The relationship between psychological Suzhi and social anxiety among Chinese adolescents: the mediating role of self-esteem and sense of security

Abstract

BackgroundHigh incidence and morbidity rates are found among adolescents with social anxiety disorder, a severe and harmful form of social phobia. Extensive research has been conducted to uncover the underlying psychological factors associated with the development and continuation of this disorder. Previous research has focused on single individual difference variables such as personality, cognition, or emotion; thus, the effect of an individual’s full psychological profile on social anxiety has rarely been studied. Psychological suzhi is a comprehensive psychological quality that has been promoted in Chinese quality-oriented education. This research aimed to explore how psychological suzhi affects Chinese adolescents’ social anxiety.MethodsA cross-sectional survey study was carried out among 1459 middle school students (683 boys and 776 girls) from various middle schools in seven provinces of China. Psychological suzhi, self-esteem, sense of security, and social anxiety were measured via four self-reported questionnaires: the Brief Psychological Suzhi Questionnaire for middle school students, the Chinese version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Security Questionnaire, and the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale.ResultsAnalyses showed that psychological suzhi is positively related to self-esteem and sense of security, and it is negatively correlated with social anxiety. The results also revealed that self-esteem partially mediates the relationship between adolescents’ psychological suzhi and social anxiety, with self-esteem and sense of security serving as chain mediators in the relationship between psychological suzhi and social anxiety.ConclusionsResults highlight that psychological suzhi is a protective factor against social anxiety. It can directly protect adolescents from social anxiety, and it also can protect them through affecting their self-esteem and sense of security. These results are discussed from the viewpoints of school leaders, psychology teachers, and school counsellors, who provide support to students to improve their social functioning within the school context. The findings of this study may provide new perspectives regarding the prevention and treatment of social anxiety.

Psychological suzhi moderates state anxiety and heart rate responses to acute stress in male adolescents

“…We further observed that HPS showed lower state anxiety than LPS. This is consistent with findings in which psychological suzhi was associated with less negative emotional experiences (Nie, Yang, et al., 2020; Pan et al., 2018). The trait‐congruent effects propose that individuals prefer to process the information in alignment with their own traits and avoid information that is not, which provides one possible explanation (Bargh et al., 1988).…”

A hypothetic model for examining the relationship between happiness, forgiveness, emotional reactivity and emotional security

“…Researchers stated that changes in adulthood personality patterns might be related to childhood experiences (Eisenberg et al, 2014 ; Fletcher & Schurer, 2017 ). Children who gain emotional confidence in the family system during childhood may be happier and less prone to experiencing psychological problems thanks to a safe and supportive environment and gaining positive qualities such as empathy (Shoshani et al, 2021 ) and self-esteem (Pan et al, 2018 ). It was found that having problems gaining emotional confidence was associated with negative situations such as aggression and anxiety (Bergman et al, 2014 ) and depression (Cummings et al, 2013 ).…”

Basic themes of Chinese indigenous psychology

“…Pojem suzhi také často používá vláda, když mluví o loajalitě a morálce občanů (Wang, Lamond, Worm, Gao & Yang, 2014). Vysoké suzhi u čínských adolescentů snižuje sociální úzkost, protože přispívá k vyššímu sebehodnocení, které dále zvyšuje pocit bezpečí, což přispívá k nízké úzkosti (Pan, Zhang, Hu & Pan, 2018).…”