psychology

The world is developing in a classy manner with a number of standards set for idealizing concepts which influence

people globally. A very common discourse of the present time is regarding the appearance of a person. The dressing

patterns, presentation styles, cosmetic use, brand preferences and so on have all been in line with the picture of ideal

beauty which is being questioned after decades of conditioning. Taking this concern into consideration along with

the increased prevalence of social anxiety, the present study has tried to pin point onto the role of appearance anxiety

on the very basic social interaction anxiety experienced by common people. The study was conducted on the late

adolescent population of Kerala as they are the ones who experience the crisis situation the most in figuring out their

own identity. A sample of 90 participants were considered for the study which included an unequal number of males

and females and the data collection process was conducted online. The tools used for the study included the Social

Interaction Anxiety Scale developed by Mattick and Clarke (1998) and The Appearance Anxiety Inventory

developed by Veale et al. (2014). The coded and scored data was statistically analysed to conclude that Appearance

Anxiety significantly predicts Appearance Anxiety with no role of gender in any of the variables. The major

limitations of the study and the future implications have also been discussed in the article.

Keywords: appearance anxiety, gender, late adolescents, social interaction anxiety

Adolescence is a period of development in which the significant

transition of a child happens to become an adult. This period of

transition is termed as the period of storm and stress by Hall (1904) as

adolescents face decreased self-control and increased sensitivity

during this period of their life. The term 'storm and stress' has been a

significant point of debate as it gives a negative lens to look at this

stage of development by pinpointing the difficulties faced by

adolescents and generalizing it irrespective of the cultural variations

(Arnett, 1999). Taking the commonly discussed negative side of

adolescence, the present study tries to address the social interaction

anxiety of adolescents by connecting it with the matter of self and

identity. Identity is viewed as a self-structure, a dynamic internal

organization of one's desires, abilities, beliefs, and personal history

by Marcia (1980). Self-awareness is considered as a very important

part of adolescent life which influences the development of the

individual as a whole. When the structure of self of a person is well-

developed, it is considered that people are more conscious of their

own differences from and similarities to others, as well as their own

advantages and disadvantages in navigating the environment. The

structure of identity is dynamic and thereby when the sense of self is

not well developed, the less clear individuals seem to be about how

they differ from others and the more they rely on outside sources to

judge who they are (Marcia, 1980).

One of the major causes of social anxiety has been explained by

Clark and Wells (1995) through their cognitive-behavioural model

of social anxiety. According to the theory it is highlighted that the

fear of social evaluation becomes the core factor leading to social

anxiety. Those with social anxiety fear people will judge them

adversely since they don't think they live up to the standards or

expectations of the society, which has significant social

repercussions (Wang et al., 2012). The Heinberg's Model of Social

Anxiety (2010) also grounds the concept of social anxiety in the

perception of an audience by the socially anxious people in every

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental

Disorders (2013), Anxiety is described as tension or unease that

results from anticipating a threat, which could be internal or

external. Social Anxiety is one among the most discussed

dimensions of anxiety which is defined by a strong dread of being

judged by others in social circumstances (Bögels et al., 2010). It is

also referred to as social anxiety disorder (SAD) or social phobia

when its severity reaches a tipping point where functioning is

hampered (Marrison & Heimberg, 2013). In these cases, people

believe they are inadequate or inferior, and they think that being

praised and receiving compliments would help them advance in

society (Wallace & Alden, 1997). Earlier research evidence

suggests that social anxiety is majorly of two different types,

Performance anxiety and Social Interaction Anxiety. While

performance anxiety is related to the fear of people performing

something in front of others, Social Interaction Anxiety is much

more basic that they fear socializing with people around them.

Social Interaction Anxiety does not carry the element of being

judged by others, but finds it difficult to manage any social

situation in which they have to interact with others (Hughes et al.,

2006). It has been revealed through research literature that Social

Interaction Anxiety is much more closely associated with

anhedonia (Brown et al., 1997); and depression (Alden et al., 2008);

as it obstructs a wide variety of social interactions that are enjoyable

(Kashdan, 2007).

Appearance Anxiety and Social Interaction Anxiety

among Late Adolescents

Indian Journal of Health and Well-being

2022, 13(3), 388-392

https://iahrw.org/our-services/journals/indian-journal-of-health-wellbeing/

© 2022 Indian Association of Health, Research and Welfare

ISSN-p-2229-5356,e-2321-3698

NAAS Rating 4.11

Deva Nanda Raghavan and N.P.M. Hasmina Fathima Christ College (Autonomous), Irinjalakuda, Kerala

Author Note

Deva Nanda Raghavan, BSc. Psychology, Christ College

(Autonomous), Irinjalakuda, Kerala

N.P.M. Hasmina Fathima, Assistant Professor, Christ College

(Autonomous), Irinjalakuda, Kerala

We have no known conflict of interest to disclose

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to

Deva Nanda Raghavan, Bsc. Psychology, Christ College

(Autonomous), Irinjalakuda, Kerala

social situation. People commonly create a picture of oneself in the

eye of the audience, often said as 'your image of my image of you'

(Morrison & Heinberg, 2013). The concept of self is also believed to

develop in a similar manner according to the looking glass concept of

Cooley (1902) which explains that self develops on the basis of what

one thinks others think about him/her. While participation anxiety

can be easily connected with this explanation of the audience, social

interaction anxiety opens questions for clarification as it does not

arise out of the fear of performing something in front of a crowd who

would judge them. Self-concept can be considered more influential

in the case of social interaction anxiety and thereby the determinants

of self-concept should be given importance in understanding the

concept.

