Document Type

Thesis

Publication Date

2014

Disciplines

Psychology

Advisor

Rodger Narloch

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction effect of the personality traits of shyness and social support and identity style on the mental health issues of rumination, anxiety, and identity distress. I distributed surveys to a convenience sample of 188 college-age students at two single-sex, rural, Catholic schools. Although there were no three-way interaction effects of the variables as they relate to rumination, anxiety, and identity distress as hypothesized, there was a two-way interaction effect of shyness and social support of friends as they relate to rumination. Low shy individuals with high social support demonstrate lower rumination than low shy individuals with low social support, but social support does not matter for high shy individuals. It would seem, then, that social support could potentially make a difference in rumination about social situations, but only if there is no amount of shyness or anxiety about the situation to begin with.

Comments

Readers: Aubrey Immelman, Michael Livingston

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