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The mediating role of fear of evaluation between psychological Suzhi and social anxiety among Chinese secondary school students

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Abstract

This study explored the mediating role of fear of evaluation on the relationship between psychological suzhi and social anxiety, and identified differences in the strength of this relationship. The Brief Psychological Suzhi Questionnaire for Middle School Students, the Fear of Positive Evaluation Scale, the brief version Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, and the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale were administered to 1464 secondary school students between the ages of 11 and 18 in China. Analyses revealed that the study variables were significantly correlated with each other, and mediation analyses indicated that fear of evaluation mediated the relationship between psychological suzhi and social anxiety. Moreover, the mediating effects of fear of positive evaluation were stronger than were those of fear of negative evaluation. The findings of this study may provide new perspectives regarding the prevention and treatment of social anxiety.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a XX University research-oriented faculty construction project (2016-2017). We want to thank the students and teachers who participated, and we are grateful to faculty and staff at the Research Center of Mental Health Education of XX University for their generous support and valuable advice.

Funding

This research was supported by a Southwest University research-oriented faculty construction project (2017–2018).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Psychology, Research Center for Mental Health Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China

    Zhaoxia Pan, Dajun Zhang, Guangzeng Liu & Shilan Luo

  2. Faculty of Education Science, Kaili University, Guizhou, 556001, China

    Zhaoxia Pan

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  1. Zhaoxia Pan
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  2. Dajun Zhang
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Correspondence to Dajun Zhang.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Author Dajun Zhang declares that he has no conflict of interest. Author Zhaoxia Pan declares that she has no conflict of interest. Author Guangzeng Liu declares that he has no conflict of interest. Author Shilan Luo declares that she has no conflict of interest.

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Pan, Z., Zhang, D., Liu, G. et al. The mediating role of fear of evaluation between psychological Suzhi and social anxiety among Chinese secondary school students. Curr Psychol 38, 1174–1181 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-018-0009-2

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