The Relationship between subjectively perceived life events and social anxiety among adolescents in Southwest China: the chain mediating effects of fear of negative evaluation and body shame

BACKGROUND: Adolescent negative life events significantly influence social anxiety development. Enhancing accurate self-perception and emotion regulation skills is critical for mitigating such mental health risks. PURPOSE: To investigate relationships among adolescent negative life events, social anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and body shame, focusing on their serial mediation effects. METHODS: ‌ This study was conducted from November to December 2024. A random sampling method was employed to recruit 900 adolescents aged 13-17 years (M = 14.57 ± 1.18) from urban and rural schools in Southwest China. Self-report questionnaires were administered to assess demographic characteristics, negative life events, fear of negative evaluation, body shame, and social anxiety. Data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS 27.0 and the PROCESS macro (Version 4.1). RESULTS: ‌ Adolescent negative life events showed significant positive correlations with fear of negative evaluation (r = 0.558, p < 0.01), body shame (r = 0.600, p < 0.01), and social anxiety (r = 0.492, p < 0.01). Fear of negative evaluation was positively correlated with body shame (r = 0.725, p < 0.01) and social anxiety (r = 0.584, p < 0.01). Body shame also demonstrated a positive correlation with social anxiety (r = 0.634, p < 0.01). Furthermore, adolescent negative life events directly predicted social anxiety (β = 0.123, 95% CI [0.4141, 0.5391]) and exerted indirect effects through three pathways: (a) fear of negative evaluation (effect size = 0.118, 95% CI [0.0695, 0.1687]); (b) body shame (effect size = 0.112, 95% CI [0.0799, 0.1497]); and (c) the serial mediation of fear of negative evaluation and body shame (effect size = 0.122, 95% CI [0.0930, 0.1556]). CONCLUSION: ‌ Fear of negative evaluation and body shame act as serial mediators linking adolescent negative life events to social anxiety. Educators and caregivers should monitor the mental health impacts of negative life events, reduce negative evaluations to improve body confidence, and foster social engagement.