(PS2-B37) The Role of Perceived Social Support as a Mediator in the Relationship Between Childhood Trauma and Social Anxiety

Research demonstrates that early adverse life events can significantly impact a child’s development and predict mental health issues later in life, including, but not limited to, anxiety. Prior literature has indicated that social support and anxiety are inversely related, such that higher perceived social support is associated with lower anxiety levels. Despite this strong research, there is a need to evaluate the specific factors that predict the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders, including social anxiety. Social support refers to the experience of being valued, respected, cared about, and loved by individuals present in a person’s life (Roohafza et al., 2014). This study sought to examine perceived social support as a mediator in the relationship between childhood trauma and social anxiety.

A sample of undergraduate students from a public university in the Northeastern United States (n=221, Mean age=19.5, 84.5% female, 78.3% White, 10.9% Black, 3.2% Asian) completed self-reported measures, including the Social Phobia Inventory, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Analyses were conducted using SPSS PROCESS macro (Model 4) which uses listwise deletion for any participants with missing data, leaving n=221 included in the current analyses. The current project explored the hypothesis that perceived social support mediates the relationship between childhood trauma and social anxiety symptoms.

The overall model was significant F(4, 188)=24.31, p< .001, R2=0.34, explaining 34% of the variance. The path between childhood trauma and perceived social support (b=-.39, p< .001) was significant, with more experiences of childhood trauma being associated with decreased perceived social support. The path from perceived social support to social anxiety was significant (b=-.73, p< .001), suggesting that greater perceived social support was associated with decreased social anxiety. Finally, the path from childhood trauma to social anxiety was no longer significant (b=.04, p=.69) when the mediator was added to the model, indicating full mediation.

These results support extending the current understanding of the relationship between childhood trauma and symptoms of social anxiety among college students by demonstrating that perceived social support mediates the relationship between childhood trauma and social anxiety. Intervention efforts to reduce social anxiety among those who have experienced childhood trauma should address perceived social support, specifically during anxiety-triggering situations.