deserves special attention due to its serious consequences on students. It is therefore very important to prevent cyberbullying in the context of university. The objectives of this study were to identify different profiles regarding cyberbullying and cybervictimization behaviors and examine the relationship between cyberbullying, social anxiety, and aggressiveness. A total of 1,368 university students participated in the study by completing the European Bullying Intervention Project Questionnaire (EBIPQ), the Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Adults (CASO-A30), and the Aggression Questionnaire (AQ). The latent profile analysis identified three cyberbullying profiles: a first group with low scores in cyberaggression and cybervictimization (not involved; 87.6%), a second group with moderately high scores in cyberaggression and cybervictimization (victimized cyberbullies; 10%), and a third group with high scores in cybervictimization and very high scores in cyberaggression (cyberbullies; 2.4%). The profile of “victimized cyberbullies” students presents higher scores in physical, verbal, anger, and hostility than the group of “not involved” students, while no differences in social anxiety were found between the groups analysed. Cyberbullying preventive programs should focus on the management of aggressive behaviors for those who have moderate scores in cybervictimization and cyberbullying behaviors, and social anxiety may not be differentiated between cyberbullying groups at this academic stage.

Investigation on Social Anxiety of Secondary Vocational Students

Objective: To investigate the status quo of social anxiety among secondary vocational students and the differences in demographic variables through the Communication Anxiety Scale (IAS) survey. Methods: A total of 890 students from a secondary vocational school in Changshou District of Chongqing were surveyed with the Communication Anxiety Scale (IAS) to understand the social anxiety of secondary vocational students. Results: The mean score of social anxiety of secondary vocational students was 45.25±9.32. The gender difference of social anxiety in secondary vocational students was significant (P<0.001). There was no significant difference in social anxiety of secondary vocational students in grade (P>0.05); The social anxiety of secondary vocational students was significantly different in household registration type (P<0.001); There was no significant difference in social anxiety between only children and non-only children (P>0.05). The difference of social anxiety in family income of secondary vocational students was very significant (P<0.001). Conclusion: The level of social anxiety of secondary vocational students is above the middle level. From the perspective of gender variables, there is a significant difference in the level of social anxiety between male and female students, and the level of social anxiety of male students is significantly lower than that of female students. In terms of grade variables, there was no significant difference in social anxiety in grade variables. From the perspective of the variable of residence type, social anxiety is significantly different between rural students and urban students. The level of social anxiety of rural students is higher than that of urban students. There is no significant difference between only-child and non-only-child in social anxiety. From the perspective of family income level, social anxiety is significantly different among different income families. Students from families with wages higher than the average social level had the lowest level of social anxiety, students from families with wages comparable to the average social level had higher levels of social anxiety, and students from families with wages lower than the average social level had the highest level of social anxiety.

Now you see it, now you don't: Relevance of threat enhances social anxiety-linked attentional bias to angry faces, but relevance of neutral information attenuates it.

Temporary goals modulate attention to threat. We examined whether attentional bias to angry faces differs depending on whether a temporary background goal is neutral, or threat related, whilst also measuring social anxiety. Participants performed a dot probe task combined with a separate task that induced a temporary goal. Depending on the phase in this goal task, the goal made angry faces or neutral stimuli (i.e., houses) relevant. The dot probe task measured attention to combinations of angry faces, neutral but goal-relevant stimuli (i.e., houses), and neutral control stimuli. Attention was allocated to angry faces when an angry goal was active. This was more pronounced for people scoring high on social phobia. The neutral goal attenuated attention to angry faces and effects of social phobia were no longer apparent. These findings suggest that individual differences in social anxiety interact with current and temporary goals to affect attentional processes.

