Mediating Role of Social Interaction Anxiety between Fear of COVID-19 and Psychological Distress

Youth is the backbone of any society. Their mental health is worsening in these terrible times of pandemic. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate a relationship between fear of COVID-19 and psychological distress, and whether this relationship was mediated by social interaction anxiety. A cross-sectional research design was used to recruit online 200 university students of Lahore, Pakistan through Google docs via purposive sampling technique by introducing them to a demographic questionnaire consisting of fear of COVID-19, social interaction anxiety and psychological distress scales respectively. The sample included both male and female students (men =53%, women =46%) whose age ranged from 17-24 years (M = 21.04, SD = 2.52). Data were analyzed by using SPSS version 25. Pearson Product moment correlation and mediation analysis were used to analyze data. It was found that there was a significant positive association between fear of COVID-19 and psychological distress. The findings also revealed that social interaction anxiety fully mediated the association between psychological distress and fear of COVID-19. It is recommended that counselors and psychologists develop social support programs that can assist students to manage themselves well in the present pandemic environment.

Impact of Face Masks and Viewers’ Anxiety on Ratings of First Impressions from Faces

Face mask is now a common feature in our social environment. Although face covering reduces our ability to recognize other's face identity and facial expressions, little is known about its impact on the formation of first impressions from faces. In two online experiments, we presented unfamiliar faces displaying neutral expressions with and without face masks, and participants rated the perceived approachableness, trustworthiness, attractiveness, and dominance from each face on a 9-point scale. Their anxiety levels were measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and Social Interaction Anxiety Scale. In comparison with mask-off condition, wearing face masks (mask-on) significantly increased the perceived approachableness and trustworthiness ratings, but showed little impact on increasing attractiveness or decreasing dominance ratings. Furthermore, both trait and state anxiety scores were negatively correlated with approachableness and trustworthiness ratings in both mask-off and mask-on conditions. Social anxiety scores, on the other hand, were negatively correlated with approachableness but not with trustworthiness ratings. It seems that the presence of a face mask can alter our first impressions of strangers. Although the ratings for approachableness, trustworthiness, attractiveness, and dominance were positively correlated, they appeared to be distinct constructs that were differentially influenced by face coverings and participants’ anxiety types and levels.

Measurement Invariance of Two Different Short Forms of Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) and Social Phobia Scale (SPS) in Chinese and US Samples

The goal of this study was to examine the measurement invariance of two different commonly used short forms of the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) and the Social Phobia Scale (SPS) across Chinese and US samples. Participants were 850 (52% females) Chinese and 399 (57% females) US undergraduate students. A two-factor model was identified as the best fitting baseline model for both short-forms of the SIAS and SPS. Full scalar invariance was established for the Peters short form, whereas the Fergus short form only achieved partial scalar invariance. Results of structured means analysis indicated that Chinese participants scored higher than US participants in social anxiety. Some cultural implications for the use of these two sets of short forms are discussed.

Co-Rumination May Mitigate Depressive and Anxious Symptoms for Those High in Social Interaction Anxiety

Introduction: Early co-rumination research has demonstrated that engagement in co-rumination, or persistent discussion of one's problems at length, can lead to increased depressive and anxious symptoms. There is limited research examining the direct relationship between a specialized type of anxiety—social interaction anxiety—and co-rumination, and that research has conflicting results, making it unclear what the relationship between the two is. The purpose of the present study was to further examine the relationship between co-rumination and social interaction anxiety, depressive symptoms, and symptoms of anxiety. Method: Ninety-six college women and men completed online questionnaires twice, separated by one month. Results: We found that co-rumination at Time 1 negatively predicted social interaction anxiety at Time 2. We also found co-rumination predicted reduced depressive symptoms, but only among those who had moderate and high levels of social interaction anxiety. In that respect, our findings replicate van Zalk and Tillfors (2017), who found that co-rumination acts as a buffer against depressive symptoms for individuals high in social anxiety. Our study also offers an extension of van Zalk and Tillfors in that the same pattern was found for anxious symptoms, but only among those with the highest levels of social interaction anxiety. Discussion: Therefore, co-rumination for highly socially-anxious individuals may serve as a form of positive social support, which highlights important individual differences on internalizing symptoms.

Meaning in Life During Covid-19 Pandemic and Social Interaction Anxiety : The Relevant Facets

The meaning of life is steadily altering in the Covid-19 pandemic scenario. Since birth, life and living have been the major preoccupation of every human being. However, there remains a constant possibility of death owing to a pandemic breakout. The ways of social interaction and associated psychosocial issues are also of great importance in the present condition. This study thus aimed at finding out the interrelationship between meaning in life and social interaction anxiety among young adults. The study used a quantitative research method with the help of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire by Steger and Social Interaction Anxiety Scale by Mattick and Clarke on 100 samples of both the Gender, i.e., male and female aged between 21 to 25 years. The findings showed that meaning in life has a significant negative correlation with social interaction anxiety. And social interaction anxiety is found out to be negatively predicted by meaning in life.

Social Interaction Anxiety and Its Influence on Learning Engagement of Students During COVID-19

Individuals with social interaction anxiety often tend to hold specious beliefs about the level to which others experience symptoms of social anxiety and how others evaluate people who appear to be anxious. The purpose of this study was to: (a) to gauge the level of social interaction anxiety among students to find out how it will affect them in the long run with the adoption of the virtual platform (b) to examine the relationship between social interaction anxiety and learning engagement. The study has thus looked into the relationship between the factors like social interaction anxiety, COVID fear and student engagement. A theoretical model was developed using selected variables and the model was then tested with the help of a structured questionnaire which was circulated among 300 respondents of which 250 responses were received. Analysis of the model using WarpPLS-SEM pointed to few important constructs that resulted in social interaction anxiety. Results depicted that a vast majority of individuals experience symptoms of social interaction anxiety from time to time. We have analyzed the social interaction anxiety on student engagement and from the result, we have found out that due to COVID fear, the social interaction anxiety has increased resulting in the decrease of student learning engagement.