The Concern about Losing Face and Social Anxiety: The Mediating Roles of Self-Compassion and Autonomy

Abstract

Social anxiety is a prevalent mental health challenge among college students. Prior research has documented various antecedents of social anxiety, with one of them being the concern about losing face. Yet, less is known about the factors that could explain the link between concern about losing face and social anxiety. This study explores the mediating roles of self-compassion, and autonomy. A sample of 180 college students completed self-report measures of the variables of interest. The serial mediation model of concern about losing face on social anxiety, mediated by self-compassion and autonomy, explained 46% of the variance in social anxiety. Results suggested that individuals who reported having concerns about losing face were more likely to report experiencing social anxiety. This relationship was mediated by a lack of self-compassion and the failure to satisfy the fundamental psychological need for autonomy, which the model suggests leads to the experience of social anxiety. The current study provides an explanation for the link between concern about losing face and social anxiety in American college students, and it offers empirical support for the Basic Psychological Need and the Self-Compassion theories.