The roles of fear of negative evaluation and social anxiety in the relationship between self-compassion and loneliness:
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The roles of fear of negative evaluation and social anxiety in the relationship between self-compassion and loneliness: a serial mediation model Xinyi Liu 1 & Ying Yang 1 & Hang Wu 1 & Xiangjing Kong 1 & Lijuan Cui 1
# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Loneliness is an unpleasant experience of lacking desired interpersonal relationships. Abundant evidence has clarified the negative outcomes of loneliness, such as anxiety, even suicidal behaviors. However, relatively few is known about the internal buffering elements for loneliness, especially in adolescents. The current research aimed to investigate the relationship between self-compassion and adolescents’ loneliness, as well as the mediating roles of fear of negative evaluation and social anxiety in this relationship. A total of 871 Chinese adolescents completed a set of questionnaires, including the measures of loneliness, selfcompassion, social anxiety and the fear of negative evaluation. We tested the proposed serial mediation model and the results suggested that self-compassion was negatively associated with loneliness, and social anxiety served as a mediator in the relationship. Besides, we found that the fear of negative evaluation and social anxiety serially mediated the negative association. Specifically, self-compassionate adolescents reported less fear of negative evaluation, which resulted in decreased social anxiety symptoms. In turn, the decreased social anxiety was linked to reduced feelings of loneliness. The present study sheds lights on the mediating effects of fear of negative evaluation and social anxiety in the relationship between self-compassion and loneliness. The theoretical and practical implications, as well as the limitations of the present study, are discussed. Keywords Self-compassion . Loneliness . Fear of negative evaluation . Social anxiety
Introduction Adolescence is a challenging period for individuals (Collins and Steinberg 2007). Due to the dramatic changes in cognition, physiology and sociopsychology, adolescents are at high risks of mental health problems, such as the profound sense of loneliness (Hawthorne 2008). Loneliness refers to an unpleasant experience of lacking desired interpersonal relationships, and has become a growing concern for adolescents (Mahon et al. 2006). Since the desire of belonging is particularly salient during adolescence, chronic loneliness might have detrimental impact on both psychosocial functioning and physical development, such as increased depression, anxiety, stress, Xinyi Liu and Ying Yang contributed equally to this work and shared the first authorship. * Lijuan Cui [email protected] 1
School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, 3663 Zhongshanbei Street, Putuo District, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China 200062
lower self-esteem, poorer perceived health, sleep problems, and even suicidal ideations and behaviors (Vanhalst et al. 2013a, b; Harris et al. 2013; Roberts et al. 1998). Given the prevalence and the sev
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