Examining the relationship between attachment styles and social anxiety in adolescents

Adolescence is the transitional stage from childhood to adulthood, where significant changes are experienced in an individual's life. In this process, physiological, biological, social, emotional and sexual changes occur in individuals as a result of the multifaceted and rapid development. When these changes, which the individual in adolescence will encounter, are not managed properly, it may cause the individual to exclude himself or herself socially. It is thought that the individual's relationships with his parents and attachment characteristics are important in passing adolescence successfully. For this reason, the aim of this research is to reveal the relations between the social anxiety of individuals in adolescence and attachment. It was obtained from 542 students in the ‎group. In the research, demographic information form, attachment styles scale and social anxiety scale for adolescents were used as data collection tools. Quantitative data analysis methods were used in the analysis of the data obtained in the research. In this context, the data were analyzed with the SPSS26 data analysis program. In the analysis, independent sample t-test, anova test and regression analyzes were carried out, taking into account the percentage and frequency distributions of the variables, as well as the distribution of the data. As a result of the research, it was determined that the social anxiety levels of female students were higher, and social anxiety decreased as the grade level increased. In addition, the secure attachment scores of my 10th grade students were higher and the avoidant attachment scores were lower. It has been observed that adolescents whose parents live separately have higher social anxiety and anxious-avoidant attachment style. Similarly, adolescents with low family income were found to have higher social anxiety and an anxious-avoidant attachment style. Students with disinterested parental attitudes have lower levels of secure attachment and higher social anxiety levels. While secure attachment and avoidant attachment reduce social anxiety, anxious-ambivalent attachment has an increasing effect on social anxiety levels.