Towards Explaining the Association between Shyness and Loneliness: A Path Analysis with American College Students

By Todd Jackson, April M. Fritch, Takeo Nagasaka, Jennifer Gunderson. 2002

89 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Numerous studies have observed a robust correlation between shyness and loneliness but few have attempted to explain why this relationship exists. This study assessed the extent to which variables associated with self-presentation approaches to shyness and social support mediated the association between shyness and loneliness. Two hundred and fifty-five American college students completed self-report measures of shyness, loneliness, expectations of rejection, interpersonal competence and close social support. A path analysis indicated that high levels of shyness were related to features of a protective style of self-presentation (perceived deficits in interpersonal competence, heightened expectations of rejection). In turn, low levels of interpersonal competence predicted reductions in social support. Together, measures indicative of a protective self-presentation style and reductions in social support predicted increases in loneliness. However, shyness and loneliness had a significant association, even after controlling for the influence of self-presentation and social support. Findings suggest that although features of protective self-presentation and social support may partially explain the association between shyness and loneliness, shyness and loneliness are also directly related.

Subfields: Health, Social Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/fcc18eccd07f19521a4c6bdcbc66b70e14a9ab7f

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Health

1. Jingjing Zhao
2. Feng Kong

In Social Psychology

1. Feng Kong
2. Jingjing Zhao
3. Yonghui Wang
4. Song Xue
5. Xueming Bao
6. Xuqun You

Citations in the corpus

• The role of social support and self-esteem in the relationship between shyness and loneliness (2013, background): “This result is consistent with earlier studies suggesting a mediating role of social support in the shyness–loneliness relationship (Gökhan, 2010; Jackson et al., 2002).”
• Reciprocal associations between shyness, self-esteem, loneliness, depression and Internet addiction in Chinese adolescents (2020, background): “Previous studies have suggested that periodic collective counseling and collective activities could help adolescents overcome their shyness, loneliness, and depression (Jackson et al. 2002).”