Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2
Associate Professor, Department of womans and Family studies, Faculty of social sciences and Economics, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.
3
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran. Iran.
Abstract
Aim: Effective approaches to addressing mental health challenges in adolescents require a comprehensive understanding of the factors that contribute to their optimal development, well-being, and resilience. This study aimed to examine the mediating role of emotion regulation in the relationship between social competence and social anxiety in adolescents.
Method: This correlational study included 449 adolescents (251 girls and 198 boys) aged 14 to 17 years, selected through a multistage sampling method. Participants completed the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (Puklek, 2004), the Social Competence Questionnaire (Zhou & Ee, 2012), and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Gross & John, 2003). Structural equation modeling was used to test the causal model of relative mediation.
Results: The findings indicated that the proposed model demonstrated a good fit with the data. All path coefficients between the latent variables were statistically significant, explaining 50% of the variance in social anxiety through social competence and emotion regulation.
Conclusion: Overall, the results suggest that social competence, as a multidimensional construct encompassing cognitive, emotional, motivational, and behavioral aspects, serves as a protective factor against internalizing problems such as social anxiety in adolescents.
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