Cultural and gender differences in social anxiety: The mediating role of self-construals and gender role identification

Cultural and gender differences in social anxiety: The mediating role of self-construals and gender role identification

SOCIAL ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, COPING SELF-EFFICACY, AND COPING STRATEGIES AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS

The transition to college and its associated social challenges could trigger social anxiety and depression among young college students. There is a paucity of literature relating coping self-efficacy, coping strategies, social anxiety and depression. The current study aims to fill this gap by finding the contributions of gender, coping self-efficacy (CSE), and coping strategies onto the levels of social anxiety and depression among college students. It also aims to find race-ethnicity differences, considering students’ level of social anxiety and depression. One hundred and fifty-eight students were recruited from the undergraduate psychology subject pool at a northeastern university. The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, Diagnostic Inventory for Depression, Coping Self-Efficacy Scale and Brief COPE were used to measure the study variables. A one-way ANOVA and simultaneous multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine data. There were no significant race-ethnicity differences in social anxiety, depressive symptom severity, psychosocial impairment, and quality of life. However, gender and self-blame significantly predicted social anxiety; substance use, behavioral disengagement, and self-blame significantly predicted depressive symptom severity; and social support CSE significantly predicted psychosocial impairment. Gender, dysfunctional coping strategies and social-support CSE were significantly associated with social anxiety and depression among college students. The results have important implications for treatment intervention and outreach by college counseling personnel.

The effect of social anxiety on the acquisition and extinction of low-cost avoidance

Excessive avoidance and safety behaviours are a hallmark feature of social anxiety disorder. However, the conditioning and extinction of avoidance behaviour in social anxiety is understudied. Here, we examined the effect of individual differences in social anxiety on low-cost operant avoidance conditioning and extinction in 80 female participants. We employed an avoidance conditioning and extinction paradigm and measured skin conductance response, threat expectancy ratings and avoidance behaviour throughout the task. Findings demonstrated that elevated levels of social anxiety predicted the generalisation of conditioned avoidance responses across to safety cues during avoidance conditioning. When the opportunity to avoid was returned after the threat extinction phase, elevated social anxiety was associated with increased avoidance behaviour to threat cues. The results suggest that compromised extinction of avoidance behaviour is a characteristic of social anxiety and supports the strategy of minimising avoidance and safety behaviours during exposure therapy for the treatment of social anxiety disorder. Future research should utilise the avoidance conditioning and extinction paradigm as a laboratory model for clinical research to investigate how, and under what circumstances, the extinction of avoidance and safety behaviours can be improved for individuals high in social anxiety.

MOTHER TONGUE AND SOCIAL ANXIETY AMONG INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS AT UPSI, MALAYSIA

Moving abroad as international students would changes the social environment due to language, food, people and cultural diversity in a foreign country. This condition may cause the feeling of social anxiety in their new daily life. At worst, social anxiety might increase problems in cognitive, affective, and behavioral areas. This study aims to describe more about social anxiety among international students of Sultan Idris Education University according to the mother tongue, and gender as additional analysis. Research was designed by quantitative approach using descriptive, t-test and anova analyses. There were 117 International Students who completed the survey using Social Interactions Anxiety Scale (SIAS) for university students. The Anova test result reported, there is a significant difference in social anxiety among international students according to their mother tongue, p= 0.03 (p<0.05) and F = 2.326. International students who have mother tongue, English, seem had the lowest score of social anxiety (mean=2.12), followed by Indonesian (mean=2.54), followed by Korean (mean=2.57), and followed by Chinese (mean= 2.75). This study revealed international language, English, become as one factor that effected social anxiety problems among international students in the university.

Your face scares me: Effects of Perceptual load and Social Anxiety on processing of threatening and neutral faces.

Social Anxiety Disorder is among the most widely studied psychiatric conditions. However, the role of attentional and emotional processes in the maintenance of the condition is still not well-established. This study addressed the impact of individual differences in Social Anxiety, by examining the effects of perceptual load and stimulus valence when processing faces vs objects, here used as distractors, within a letter-search task. In addition to RT and accuracy on the letter search task, heart rate, and skin conductance during the task and participants' self-report emotional evaluation were assessed to help interpret performance effects. Results suggest that distractor stimuli that are either threatening or faces impair performance of high SA participants. Results demonstrate a hypervigilance for threatening faces in SA but indicate that this happens primarily when cognitive resources are available, that is, under low perceptual load.

