Maya Nibbe

PSY2440101

Prof

7-29-2024

Why Do Some Emerging Adults Avoid Social Situations?

In an Italian study published in 2023, researchers wanted to figure out what caused some emerging adults to become socially withdrawn. To do this, they enrolled 348 Italian university students who were all taking the same psychology course, and asked about their lives through a series of two questionnaires, given three months apart. The questions included those about one’s depression, anxiety, and overall satisfaction with life.

Using the first questionnaire, researchers put the students into four different groups: the sociable adults group, the shy adults group, the unsociable adults group, and the socially avoidant group. The sociable adults group was made up of students who didn’t report any feelings of loneliness, social anxiety, or a strong desire to be away from other people. The shy adults group was made out of those who had a desire to socialize with others, but were also afraid of doing so. The unsociable adults group was comprised of people who simply enjoyed their alone time and didn’t have any negative feelings towards socializing with others. And the socially avoidant group was for the people in the study who actively avoided interacting with others, and also had no desire to be social. Out of the 348 participants in the study, 225 adults were sociable, 59 were shy, 41 were unsociable, and 23 were socially avoidant.

As predicted by the researchers, on the second questionnaire the shy students claimed that they had a strong desire to be social, but felt a lot of social anxiety when around other people. The unsociable students claimed that they had no trouble interacting with other people, and they simply valued their alone time. And, the socially avoidant students claimed that they were both afraid of people and had a strong aversion to social interaction.

Also, as predicted, the socially avoidant and shy groups had the highest anxiety and depression scores of all the groups on both questionnaires, and also had the lowest life satisfaction scores. However, while the unsociable group was still at higher risk of developing anxiety and depression than the sociable group, the unsociable group was just as satisfied with life as the sociable group was.

Overall, the study concluded that shy and socially avoidant emerging adults needed the most help to become well-adjusted adults, just like many other previous studies had figured out as well.

This study really resonated with me as a twenty-three-year-old college student, especially since I suffer from pretty intense social anxiety. In high school, I was diagnosed with severe agoraphobia. I had no friends and would stare down at my feet when I encountered strangers, even if they were my age or younger. Through years of therapy, as well as the support of my family and doctors, I’ve made immense progress towards overcoming my social anxiety. In the five years since graduating high school, I’ve completely gotten over my fear of being in public by myself, and I’ve made some friends with whom I’m now very close with. Plus, I worked really hard to get over my fear of driving during the covid pandemic, so I could attend college (which I’ve been doing since the fall semester of 2021) once everything went back to normal.  

As I’ve worked through my social anxiety, I’ve become much, much happier and more satisfied with my life, as well as gotten more and more motivated to be even more social. Of course, like the unsociable group mentioned in the study, I still need my alone time, but socializing with others no longer freaks me out.

Much like how the article concluded that shy and socially avoidant emerging adults need help to become well-adjusted adults, I needed a lot of help to overcome my social anxiety and grow into a well-adjusted adult. Also, just like what was illustrated in the study, temperamentally-speaking, I now just like my alone time, but am capable of being social with others. I still hang out with my friends regularly and make it a priority to interact with strangers (such as at the grocery store or a church bible study) if I find myself spending too much time alone. But I look forward to curling up with a good book and some hot chocolate after a long day of socializing.  

Reference

Sette, S., & Pecora, G., & Laghi, F., & Copland, R. J. (2023). Motivations for Social Withdrawal, Mental Health, and Well-Being in Emerging Adulthood: A Person-Oriented Approach. Behavioral Sciences (2076-328X). 13(12), 977. https://doi-org.ccco.idm.oclc.org/10.3390/bs13120977