Multimodal assessment of social anxiety among international students

The present study examined Social Anxiety (SA) through the utilization of multiple measures and experimental paradigms. Participants were categorized using the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (threshold: 30). The Facial Test assessed emotional facial recognition, and eye-tracking technology examined visual attention biases during emotion identification. The Social Cognitions Questionnaire was administered to investigate the relationship between biases and SA. Results revealed no gender-based differences in SA, but Asian participants scored significantly higher on the anxiety scale compared to non-Asians, challenging assumptions about lower Asian social anxiety scores and highlighting cultural influences. Emotion recognition showed no significant differences between SA and control groups. Gaze pattern analysis revealed that females focused more on eyes, aligning with gender-based emotion recognition differences. Contrary to previous findings individuals with higher social anxiety scores did not show hypervigilance towards threatening stimuli but exhibited avoidance towards them, including delayed gaze, fewer and shorter fixations, and reduced gazes directed at the eyes. Both the SA and the control group exhibited maladaptive schemas related to performance and visible signs of anxiety. Men and Asian participants showed higher belief in these schemas, challenging the notion of their lower susceptibility to social anxiety.