The Structural Model of Explaining Social Anxiety Based on Behavioral Inhibition/Activation Systems in Adolescent Students: The Mediation Role of Emotion Control

This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of emotion control in the relationship between behavioral inhibition/activation systems (BIS/BAS) and social anxiety (SA) in adolescent students. The statistical population of this descriptive correlational study consisted of all adolescent students of the high schools of Tehran, Iran, in 2021. A total of 18 high schools were chosen by cluster sampling to select samples from the educational districts of Tehran. Of these high schools, 564 students were selected through convenience sampling. Research data were gathered using the BIS/BAS scale (Carver & White, 1994), the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) (Connor et al., 2000), and Emotion Control Questionnaire (ECQ) (Roger & Najarian, 1989). Finally, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the model. The research results indicated an acceptable fit of the structural model with collected data. Also, the findings revealed a significant direct relationship between BIS/BAS with emotion control and BIS and emotion control with SA. Moreover, a significant indirect relationship was extracted between BIS/BAS with SA through the mediating role of emotion control. Overall, it was concluded that the sensitivity levels of BIS/BAS might exacerbate the symptoms of SA by developing maladaptive strategies of emotion control in adolescent students. Therefore, emotion regulation training, taking into account the sensitivity of behavioral brain systems, can be an effective step in preventing and alleviating students’ social anxiety.