The Relationship between Body Dysmorphic Concern, Ideas of Reference and Empathy with Social Anxiety Disorder: The mediating Role of Emotional Awareness

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between body dysmorphic concern, ideas of reference, and empathy with social anxiety disorder with the mediation of emotional awareness. The research method was descriptive correlational )structural equations(. The statistical population consisted of all female students, aged 16-17 years, studying in Jovein County. The instruments were the Social panic questionnaire, Dysmorphic concern, Paranoid thought, Interpersonal reactivity, and Emotional awareness. Path analysis were used to analyze the data. The findings showed an excellent fit of the model after modification. The results indicated that the body dysmorphic concerns, ideas of reference, and empathy directly associated with social anxiety disorder. Further analysis revealed a significant relationship only between ideas of reference and empathy and social anxiety disorder, mediated by emotional awareness. Although the value of its coefficient was weak. Based on these findings, it can be said that body dysmorphic concerns, ideas of reference, and empathy are effective on social anxiety of adolescent females and it is suggested to be considered in interventions related to the social anxiety of adolescents.