While searching for common factors that influence the self-

concept of people, appearance anxiety cannot be left unseen.

Appearance anxiety is a common factor that is expected to be

experienced by people irrespective of age and gender, which is

conceptually related to self-esteem in general and body image in

particular (Sahin et al., 2014). It is defined as a construct that

expresses anxiety about one's physical appearance and how others

perceive/judge it (Hart et al., 2008). According to Keelan et al.

(1992), self-reported unfavourable social experiences in childhood

and early adolescence are associated with appearance anxiety in

women. This becomes quite an important concern in the present era

where people remain obsessed with matters of fitness, health and

beauty. The westernized image of beauty has been globally accepted

as the ideal image for men and women which has become the only

definition of beauty (Rajagopal & Gales, 2002). Frederick and

Roberts (1997) have defined Self-objectification as the process of

viewing oneself from a third-person perspective as opposed to a first-

person one, leading girls and women to place more emphasis on how

they appear to others than on how they feel or what they can

accomplish. The theory has a strong gender base as it addresses

women and not men. This brings in the concept of 'self' and the

concept of appearance anxiety of people together. Keeping all these

concerns in mind, there is a significant question of what role

Appearance anxiety plays in the development of social interaction

anxiety of people, as appearance is a concern that can generally strike

a person when they encounter someone at any point of time. This idea

has been the core element of the present study and it also tries to

understand the gender difference within these variables of concern.

Scope and Significance of the Study

The present study tries to tap on a major concern related to the beliefs

and perceptions of people in and around the concept of beauty. The

widely spread patterns, ideals and benchmarks of beauty have spread

all across the world by generalizing and idealizing a fixed picture as

the definition of beauty. Finally, after long years of conditioning,

there are prominent discourses around redefining the markers of

what beauty is. Breaking down the ideal figures that have been

imprinted in humans is a tedious task, but still actions have already

ignited. A very related concept that calls for concern is the amount of

appearance anxiety faced by people and the extent to which it affects

the social life of people. The social interaction anxiety of people is a

concept that has been least tapped by researchers as everyone works

on the larger concepts of social phobia or social anxiety. By keeping

performance anxiety aside, the present study is focussing only on the

social interaction anxiety of people. This lacuna is being worked out

through the present study and opens possibilities to develop effective

treatment strategies for social interaction anxiety which affects the

very basic abilities of a person. It also matters that there have been no

supportive studies from the south Indian late adolescents on these

grounds.

The major aim of the present study was to understand the

relationship between Appearance Anxiety and Social Interaction

Anxiety among late adolescents of Kerala. It also tries to understand

if there exist any gender differences within these variables and know

if Appearance Anxiety predicts the Social Interaction Anxiety of late

adolescents.

Objectives of the Study

● To know the strength and direction of relationship between

Appearance Anxiety and Social Interaction Anxiety among late

adolescents

● To know if there is significant difference in the Appearance

Anxiety of male and female late adolescents

Aim of the Study

Hypotheses of the Study

Appearance Anxiety Inventory (AAI) was the scale used to assess the

level of appearance anxiety experienced by the participants and also

help in the treatment process of people with body dysmorphic

disorder. The scale was developed by Veale et al. (2014) and the

inventory is a 5-point Likert scale which consists of 10 items. The

score range for the present scale is 0-40. The scale has also been

found to be reliable and valid with the Cronbach's alpha score being

.86, and the convergent validity score when related with the Yale-

Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale Modified for Body

Dysmorphic Disorder being .55.

● There is no significant difference based on gender in the Social

Interaction Anxiety of late adolescents

● Appearance Anxiety significantly predicts the Social Interaction

Anxiety of late adolescents

Method

● To explore if Appearance Anxiety predicts the Social Interaction

Anxiety of late adolescents

The study was based on the population of late adolescents and

thereby the sample consisted of 90 late adolescents of Kerala.

Convenient sampling was followed to collect the required data for

the study. The data was collected from a group of 55 females and 35

males belonging to the age group of 18-21 years. It was made sure

that the participants were literate and had no physical or

psychological illnesses.

Measures

Participants

● To understand if there is significant difference in the Social

Interaction Anxiety of male and female late adolescents

Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) was developed by Mattick

and Clarke (1998) and consisted of 20 items which were answered

on a 5-point Likert pattern making a score range of 0-80. The scale

● There is no significant difference based on gender in the

Appearance Anxiety of late adolescents

● There is no significant correlation between Appearance Anxiety

and Social Interaction Anxiety among late adolescents

Indian Journal of Health and Well-being 2022, 13(3), 388-392 389

was found to be reliable with the Cronbach's alpha score being .90.

