Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between normal variations in adolescent social anxiety, as reported by both youths and their mothers, and three key factors of identity formation: commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment. It also explored the moderating role of social participation and self-esteem in these relationships. Data from 186 mother-adolescent pairs revealed social anxiety negatively correlated with commitment and positively with reconsideration of commitment, especially when self-reported. The moderating effects of social participation and self-esteem varied based on the reporter of social anxiety, underscoring the importance of considering both perspectives. These findings contribute to our understanding of how socially anxious adolescents might struggle developing a cohesive identity and suggest potential interventions to support adolescents during this crucial period.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Youth and Society |
| DOIs | |
| State | Accepted/In press - 2025 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
Keywords
- adolescence
- identity formation
- self-esteem
- social anxiety
- social participation