Relationships among inferiority feelings, fear of negative evaluation, and social anxiety in Chinese junior high school students

Abstract

IntroductionThis study aimed to explore the relationship between feelings of inferiority and social anxiety in Chinese junior high school students. In addition, it examined the potential mediating effect of fear of negative evaluation in this relationship.MethodsA survey was administered to a sample of 734 Chinese junior high school students. The Feelings of Inadequacy Scale, Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, and Social Avoidance Distress Scale were used.ResultsFirst, there were significant positive correlations between all subscales for the inferiority feelings, social anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation. Furthermore, fear of negative evaluation mediated the predictive effects of four inferiority subscales (i.e., self-esteem, academic ability, appearance, and physical ability) for social anxiety. However, the total score for the sense of inferiority and social confidence subscale lacked this mediating effect.ConclusionThe inferiority feelings of self-esteem, academic ability, appearance, and physical ability may directly and indirectly predict social anxiety through fear of negative evaluation.

Inferiority feelings and internet addiction among Turkish University students in the context of COVID-19: The mediating role of emotion dysregulation

“…However, the finding of the present research aligns with the conclusions of a recent study that individuals who experience increased inferiority may be reluctant to ask for assistance in person because of privacy concerns and instead anonymously post their opinions on social media (Liu et al, 2022). Similarly, recent studies associating social anxiety with increased inferiority (Akdoğan & Cimsir, 2022;Li et al, 2022) suggest that individuals with increased inferiority may experience an increased fear of being negatively judged by others. As a result, based on the finding of this study and the cited studies, it plausible that individuals with increased inferiority may have higher internet addiction due to their increased tendency toward seeking out online validation, potentially resulting from their aversion to and/or fear of face-to-face social interactions.…”

“…Furthermore, according to Liu et al (2022), individuals who feel inferior are frequently hesitant to ask for assistance in person due to privacy concerns, and instead, they voice their thoughts on social media. The findings of these studies, along with the additional research showing a connection between inferiority feelings and increased social anxiety (Akdoğan & Cimsir, 2022;Li et al, 2022) suggest that individuals with higher inferiority feelings may be more likely to seek out online validation due to their diminished ability to gain social validation in their offline interactions.…”

Network Analysis of Internet Addiction, Online Social Anxiety, Fear of Missing Out, and Interpersonal Sensitivity among Chinese University Students

“…Feelings of inferiority and fragility can lead to anxiety and fear of negative judgments from others. However, having low expectations of others' evaluations can also make an individual feel even more inferior [72,78]. Vulnerability is a way in which online social anxiety can manifest through interpersonal sensitivity.…”

“…Considering gender differences in IA, online SA, FoMO, and interpersonal sensitivity [36,[72][73][74], network characteristic differences between participating men and women were examined. The network structure and global network strengths between gender were assessed using a Network Comparison Test (NCT) between the two within gender models, using R package Network Comparison Test (version 2.2.1) with 1000 permutations.…”

Social Media Addiction, Personality Factors and Fear of Negative Evaluation in a Sample of Young Adults

“…Fear of negative evaluation, similar to low self-esteem, may be another risk factor for social media addiction. This feeling and other negative emotional experiences may stem from an upward social comparison (either valid or not) and underestimation of the self in social situations [21]. The concept of social comparison was initially proposed by Festinger (1954), stating that individuals evaluate their own opinions and abilities by comparing themselves to others [22].…”