The study is also said to have good validity as the correlation score

with the Social Phobia Scale is found to be .59 (Osman et al., 1998).

Procedure

The study was conducted on an online mode using google forms in

which the demographic details of the person was included along with

the two questionnaires to measure the Social Interaction Anxiety and

the Appearance Anxiety. Ethical guidelines were strictly followed

throughout the research, as part of which, the participants were

informed that the information they share will be strictly confidential,

with the maintenance of anonymity. It was also made clear that their

participation was voluntary and that they could withdraw at any point

of time without providing any solid reason or explanation. Coding

and scoring of the data were done carefully before getting into the

statistical analysis of the data to reach the conclusions of the study.

Pearson's correlation, Independent sample t-tests and Linear

regressions were conducted through SPSS version 25.

Results

The major aim of the present study is to understand the relationship

between Appearance Anxiety and Social Interaction Anxiety among

late adolescents and also know the extent of predictability of Social

Interaction Anxiety. After a keen check of normality of the data

using the Shapirov-Wilk test the data was found to be normally

distributed. To understand if there is any gender-based difference in

the variables of concern an independent sample t-test was conducted

and the results are given in Table 1.

Grouping variables Male Female t p

Dependent variables N Mean SD N Mean SD

Appearance Anxiety 35 9.88 7.94 55 9.65 5.61 .15 .88- - - - -

Social Interaction Anxiety 35 26 13.48 55 27.5 13.5 -.51 .60

Table 1

t-test on Appearance Anxiety and Social Interaction Anxiety on the Basis of Gender

B SE B β

Constant 16.42 2.17

While the prevalence of Social Interaction Anxiety (Jefferies &

Ungar, 2020) and Appearance Anxiety (Zimmer-Gembeck et al.,

2018) are rising at greater levels across the globe, the present study

aimed at understanding the relationship between both these

variables among late adolescents along with the extent to which

Appearance Anxiety predicts Social Interaction Anxiety. The role of

gender was also tapped through the study which revealed that the

extent of Social Interaction Anxiety and Appearance Anxiety did not

differ among male and female late adolescents. Even though there is

a common assumption that women are more oriented towards and

concerned about one's appearance, it has been proved wrong by a

number of researches works from the late twentieth century

(Mishkind et al., 1986). Even the earlier theories follow this pattern

of biased viewpoint where women are considered as the only ones

who fall for 'self-objectification' which is closely related to viewing

oneself from the third person's view instead of focusing on one's own

capabilities and potentials (Frederick & Roberts, 1997). The present

results also question this gender bias in concerns related to

appearance as it reveals that the male late adolescents are equally

Appearance Anxiety 01.07 0.18 .52**

Discussion

2Note. R = .278, ** p < .01, N = 90

Table 2

The results of the t-tests reveal that none of the variables differ

significantly among male and female late adolescents of Kerala.

Checking on the mean scores of the variables it is visible that the

mean of the appearance anxiety of males (N = 35, M = 9.88) are a bit

higher when compared with that of females (N = 55, M = 9.65), but

the t-test has come out to be insignificant (t = .15, p = .88). Similarly,

the mean score of Social Interaction Anxiety is negligibly higher in

the case of females (N = 55, M = 27.5) when compared with that of

males (N = 35, M = 26), and the t-test reveals the difference to be

insignificant (t = -.51, p = .60). Thereby it is concluded that the

amount of Appearance Anxiety and Social Interaction Anxiety

experienced among men and women do not differ significantly,

confirming that gender plays no role in these variables.

Table Representing Correlation between Appearance Anxiety and

Social Interaction Anxiety

Variables 1 2

1. Appearance Anxiety -

2. Social Interaction Anxiety .527** -

Note. N = 90, ** p < 0.01

Pearson's correlation was conducted between Appearance

Anxiety and Social Interaction Anxiety to know the relationship

between the variables and the results (Table 2) revealed that there is a

significant positive correlation of medium strength within these

variables of concern (r = .527, p < 0.01). It shows that when the

Appearance Anxiety score increases the Social Interaction Anxiety

also increases. To conclude about the cause and effect relationship

between Appearance Anxiety and Social Interaction Anxiety, a linear

regression following the correlation result is done.

The linear regression conducted with the dependent variable being

Social Interaction Anxiety clarifies that Appearance Anxiety 2significantly predicts Social Interaction Anxiety by 27.8 percent (R

= .278, p < .01). This relationship shows that an increase of .52 units

of appearance anxiety increases the Social Interaction Anxiety by

one unit (β = .52, p < 0.01). It clarifies that a minor difference in

Appearance Anxiety is potent enough to develop or induce the

Social Interaction Anxiety of people.

Table 3

Linear Regression Predicting Social Interaction Anxiety

390 RAGHAVAN AND FATHIMA/ APPEARANCE ANXIETY AND SOCIAL INTERACTION ANXIETY

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392 RAGHAVAN AND FATHIMA/ APPEARANCE ANXIETY AND SOCIAL INTERACTION ANXIETY

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