Publisher's Synopsis
Social anxiety has been cited as one of the most prevalent anxiety disorders,
especially in undergraduate students. The theoretical framework used in the current study
built upon the mindset theory to examine how perceptions of self and anxiety affected
reported social anxiety and how an intervention to increase growth mindsets changed the
relationships between self-perceptions and social anxiety. A total of 24 participants
completed the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, Social Phobia Scale, Grit-S Scale, and two
mindset measures both before and after attending a one-time, in-person, 70-minute
intervention. All participants were randomly assigned to the control condition (a growth
mindset intervention) or the experimental condition (a growth mindset intervention coupled
with materials to promote grit) to examine the degree to which grit moderates the relationship
between mindsets and social anxiety. Inclusion criteria included being (1) an undergraduate
student and (2) between the ages of 18 and 22. Hierarchical linear regressions were
conducted to analyze the relationships of mindsets to social anxiety through the main and
interaction effects of the predictor variables (mindset of anxiety and mindset of global self)
and the outcome variable (social anxiety). Results showed that grit moderated the
relationship between mindset of anxiety and social anxiety, with those with low grit
displaying a significant, predictive relationship between mindset of anxiety and social
anxiety scores. However, grit did not moderate the relationship between mindset of global
self and social anxiety. Complete results, limitations to the current study, and considerations
for clinical perspectives are fully discussed.
