Social Anxiety In Relation Research Articles

Perspectives of Social Anxiety in Relation to Academic Performance among Undergraduate Students in Zanzibar

This study dealt with perspectives of social anxiety in relation to academic performance among undergraduate students in Zanzibar. The study employed the descriptive design. The study purposely selected three out of six universities. The total population was 5,600 students from which the researchers selected a sample size of 230 subjects. The study used a questionnaire and an interview schedule as data collection tools. Data analysis took place through descriptive statistics and content analysis approach. Based on the findings, the study concludes that social anxiety is prevalent among university students in Zanzibar. Most of the students experienced moderate level of social anxiety with basic symptoms like reduced engagement in class activities and fear of public speaking. Only a few exhibited mild to severe symptoms of social anxiety. The study recommends that universities in Zanzibar should provide students’ access to mental health services, providing counseling and therapy options to students with social anxiety. The universities should also provide workshops on stress management for students to managee their social anxiety symptoms effectively. They should also develop initiatives that promote inclusive and supportive classroom settings in terms of peer mentoring and group study sessions to reduce the participation and public speaking pressure.

Depression and social anxiety in relation to problematic TikTok use severity: The mediating role of boredom proneness and distress intolerance

With a rapid rise in TikTok use, problematic TikTok use has become a contemporary concern. However, little is known about how problematic TikTok use develops. The current study examined two important cognitive and emotional processes (i.e., boredom proneness and distress intolerance) through which depression and social anxiety may contribute to problematic TikTok use. We recruited 822 regular TikTok users from China through an online survey service provider and assessed their levels of depression, social anxiety, boredom proneness, distress intolerance, and problematic TikTok use severity on two assessment occasions with a two-month interval. Using structural equation modeling, we examined the associations between depression and social anxiety (time 1 predictors) with problematic TikTok use severity (time 2 dependent variable) through boredom proneness and distress intolerance (time 1 mediators). Results revealed a significant mediating effect of distress intolerance, whereas boredom proneness played no significant mediating role. These findings suggest that the perceived inability to withstand distress may contribute to the development of problematic TikTok use, and may explain relations between psychopathology symptoms and problematic TikTok use.

Alexithymia, narcissism and social anxiety in relation to social media and internet addiction symptoms.

There has been considerable interest in trait correlates of excessive or problematic use of the internet, known as internet addiction. However, the concept of internet addiction has been criticised as too broad. Specific forms of excessive internet use, for example, social media, may have different trait correlates compared to internet use in general. The present study compared levels of internet and social media addiction symptoms in relation to three traits previously linked to one or the other form of excessive behaviour: alexithymia, narcissism and social anxiety. There were 217 young adult social media- and internet-using participants aged 18-35 years recruited from two university campuses in southeast Queensland, Australia. They completed an online questionnaire battery that included a demographics questionnaire and widely used, validated measures of narcissism, alexithymia and social anxiety. Hierarchical regressions indicated that after controlling for demographic variables, internet addiction symptoms were predicted by social anxiety, narcissism and alexithymia, whereas social media addiction symptoms were predicted only by social anxiety and narcissism. Results suggest that the association of alexithymia with internet addiction symptoms does not encompass excessive use of social media, and support the contention that the concept of internet addiction may be too broad.

Unpacking Social Avoidance and Substance Use in Social Anxiety: Does Extraversion Explain Behavior Variability?

