Explaining Structural Relationships between Brain-behavioral Systems and Social Anxiety Based on the Intermediary Alexithymia and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies among Students

Social anxiety disorder is one of the most common psychological diseases among anxiety disorders that can adversely affect academic life. The purpose of the present study was to explain the structural relationships between brain-behavioral systems and social anxiety based on the intermediary alexithymia and cognitive emotion regulation strategies among students.

The present study was correlational with structural equation modeling. The statistical population of this study consisted of all students of Islamic Azad University of Quchan in the academic year of 2018-2019, among whom 282 students were selected by multistage cluster sampling method. Participants responded to Carver & White Behavioral Inhibition/Activation Scale, Social Phobia Questionnaire, Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and Alexithymia Scale. The analyses were performed using SPSS software version 25 and AMOS software version 25. The significance level of the tests in this study was considered to be 0.05.

Increased behavioral inhibition system score with a mean (SD) of 14.9 (3.1) was associated with increased scores of social anxiety with a mean (SD) of 23.9 (9.2), cognitive emotion regulation 37.1 (8.9), and alexithymia 50.1 (9.8), P<0.001. Increased behavioral activation system score with a mean (SD) of 22.8 (4.5) was associated with decreased social anxiety, P<0.001. Increased social anxiety score was associated with increased uncompromising regulation strategies score, P<0.001. Increased alexithymia score was associated with increased social anxiety score, P<0.001. The effect of the behavioral activation system on cognitive regulation strategies of uncompromising emotion was not confirmed. Cognitive emotion regulation strategies and alexithymia played a mediating role in the relationship between behavioral inhibition system and social anxiety, as the social anxiety increased with a direct effect of behavioral inhibition system (β=0.28), uncompromising cognitive emotion regulation (β=0.41), and alexithymia (β=0.24).

With increasing behavioral inhibition system, social anxiety, cognitive regulation of uncompromising emotion and alexithymia mood increase. With increasing behavioral activation system, social anxiety and alexithymia decrease. Social anxiety increases with increasing uncompromising regulation strategies and alexithymia mood. In addition, cognitive regulation strategies of uncompromising emotion and alexithymia mood had a mediating role in the relationship between behavioral inhibition system and social anxiety.