Belief in others and social anxiety symptoms among rural Chinese adolescents: A moderated mediation model of self-esteem and gender

This two-wave longitudinal study investigated the relationships between belief in others (i.e., teacher support, peer support, and family coherence) and social anxiety symptoms among rural adolescents, with self-esteem as a mediator and gender as a moderator. A total of 3,043 adolescents participated in the study across two waves. Results from both waves indicated that belief in others was negatively associated with social anxiety symptoms. Self-esteem mediated the relationship between the three sources of support (teacher support, peer support, and family coherence) and social anxiety symptoms. However, a suppressing effect was observed for self-esteem in its mediating role between peer support and family coherence and social anxiety symptoms. Gender differences were observed, with the mediation effect being stronger for girls than for boys. These findings suggest that all types of social support play crucial roles in alleviating social anxiety symptoms, particularly for girls. They also highlight the importance of considering self-esteem when designing interventions to prevent and mitigate Chinese rural adolescents’ social anxiety symptoms.