Social anxiety is characterized by heightened fear and anxiety associated with social situations, resulting in the use of avoidance behaviors. Contemporary models suggest that some individuals with social anxiety may choose to completely avoid social situations, while others may seek social connections and interactions and utilize avoidance behaviors such as substance use as a means of distress tolerance, while engaging in these situations. Our aim is to test a theoretical model whereby extraversion could help to explain the heterogenous nature of social anxiety in relation to these behaviors. Lower levels of extraversion have been commonly associated with withdrawal behaviors and higher levels of extraversion have been associated with behaviors commonly enacted in social situations. Understanding factors which predict the use of one behavior over another is imperative to the conceptualization and successful treatment of patients with social anxiety. A sample of 195 college students completed self-report measures and a 10-day experience sampling diary with five diary signals each day. Participants were asked to rate their current negative emotions and behaviors during each diary signal. Using a multilevel modeling approach, we tested the association between social anxiety symptoms and negative affect predicting engagement in substance use or social avoidance and tested whether extraversion moderated this association. Negative affect was included as a covariate given the established associations between elevations in negative affect predicting both behaviors. Results indicated that higher levels of social anxiety symptoms and negative affectivity increased the probability of social avoidance and substance use, and extraversion was a significant predictor for only substance use. Moderation analysis indicated that extraversion moderated the relationship between social anxiety and substance use, suggesting a stronger positive relationship between substance use and social anxiety for individuals higher in extraversion. However, extraversion was not a significant moderator between social anxiety and social avoidance. Overall, the findings suggest that extraversion could be a key factor predicting the use of substances amongst individuals with social anxiety and may need further consideration in treatment.

Social Anxiety in Relation to Self-Esteem among University Students in Jordan

People with social anxiety demonstrate different behavioral aspects such as nervousness, apprehension, fear, and concern that negatively affect their personal traits and self-esteem. The current study is designed to identify the relationship between social anxiety and self-esteem among university students. To achieve this purpose, the descriptive correlation approach was utilized. Social anxiety and self-esteem scales were applied to a sample of 334 university students in Jordan. The study results revealed a low level of social anxiety and a high level of self-esteem among participants. In addition, there was a statistically significant negative correlation between the level of social anxiety and self-esteem among participants. The study recommended holding workshops and seminars for fresh students at the beginning of each academic year, to alleviate their feeling of stress and social anxiety and to raise the level of their self-esteem.

Behavioral Dynamics of Depression and Social Anxiety in Relation to Smartphone Addiction

Behavioral Dynamics of Depression and Social Anxiety in Relation to Smartphone Addiction

Social anxiety is associated with poorer peer functioning for girls but not boys with ADHD

There is mixed evidence for whether or not co-occurring anxiety is associated with poorer peer functioning in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which may be partly due to studies typically using a global measure of anxiety and failing to consider possible sex differences. The present study examined child-reported social anxiety in relation to peer functioning and whether this association differs by sex in 93 children (66% male; ages 8–12) with ADHD. Children, parents, and teachers completed a measure of social acceptance, and teachers also completed measures of asociality, peer exclusion, peer dislike, and peer ignoring. Regression analyses examined the interaction between social anxiety and sex in relation to the peer functioning variables, with age, race, ADHD subtype, and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms included as covariates. Social anxiety was associated with lower parent-reported social acceptance, with no sex differences in the association. However, significant interaction effects were found for child- and teacher-rated social acceptance, as well as peer exclusion and peer ignoring such that social anxiety was associated with less competence, more exclusion, and greater ignoring for girls but not boys. Findings indicate that social anxiety is associated with poorer peer functioning for girls more so than boys with ADHD.

Depression and social anxiety in relation to problematic smartphone use

PurposePrevious research has found support for depression and anxiety severity in association with both increased and problematic smartphone use. However, little research has explored transdiagnostic psychopathology constructs as mediators that may account for these relationships. The purpose of this paper is to test rumination as a possible transdiagnostic (cross-sectional) mediator in these relationships.Design/methodology/approachThe authors recruited 296 college students to complete relevant web survey measures, including the patient health questionnaire-9 (for depression severity), social interaction anxiety scale (for social anxiety severity), ruminative thought styles questionnaire, smartphone addiction scale-short version (to measure levels of problematic smartphone use), and a measure of smartphone use frequency.FindingsThe authors found support for a structural model whereby the severity of depression and social anxiety accounted for variance in rumination, which, in turn, correlated with problematic smartphone use levels. Rumination accounted for relations between both depression and social anxiety severity with levels of problematic use.Originality/valueThe authors discuss the role of rumination as a possible mechanism between anxiety- and depression-related psychopathology levels with problematic smartphone use severity. This study is unique in exploring rumination in the context of problematic smartphone use.