Back to the future: relating the development of episodic future thinking to cognitive and affective individual differences and to motivational relevance in preschoolers

ABSTRACT Episodic future thinking (EFT) represents the ability to mentally simulate scenarios that will occur in our personal future. In the current study, we used the item choice paradigm, which puts chidren in a problematic situation and requires them to envision a solution by selecting one of various items. This ability was assessed in a sample of 92 preschoolers (3–6 years old), taking into account individual differences in age, gender, cognitive (verbal abilities, EFT memory) and affective (anxiety) factors, as well as contextual factors (motivational relevance). Findings indicate developmental progress in preschoolers’ foresight and in their retrospective memory for the item choice problems. The motivational valence of the EFT task played a significant role, as children performed better in the motivationally positive condition, as compared to the neutral and negative ones. However, older children had better performance than younger ones on the motivationally aversive tasks, becoming comparable to their performance in the motivationally appetitive condition. Finally, higher social anxiety was negatively related to children’s EFT performance in the aversive condition, when they anticipated negative social exposure. In conclusion, EFT was explained by age-related improvements, the motivational valence of the situation and by individual differences in social anxiety, which is highly relevant for educational and therapeutic practices.

جودة الحیاة وعلاقتها بالقلق الاجتماعى لدى الطالبات الجامعیات المصریات والسعودیات دراسة ثقافیة مقارنة

هدفت الدراسة الراهنة إلى الکشف عن علاقة جودة الحياة وأبعادها بالقلق الاجتماعى لدى عينتين من طالبات الجامعة المصريات والسعوديات. کما اهتمت الدراسة ببحث الفروق بين العينتين فى هذه العلاقة. فضلا عن المقارنة بينهما فى متغيرى جودة الحياة وأبعادها والقلق الاجتماعى.شملت العينة الأولى طالبات من قسم علم النفس بکلية الآداب، جامعة القاهرة، فى حين تضمنت العينة الثانية طالبات من قسم علم النفس بکلية التربية، جامعة الملک سعود بالرياض. وبلغ عدد المبحوثات فى کل عينة 110 طالبات، وبلغ متوسط العمر فى العينة الأولى (20,44 ± 0,53) سنة، وفى العينة الثانية (20,59 ± 0,72) سنة. وتم تطبيق النسخة المترجمة لغادة الخضير (Elkhodair,2014) ضمن مقياس قلق التفاعل الاجتماعى (SIAS) (Mattick & Clarke ,1998)، وتم تطبيق مقياس جودة الحياة الجامعية لمحمود منسى وعلى کاظم (2006). وتوصلت الدراسة إلى العلاقة السالبة الدالة بين الدرجة الکلية لجودة الحياة وکل أبعادها والقلق الاجتماعى لدى عينة الطالبات المصريات والطالبات السعوديات، کما بينت الدراسة عدم وجود فروق بين العينتين فى العلاقة المستخلصة. کما توصلت الدراسة إلى فروق دالة بين العينتين فى أبعاد جودة الحياة التى تضمنت الصحة العامة، والتعليم والدراسة، والعواطف، والصحة النفسية، فضلا عن الدرجة الکلية لجودة الحياة فى اتجاه ارتفاع متوسط درجات الطالبات السعوديات، فى حين لم توجد فروق بين العينتين فى بعدى الحياة الأسرية والاجتماعية وشغل الوقت وإدارته. کما توصلت الدراسة إلى وجود فروق دالة فى القلق الاجتماعى بين عينتى الدراسة، فى اتجاه ارتفاع متوسط درجات الطالبات المصريات. الکلمات المفتاحية: جودة الحياة، القلق الاجتماعى. Quality of Life and Its Relationship to Social Anxiety among Egyptian and Saudi Female University Students A Comparative Cultural Study Dr. Mai Edris Mohamed Lecturer of Biopsychology Faculty of Arts- Cairo University Abstract: The present study aimed to reveal the relationship of quality of life and its dimensions with social anxiety in two samples of Egyptian and Saudi female university students. The study also focused on examining the differences between the two samples in this relationship, as well as a comparison between them in quality of life, its dimensions and social anxiety. The first sample included students from the Psychology Department at the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University, while the second sample included students from the Psychology Department at the Faculty of Education, King Saud University in Riyadh. The number of subjects in each sample was 110 students, the mean age of the first sample (20.44 ± 0.53) years and the second sample (20.59 ± 0.72) years. we used translated version by Ghada El-Khodair (2014) of Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) (Mattick&Clarke,1998), and Quality of University Life Scale prepared by Mahmoud Mansi and Ali Kazim (2006). The study found the negative relationship between total score of quality of life, all its dimensions and social anxiety in both samples, and the study also showed that there were no differences between the two samples in the obtained relationship. The study also found significant differences between the two samples in the dimensions of quality of life, which included public health, education and study, emotions, and mental health, beside the total score of quality of life in the direction of high average scores of Saudi students, while there were no differences between the two samples in the dimensions of family and social life and time management. The study also found significant differences in social anxiety between the two samples, in the direction of high average scores of Egyptian students.

