Evaloation of social anxiety, mindfulness and meta-cognitions in college students

Social Anxiety symptoms likely appear and intensify during college years. This developmental stage has been lately termed as "emerging adulthood", which is emphasized as a risky period for psychological symptoms. Previous studies support the link between social anxiety, mindfulness and metacognitions in different samples. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between social anxiety, mindfulness and metacognitions. A total of 488 college students (345 women and 143 men) from different departments of Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University enrolled the study (Mean age 20.77, SS=1,95). A sociodemographic form, Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale and Metacognitions Questionnaire-30 were used in the study. Results indicated that social anxiety levels were differed according to gender, presence of a romantic relationship and substance use. Social anxiety total scores and its anxiety and avoidance subscale scores were negatively correlated with mindfulness scores. Moreover, metacognitions and all its subscales were positively correlated with social anxiety and its subscales. Mindfulness and metacognitions together explained 12 % of the variance in social anxiety. Finally, social anxiety was significantly predicted by cognitive insecurity and need to control thoughts subscales of metacognitions. The results show consistency with the findings of previous studies. It is assumed that evaluating metacognitions and mindfulness-based programs can be efficient in prevention and treatment of social anxiety.