“Tracing the impact of childhood adversity on social anxiety in late adolescence: the moderating role of social support and coping strategies”

Objectives To explore the prevalence of ACEs, social anxiety (SIA), and perceived social support (PSS) among Indian students, and to investigate the relationship between ACEs, SIA, PSS, and three types of coping strategies, i.e., (PF, AF, EF). This study also aims to examine the mediating role of perceived social support (PSS) in the ACEs–SIA relationship and identify the three types of coping strategies used by students with ACEs and social anxiety. Methods The present study is exploratory and uses a correlational design. The sample comprised 210 students aged 17–21. The participants were administered the following instruments: the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Test, Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS), Multidimensional Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and the Brief COPE Inventory. Results The present study’s findings indicate a significant positive correlation between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and social anxiety levels among Indian college students. Higher ACE scores were associated with increased social anxiety. Perceived social support showed a significant negative correlation with social anxiety, suggesting that greater social support is linked to lower anxiety levels. Among coping strategies, emotion-focused coping was the most commonly used, followed by problem-focused coping and avoidant-coping. Emotion-focused coping showed a positive correlation with social anxiety. Conclusions These findings underscore the long-term psychological impact of childhood adversity and highlight the protective role of social support in buffering social anxiety symptoms in late-adolescent and young-adult college students. The reliance on emotion-focused coping strategies, although providing immediate relief, does not address the underlying issues, emphasizing the need for culturally sensitive interventions promoting problem-focused coping. The study also underscores the critical role of perceived social support in mitigating the adverse effects of ACEs, indicating a need to enhance social support networks to foster resilience among Indian college students.