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RISK FACTORS IDENTIFIED IN COLLEGE STUDENTS EXHIBITING SOCIAL PHOBIA

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Date Issued:
2014
Abstract/Description:
College life is a unique experience in the life of many young adults that presents many challenges for which they might not be prepared, including living away from home and adapting to a new social and academic environment. In particular, these experiences may be particularly adverse for students with social phobia and may be predictors of academic and social problems, and may even predict dropout. The purpose of the present research is to identify possible connections between socially phobic tendencies and the social, emotional, and overall well-being of college students. Social phobia itself is an unnecessary and overwhelming fear of being scrutinized by others (National Institute of Mental Health 2009). By implementing the use of four psychological tests: the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, College Affiliation Questionnaire, and Life Orientation Test, this research sought to investigate the correlations existing between college students' self-reports on these measures through the use of the UCF Sona system. Students' personal characteristics and demographics were also examined correlationally along with their self-reports on all four measures. A total of 165 participants were used in this study. After gathering descriptive statistics from each test and their demographics, correlations were run between the four tests and then between demographic information and tests. The results showed social phobia having a positive correlation with negative affect and a negative relationship with positive affect. In turn, negative emotion was correlated with a lowered overall life orientation and a more pessimistic mindset. No strong correlations were identified between psychological tests and student characteristics as was previously thought. Overall, there are definite indicators that social anxiety has a negative impact on one's quality of life and emotions, however, more research needs to be done with more diverse sampling and different methodology to see if there is a link between particular student characteristics and prevalence rates of social anxiety within those characteristic subsets.
Title: RISK FACTORS IDENTIFIED IN COLLEGE STUDENTS EXHIBITING SOCIAL PHOBIA.
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Name(s): Wallace, Kasie, Author
McConnell, Daniel, Committee Chair
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2014
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: College life is a unique experience in the life of many young adults that presents many challenges for which they might not be prepared, including living away from home and adapting to a new social and academic environment. In particular, these experiences may be particularly adverse for students with social phobia and may be predictors of academic and social problems, and may even predict dropout. The purpose of the present research is to identify possible connections between socially phobic tendencies and the social, emotional, and overall well-being of college students. Social phobia itself is an unnecessary and overwhelming fear of being scrutinized by others (National Institute of Mental Health 2009). By implementing the use of four psychological tests: the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, College Affiliation Questionnaire, and Life Orientation Test, this research sought to investigate the correlations existing between college students' self-reports on these measures through the use of the UCF Sona system. Students' personal characteristics and demographics were also examined correlationally along with their self-reports on all four measures. A total of 165 participants were used in this study. After gathering descriptive statistics from each test and their demographics, correlations were run between the four tests and then between demographic information and tests. The results showed social phobia having a positive correlation with negative affect and a negative relationship with positive affect. In turn, negative emotion was correlated with a lowered overall life orientation and a more pessimistic mindset. No strong correlations were identified between psychological tests and student characteristics as was previously thought. Overall, there are definite indicators that social anxiety has a negative impact on one's quality of life and emotions, however, more research needs to be done with more diverse sampling and different methodology to see if there is a link between particular student characteristics and prevalence rates of social anxiety within those characteristic subsets.
Identifier: CFH0004562 (IID), ucf:45165 (fedora)
Note(s): 2014-05-01
B.S.
Sciences, Dept. of Psychology
Bachelors
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): social anxiety
social phobia
positive and negative affect
cognitive-behavioral
quality of life
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004562
Restrictions on Access: public
Host Institution: UCF

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