TY  - EJOU
AU  - He, Yang 
AU  - Xu, Tao 
AU  - Yang, Jian 
AU  - Li, Shuang 
AU  - Xie, Yiqian 
AU  - Chen, Wenqin 
AU  - Wang, Dong 

TI  - Social anxiety and non-suicidal self-injury in college students: Loneliness mediation and positive coping moderation
T2  - Journal of Psychology in Africa

PY  - 2025
VL  - 35
IS  - 6
SN  - 1815-5626

AB  - We examined positive coping styles and loneliness effects on the relationship between social anxiety and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behaviors among young adults. A sample of 1129 Chinese college students (females = 42.52%; mean age = 20.00 years, SD = 1.61 years; 53.32% from rural areas) completed the Chinese Revised Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A), the UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-6), the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ), and the Adolescent Non-suicidal Self-injury Assessment Questionnaire (ANSSIAQ). Controlling for gender, age, onlychild status, and residence, regression analysis revealed that social anxiety is associated with higher levels of NSSI behaviors. Loneliness mediated this relationship, making it more pronounced. Positive coping styles moderated the effect of social anxiety on loneliness. Specifically, high levels of positive coping attenuated the social anxiety effect on loneliness. This study affirms Nock’s integrated theoretical model of NSSI, demonstrating that social anxiety (an interpersonal vulnerability factor) and limited positive coping (an intrapersonal vulnerability factor) are significant predictors of NSSI. By implication, college student counselors should provide developmental activities for reducing social anxiety in students, thereby lowering their risk for loneliness and NSSI.
KW  - social anxiety; NSSI; loneliness; positive coping

DO  - 10.32604/jpa.2025.074914