Differences in Social Anxiety and Peer Relationships According to the Characteristics and Academic Performance of Maladjusted School Students

Differences in Social Anxiety and Peer Relationships According to the Characteristics and Academic Performance of Maladjusted School Students

Rodne i dobne razlike u socijalnoj anksioznosti mjerene hrvatskom inačicom Liebowitzevog upitnika socijalne anksioznosti na reprezentativnom uzorku stanovnika Republike Hrvatske

The main purpose of this study was to examine gender and age differences in social anxiety and the metric characteristics of the Croatian version of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (1). The study was conducted on a representative sample of 1000 citizens of the Republic of Croatia using Hendal’s online research panel. The results show that the fear subscale explains 52.1% of the variance for fear and the avoidance subscale explains 47.5% for avoidance. Four of the same factors were obtained on both scales; matching in 20 of the 24 statements, and three factors could be called by the same name as the factors from the original Liebowitz scale. The results of all seven proposed questionnaire measures indicate a statistically significantly higher score for women compared with men and for younger people compared with the elderly, with average effect sizes for overall results, and a proportion of socially anxious participants (14.4%) that was similar to the literature data. In conclusion, the scale can be considered adequate and applicable in further research.

Distinguishing selective mutism and social anxiety in children: a multi-method study.

Selective mutism (SM) is an anxiety disorder in which a child fails to speak in some situations (e.g., school) despite the ability to speak in other situations (e.g., home). Some work has conceptualized SM as a variant of social anxiety disorder (SAD) characterized by higher levels of social anxiety. Here, we empirically tested this hypothesis to see whether there were differences in social anxiety (SA) between SM and SAD across behavioral, psychophysiological, self-, parent-, and teacher-report measures. Participants included 158 children (Mage = 8.76years, SD = 3.23) who were classified into three groups: children with SM and who were also highly socially anxious (SM + HSA; n = 48), highly socially anxious children without SM (HSA; n = 48), and control children (n = 62). Children participated in a videotaped self-presentation task, following which observed SA behaviors were coded, and salivary cortisol reactivity was measured. We also collected child, parent, and teacher reports of children's trait SA symptoms. The SM + HSA and HSA groups had similar observed non-verbal SA behavior, cortisol reactivity, and trait SA symptom levels according to parent and child reports, but SM + HSA children had significantly higher SA according to teacher report and observer-rated verbal SA behavior relative to the HSA group. As expected, control children had lower cortisol reactivity and SA across all measures relative to the other groups. Although SM and SAD in children share many similarities, SM may be characterized by greater SA in certain social contexts (e.g., school) and is distinguishable from SAD on behavioral measures of verbal SA.