Poster #226 - Examining Complex Links among Social Withdrawal, Maladaptive Cognitions, and Internalizing Problems in Emerging Adulthood

• In Event: 2-163 - Poster Session 08
  In Poster Session: PS 08 Section - Social Relationships

Integrative Statement

Individuals withdraw from social interaction for different reasons which, in turn, may have implications for their social and emotional adjustment (Asendorpf, 1990). For example, shy youth often withdraw due to social wariness and socio-evaluative concerns (Crozier, 1995), and are at increased risk for feelings of social anxiety (Coplan et al., 2013). In contrast, it has been postulated that socially avoidant youth’s withdrawal may represent an early manifestation of depression (Coplan et al., 2015). Given the variability in risk for maladjustment, researchers have begun to explore potential mechanisms that might link subtypes of social withdrawal with specific adjustment outcomes. Parallel streams of evidence from the clinical and developmental literature point towards maladaptive cognitions (or cognitive biases) as potential intermediary factors in these associations. Thus, subtypes of social withdrawal, cognitive biases, and internalizing problems may interact as part of a broader developmental system (Puliafico & Kendall, 2006). In particular, cognitive biases involving systematic processing of threatening social stimuli (i.e., threatening cognitions) have been linked to social anxiety (Clark & Wells, 1995) and shyness (Weeks et al., 2016). In contrast, cognitions reflecting negative attributions about oneself or one’s environment (i.e., negative cognitions) have been found to be instrumental in the development of depression (Beck, 1976), and may be uniquely associated with social avoidance (Coplan et al., 2013). Yet, we know very little about the potentially complex associations among these factors, particularly in emerging adulthood. During emerging adulthood, individuals are faced with new social and personal challenges (e.g., identity formation) that can influence their social and emotional well-being (Nelson, 2013; Nelson & Padilla-Walker, 2013). As such, maladaptive thoughts related to these tasks may be particularly important to explore during this developmental period. Accordingly, the aim of the current research was to explore a developmental sequence differentially linking subtypes of social withdrawal to internalizing problems via cognitive biases in emerging adulthood.
Undergraduate students (N = 540, Mage = 19.20, SD = 1.49) completed assessments of social withdrawal (shyness, social avoidance), maladaptive cognitions (threatening and negative cognitions), and internalizing problems (social anxiety, depressive symptoms). Structural Equation Modeling was used to evaluate a model linking subtypes of social withdrawal (predictor variables), maladaptive cognitions (mediating variables), and internalizing problems (outcome variables; see Figure 1). Overall, results support a model indicating that these constructs display complex inter-associations. Among the results, shyness was positively associated with social anxiety, but not depressive symptoms. Conversely, social avoidance was significantly and positively associated with both social anxiety and depressive symptoms. Both shyness and social avoidance were significantly and positively associated with both types of maladaptive cognitions (although the relative magnitudes of these relations varied). Moreover, threatening cognitions mediated the effects of both shyness and social avoidance on social anxiety and depression; however, shyness and social avoidance only displayed indirect effects on depressive symptoms via negative cognitions (see Table 1). Multi-group analysis indicated no significant gender differences in the model. Results will be discussed in the terms of the specific meanings and implications of different subtypes of social withdrawal in emerging adulthood.

Authors

• Laura Ooi, Carleton University
  Presenting Author

• Robert J Coplan, Carleton University
  Non-Presenting Author