Peer victimisation and social anxiety disorder among adolescents: the mediating role of perceived social support

Objective: This study examined the links between peer victimisation, perceived social support, and social anxiety disorder, and assessed the mediating role of perceived social support. Method: A multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select 551 adolescents (45% male, 55% female) mean age =14.70 SD =1.76). Participants completed the Social Phobia Inventory, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the Multidimensional Online and Offline Peer Victimisation Scale. Structural equation modeling, regression analysis, independent t-tests, and one-way ANOVA were used to test the hypotheses. Results: A 12.9% prevalence of severe social anxiety was reported by participants. Peer victimisation significantly predicted social anxiety (β=0.36, t=9.30, p<0.01) and together with perceived social support, it significantly predicted social anxiety disorder (R=0.42, R²=0.18; F (1,543) = 19.52, p<0.01). Perceived social support did not significantly mediate the relationship between peer victimisation and social anxiety (β=0.003, t=0.038, 95% CI: -0.012 ~ 0.021, p>0.05). Female adolescents exhibited significantly higher social anxiety than males (t (551) = -4.26, p<0.01), with no significant differences found across adolescent age groups (F (2, 548) = 1.73, p>0.05). Conclusion: The findings highlight the significant impact of peer victimisation on social anxiety, with female adolescents being particularly vulnerable. Educational administrators and policymakers should implement programs to enhance social support and address peer victimisation, with attention to gender differences in social anxiety.