The Relationship between Self-Esteem and Social Phobia among College Students:The Mediating Effect of Fear of Negative Evaluation and the Moderating Effect of Perfectionism

Objectives:To explore the relationship between college students’self-esteem(SE)and their social phobia(SP),as well as the mediating role of fear of negative evaluation(FNE)and the moderating effect of perfectionism.Methods:A convenience sampling survey was carried out for 1020 college students from Shandong Province of China,utilizing measures of college students’self-esteem,fear of negative evaluation,perfectionism,and social phobia.Data analysis was performed using the SPSS PROCESS macro.Results:(1)college students’self-esteem significantly and negatively predicts their social phobia(β=−0.31,t=−10.10,p<0.001);(2)fear of negative evaluation partially mediates the relation between self-esteem and social phobia among college students,with the mediating effect accounting for 48.97%of the total effect(TE);(3)the mediating role of fear of negative evaluation is moderated by perfectionism(β=0.18,t=7.75,p<0.001),where higher levels of perfectionism strengthen the mediating effect of fear of negative evaluation.Conclusions:Perfectionism moderates the mediating effect that fear of negative evaluation plays,establishing a moderated mediating model.

Assessment of Negative Self-Image and Fear of Negative Evaluation Among Adolescents and Young Adults

Concern with real or imagined defect in physical appearance can become a major preoccupation during adolescence and young adult years. This is because, changes of puberty, rapid physical growth, and resulting sexual maturation that characterizes this age can trigger feelings of self-consciousness and awkwardness about body-image perceptions. In addition, the ＂perfect＂ body-image as dictated in the social culture could become a measure of self-worth, and this is capable of triggering negative self-image and social anxiety among adolescents. This study seeks to assess the incidence of negative self-image （preoccupation with real or imagined defect in physical appearance） and social anxiety characterized by fear of negative evaluation, among adolescents and young adults. Samples of 329 participants in the age range of 16-25 were drawn from the first and second years students of Federal University Wukari and University of Lagos, Nigeria. Participants completed a socio-demographic data sheet as well as NSII （Negative Self-Image Inventory） and revalidated version of FNE （Fear of Negative Evaluation）. Findings revealed that there is a correlation between negative self-image and fear of negative evaluation; males manifested higher symptoms of negative self-image than females; young adults aged 21-25 presented higher negative self-image that those aged 16-20, adolescents and young adults from Lagos metropolis experience higher manifestation of fear of negative evaluation than those from Wukari axis. This study therefore adds to knowledge in this area.

Decoding fear of negative evaluation from brain morphology:A machine-learning study on structural neuroimaging data

Background:Fear of negative evaluation(FNE),referring to negative expectation and feelings toward other people’s social evaluation,is closely associated with social anxiety that plays an important role in our social life.Exploring the neural markers of FNE may be of theoretical and practical significance to psychiatry research(e.g.,studies on social anxiety).Methods:To search for potentially relevant biomarkers of FNE in human brain,the current study applied multivariate relevance vector regression,a machine-learning and data-driven approach,on brain morphological features(e.g.,cortical thickness)derived from structural imaging data;further,we used these features as indexes to predict self-reported FNE score in each participant.Results:Our results confirm the predictive power of multiple brain regions,including those engaged in negative emotional experience(e.g.,amygdala,insula),regulation and inhibition of emotional feeling(e.g.,frontal gyrus,anterior cingulate gyrus),and encoding and retrieval of emotional memory(e.g.,posterior cingulate cortex,parahippocampal gyrus).Conclusions:The current findings suggest that anxiety represents a complicated construct that engages multiple brain systems,from primitive subcortical mechanisms to sophisticated cortical processes.

负面评价恐惧的性别差异:基于内隐和外显测量的比较

从内隐和外显两种角度探讨负面评价恐惧的性别差异。采用简式内隐联系测验(BIAT)和简明负面评价恐惧量表(BFNES)两种测量方法,实验共72名被试,每名被试先进行简式内隐联系测验,再完成简明负面评价恐惧量表,并借鉴不同方法对两种测量结果进行分析。结果发现:(1)被试的内隐负面评价恐惧与外显负面评价恐惧不存在显著相关,结果产生实验性分离;(2)负面评价恐惧不存在显著性别差异;(3)但有趣的是,不同性别被试内隐和外显负面评价恐惧的分离状况存在显著差异,其中男性的外显负面评价恐惧低于内隐负面评价恐惧,而女性的结果刚好相反,其外显负面评价恐惧高于内隐负面评价恐惧。这些结果表明被试的内隐和外显负面评价恐惧虽然不存在显著性别差异,但不同性别被试的内隐负面评价恐惧和外显负面评价恐惧内部存在不同的组合状况。

福建省某校大学生网络受欺负和负面评价恐惧及社交焦虑的关系?

目的探讨福建省某校大学生网络受欺负、社交焦虑及负面评价恐惧(FNE)的关系。方法选取福建省某高校471名大学生作为研究对象,采用欺负问卷、FNE量表及社交焦虑量表分别检测其的网络受欺负、社交焦虑及FNE,采用相关、回归分析及多群组路径分析方法对大学生网络受欺负、FNE及社交焦虑进行分析。结果福建省某高校大学生网络受欺负分别与FNE(r=0.12,P<0.01)、社交焦虑(r=0.12,P<0.05)存在正相关,FNE与社交焦虑(r=0.55,P<0.01)存在正相关;福建省某高校大学生网络受欺负对FNE的预测效应显著(β=0.59,P<0.05),对社交焦虑的预测效应不显著(β=0.13,P>0.05),FNE对社交焦虑的预测效应显著(β=0.28,P<0.001);Bootstrap中介效应检验表明,FNE在网络受欺负和社交焦虑之间起完全中介;多群组路径分析结果表明,模型在男女生群体间差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论FNE在大学生网络受欺负与社交焦虑中存在完全中介效应,且该模型无性别差异。