Social Withdrawal and Social Anxiety in Relation to Stylistic Parenting Dimensions in the Indian Cultural Context

The purpose of the study was to examine associations between composite parenting behaviors’ (parenting styles and dimensions) and social withdrawal and social anxiety. Participants of the study were 227 girls in India with age ranging from 6-11 years. The parents completed the parenting styles and dimension questionnaire and girls completed Social anxiety scale for children while the parents/teachers completed the Teacher report syndrome scale for social withdrawal behavior in girls. Pearson’s product moment correlations were done to study the associations between parenting behaviors’ and social anxiety and social withdrawal respectively. A standard multiple regression analysis was used with social withdrawal and social anxiety as dependent variables. Correlational results indicated that authoritarian, uninvolved parenting styles and physical coercion, verbal hostility, non-reasoning and indifference parenting dimensions are positively correlated with social anxiety and socially withdrawn behaviors’. Authoritative style, and parental dimensions of connection, regulation and autonomy granting are inversely correlated with social anxiety and socially withdrawn behaviors’ Results from multiple regression analyses indicated that uninvolved, non- reasoning, neglect and reject parenting dimensions positively predicted social anxiety and social withdrawal in girls, while authoritative style and connection parenting dimensions inversely predicted social withdrawal and social anxiety among girls. The present findings suggest the positive contribution of authoritative, connection stylistic dimensions in amelioration of social emotional problems among girls and inverse contribution of uninvolved, non-reasoning, neglect, reject parenting styles and dimensions in exacerbation of social anxiety and socially withdrawn behaviors’ in girls in the Indian cultural context.

Social Anxiety in Relation to Self-Control Depletion Following Social Interactions

Although prior research suggests that high social anxiety is associated with poor self-control during and after social interactions, only a few studies have formally tested this relationship. The current research therefore includes three studies examining how social anxiety is related to self-control. Study 1 showed that social anxiety is negatively related to general trait self-control. Studies 2 and 3 showed that higher social anxiety is related to poorer behavioral self-control after two types of social interactions, social evaluation and working with another person on a task. These results demonstrate that higher social anxiety is indeed related to decrements in self-control following social interaction. This suggests that socially anxious individuals are at risk of exhibiting poor self-control during and/or after social interactions, which has many negative implications, including poor interpersonal relationships and an exacerbation of social anxiety symptoms.

Robust impact of social anxiety in relation to coping motives and expectancies, barriers to quitting, and cessation-related problems.

Although social anxiety is related to smoking and nicotine dependence, few researchers have sought to identify factors that contribute to these relations. The current study examined whether social anxiety was associated with cognitive vulnerability factors related to smoking: perceived barriers for quitting, cessation-related problems, negative-affect-reduction-outcome expectancies, and negative-affect-reduction motives. Further, we tested whether social anxiety was robustly related to these factors after controlling for cigarettes smoked per day, gender, alcohol-use frequency, lifetime cannabis-use status, panic attack frequency, anxiety sensitivity, and negative affectivity. The sample consisted of 580 (38.6% female) treatment-seeking smokers. Social anxiety was associated with perceived barriers for quitting, cessation-related problems, negative-affect-reduction-outcome expectancies, and negative-affect-reduction motives. After controlling for covariates, social anxiety was robustly related to perceived barriers for quitting, cessation-related problems, and negative-affect-reduction-outcome expectancies. Social anxiety was robustly related to negative-affect-reduction motives among men, but not women. Results indicate that social anxiety is robustly related to cognitive vulnerability factors associated with poorer cessation outcomes, suggesting that social anxiety may be an important therapeutic target during smoking cessation.

