The Association Between Social Withdrawal And Peer Relationships Of Junior Middle School Students:The Chain Mediating Role Of Fear Of Negative Evaluation And Negative Automatic Thoughts

After individuals enter junior middle school,the focus of their emotions and interactions gradually shifts from “parents” to “peers”.As junior middle school students get closer to their peers,the peer relationships are becoming more and more important for the growth and development of them.Good peer relationships are closely related to social cognition and prosocial behavior among junior middle school students.While bad peer relationships will lead to depression,anxiety,loneliness,aggressive behavior,nonsuicidal self-injury,and other problem behaviors.Social withdrawal refers to the behavior of playing alone and killing time in unfamiliar and familiar social environments,including shyness,social avoidance,and unsociability.This study shows that junior middle school students who with social withdrawal have a wide range of psychological adjustment problems and peer problems.Moreover,fear of negative evaluation and negative automatic thoughts also play important roles in individual’s physiological,psychological,and behavior.However,there are few domestic researches to systematically explore the influence of fear of negative evaluation and negative automatic thoughts on peer relationships.Based on this,the current study focuses on the association between social withdrawal(shyness,social avoidance,and unsociability)and peer relationships(peer victimization and peer acceptance)among junior middle school students,and the mediating role of fear of negative evaluation and negative automatic thoughts in these variables.This study measured participants using the Children’s Shyness Questionnaire,the Social Avoidance Scale,the Preference for Solitude Scale,the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale,the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire,the Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale,and the Peer Acceptance Scale.This study mainly examined the current status of the social withdrawal(shyness,social avoidance,and unsociability),peer relationships(peer victimization and peer acceptance),fear of negative evaluation and negative automatic thoughts,and further explored the potential mechanisms of fear of negative evaluation and negative automatic thoughts in the relationship between the social withdrawal(shyness,social avoidance,and unsociability)and peer relationships(peer victimization and peer acceptance)among junior middle school students.The main findings of this study are as follows:(1)There were significant gender differences in shyness,social avoidance,unsociability,fear of negative evaluation,and negative automatic thoughts among junior middle school students.Specifically,the scores of shyness,social avoidance,unsociability,fear of negative evaluation and negative automatic thoughts in girls were significantly higher than in boys.(2)Shyness,social avoidance,peer victimization,and peer acceptance among junior middle school students had significant differences in native place.Compared with urban students,the scores of shyness,social avoidance,peer victimization in rural students were higher.Moreover,the scores of peer acceptance in urban students were significantly higher than in rural students.(3)Social avoidance and peer victimization among junior middle school students had significant differences in only child.Specifically,the scores of social avoidance and peer victimization in non-only child were significantly higher than in only child.(4)Shyness,social avoidance,unsociability,peer victimization,and peer acceptance among junior middle school students had significant differences in family structure.The scores of shyness,social avoidance,unsociability,and peer victimization in single parent families’ students were significantly higher than in non-single parent families.However,the scores of peer acceptance in non-single parent families’ students were significantly higher than in single parent families.(5)Shyness,social avoidance,unsociability,fear of negative evaluation,negative automatic thoughts,and peer victimization/acceptance were significantly correlated with each other.(6)Fear of negative evaluation and negative automatic thoughts played full mediating effect between social withdrawal(shyness,social avoidance and unsociability)and peer victimization.Moreover,fear of negative evaluation and negative automatic thoughts played chain mediating effect between social withdrawal(shyness,social avoidance,and unsociability)and peer victimization.(7)Fear of negative evaluation and negative automatic thoughts played partial mediating effect between social withdrawal(social avoidance and unsociability)and peer acceptance.Meanwhile,fear of negative evaluation and negative automatic thoughts played chain mediating effect between social withdrawal(shyness,social avoidance,and unsociability)and peer acceptance.Through a comprehensively explore of social withdrawal(shyness,social avoidance,and unsociability),peer relationships(peer victimization and peer acceptance),fear of negative evaluation,and negative automatic thoughts among junior middle school students.The current study has enriched the domestic research on the theme of peer relationships,and further clarifying the specific mechanism of social withdrawal on peer relationship.In addition,the results of the current study are helpful to further understanding the level and characteristics of mental health of junior middle school students,drawing attention of families,schools,and society to their growth and development,and improving the level of their mental health together.