Mediating Role of Parental Social Support in the Relationship between Family Affection and Social Anxiety

Parents' disregard for the provision of a psychologically and emotionally healthy environment for adolescents and poor family and social relationships exposes children to emotional deficiencies and psychological problems, such as anxiety. Given the importance of this topic, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between family emotional climate and social anxiety in adolescents taking into account the mediating role of social support. 

The current research was a correlational study. The study population who were selected by cluster sampling consisted of 200 male and female high school students in district 5, Tehran, in the academic year 2017-18. The employed tools in the present study included Hill-Bern Family Affection Questionnaire, social anxiety scale for adolescents (SAS-A), and family social support. The obtained data were analyzed in SPSS software (version 23) and AMOS (version 18).

The obtained results revealed that social support (Total Effect = -0.325) and family affection (Total Effect = -0.08) had a direct and indirect effect on anxiety, respectively. Findings in structural equation modeling confirmed the mediating role of parental social support in the relationship between family emotional climate and social anxiety.

The obtained results of the current research confirmed the mediating role of parental social support in the relationship between family emotional climate and social anxiety. Therefore, the mentioned variable deserves consideration in the development of interpersonal, family, and therapeutic relationships.