The Study of the Relationship between Social Physique Anxiety and Self-Esteem with Socio-Phobia in Female Students

The aim of this descriptive-correlative study was to investigate relationships between social physique anxiety and self-esteem، and related social phobia، and subsequently، to predict social phobia based on social physique anxiety and self-esteem. Statistics population was undergraduate students of Arak University out of which 15% of total population (597 subjects) were selected randomly. The tools for collecting data were Hart Social Physique Anxiety، Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale، Social Phobia Inventory، and individual characteristics questionnaires. The collected data were subjected to Pearson Coefficient Correlation test and Stepwise Regression، employing SPSS software (Version 16). The results indicated that mean scores of social phobia، social physique anxiety، and self-esteem were 14. 95، 25. 22، and 33. 13، respectively. Pearson Coefficient Correlation indicated the following relationships were significant: social phobia and social physique anxiety (r=0. 44)، social phobia and self-esteem (r=-0. 44)، and social physique anxiety and self-esteem (r=-0. 43). Also، the results of Stepwise Regression indicated that social physique anxiety and self-esteem were predictors of social phobia، indicating that social physique anxiety was a better predictor for social phobia (p≤0. 05). Since social physique anxiety acted as a better predictor for social phobia than self-esteem، this construct should be considered in future interventions and studies by psychology consultants and researchers in the context of female students'' social phobia.