The relationship between adverse childhood experiences and social anxiety disorder symptoms: the mediating role of rumination

Abstract This study aimed to examine the mediating role of rumination in the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and social anxiety disorder symptoms. In this study, which was conducted with correlational design, one of the quantitative research methods, 878 participants were reached. 78.2% of the participants are women and 21.8% are men. In the study, self-report scales consisting of a personal information form, adverse childhood experiences scale, rumination scale, and Liebowitz social anxiety scale were administered to the participants. The analysis of the data regarding the research findings was carried out using the SPSS 25 package program. First of all, the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and social anxiety and rumination was examined; Then, parallel multi-agent analysis and serial intermediary analyses were performed using the Process V4.2 extension (Model 4). According to the findings, it was found that there was a significant positive relationship between adverse childhood experiences, social anxiety disorder symptoms, and rumination variables. It has also been observed that rumination has a mediating role in the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and social anxiety disorder symptoms. Examining the role of rumination in the relationship between childhood adverse events and social anxiety symptoms may help develop new interventions targeting SAD and expand the literature on the cognitive, behavioral, and affective vulnerabilities that early adverse events bring with them.