The Role of Social Skills in Social Anxiety of University Students

Social anxiety is one of the most frequent mental health problems and there is no consensus regarding the relation between social skills and anxiety. This study aimed to compare the behavioral indicators of social skills presented by university students with social anxiety in relation to a non-clinical group, and to verify the predictive value of the social skills for social anxiety. Participants were 288 university students, 144 with Anxiety Disorder and 144 non-clinical. Social skills were assessed using the QHC-University (Social Skills, Behaviors and Context Assessment Questionnaire for University Students) and the IHS-Del-Prette instruments. Mental health indicators were assessed through screening and diagnostic instruments. Through univariate and multivariate analysis an association was found between social skills and anxiety, highlighting public speaking, potential, difficulties, and the total social skills score as predictors of social anxiety, which contributes to demonstrating the role the resources and difficulties play in this.

Socially anxious and confident men interact with a forward virtual woman: an experimental study.

BackgroundMale volunteers entered an immersive virtual reality that depicted a party, where they were approached by a lone virtual woman who initiated a conversation. The goal was to study how socially anxious and socially confident men would react to this event. Interest focused on whether the socially anxious participants would exhibit sustained anxiety during the conversation or whether this would diminish over time, and differ from the responses of the more socially confident men.MethodologyThe scenario was a party with five virtual characters, four sitting at a distance from the participant and talking amongst themselves and one lone woman standing closer. The woman approached the participant, introduced herself and initiated a conversation that was first about mundane matters and then became more personal and intimate. Participants were men who were either relatively socially confident (18) or socially anxious in their relationships with women (18). A second experimental factor was whether or not the other four characters occasionally looked towards the participant. There was a post-trial questionnaire about social anxiety in relation to the experience, and skin conductance and ECG physiological measures were recorded. Our expectation was that the socially anxious participants would show greater anxiety throughout.ConclusionsCompared to baseline readings both socially confident and socially anxious groups on average showed signs of significantly increased stress at the initial approach of the virtual woman. The stress then diminished once the conversation entered into the mundane phase and then did not significantly change. Comparing pre- and post-questionnaire anxiety scores there was no change for the more confident participants but a significant decrease in average score amongst the anxious group. The methodology of placing socially anxious participants in a virtual reality where they can gain experience of how to act in a stressful situation promises a novel way forward for treating social anxiety.

Incorporating User Perspectives in the Design of an Online Intervention Tool for People with Visible Differences: Face IT

Individuals with visible differences can experience social anxiety in relation to their appearance. Social skills-based psychosocial interventions have to date shown only limited effectiveness at addressing their concerns. To incorporate user perspectives in the development of an online psychosocial intervention, known as Face IT. Study one consisted of a needs assessment with 12 individuals with a visible difference and six health professionals in order to identify the difficulties experienced by those with visible difference and obtain feedback on the proposed content of Face IT. The findings demonstrated support for the social skills model and the use of an online intervention. Study two consisted of an empirical usability evaluation of Face IT with 14 potential users and 14 health professionals. Based on feedback from the participants, changes were made to the graphics and navigation of the programme. The clinical content has been made more acceptable. The findings indicate support for the importance of social skills-based psychosocial interventions for addressing the needs of those with a visible difference, and have allowed modifications to be made to Face IT ahead of a randomized controlled trial of effectiveness.

Anxiety and career exploration: Gender differences in the role of self-construal

Given the social nature of many tasks involved in exploring and committing to a career, we hypothesized that social anxiety would correlate to exploration and commitment, even after controlling for general anxiety. We also hypothesized that self-construal and gender would interact with social anxiety in relation to exploration and commitment. In a sample of predominantly European American undergraduates ( n = 161), higher social anxiety associated with lower vocational commitment for both women and men, after accounting for general anxiety. For women, interdependence was also associated significantly with vocational commitment. Social anxiety correlated to environmental exploration only for men low in independence. Neither social anxiety nor self-construal associated with environmental exploration for women or foreclosure for either group.