The Mediating Role of Fear of Positive and Negative Evaluation on the Relationship between Social Anxiety and Eating Disorder

The aim of this study was to examine the mediating role of fear of positive and negative evaluation in the relationship between social anxiety and eating disorder. The study was descriptive and correlational. To analyze the data structural equation modeling was used. One thousand undergraduate and graduate students were selected from Imam Khomeini International University in 2015/2016 academic year using cluster random sampling method. The participants completed the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI; Garner, Olmsted & Polivy, 1983), the Social Phobia Inventory (SPI; Connor et al, 2000), the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale-Short Form (FNES; Leary, 1983), and the Fear of Positive Evaluation Scale (FPES; Weeks, Heimberg & Rodebaugh, 2008). The results indicated that fear of positive and negative evaluation mediated the relationship between social anxiety and eating disorder simultaneously. The social anxiety had a direct effect on eating disorder. The findings suggested that the interventions that target fear of positive and negative evaluation as the central components of social anxiety may help stopping the developing of eating disorder.