Social Interaction Anxiety, Coping Styles and Career Decision Making in Young Adults

Abstract

The current research investigated the association between Social Interaction Anxiety, Coping Style and Career Decision Making in young adults. It as well examined the mediating effect of coping style and the gender differences among the study variables. The research design was the quantitative correlational research design and 300 students of the university were sampled using convenience sampling. A set of standardized assessments was used: the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS), Coping Styles Questionnaire (CSQ) and Career Decision Making Inventory (CDMI). Data analysis was performed with SPSS version 27 with the help of descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, regression, mediation analysis, and independent sample t-tests. The findings showed that measurement tools were all found to be very reliable. The descriptive evidence revealed that the participants had moderate levels of social interaction anxiety, different coping styles and average career decision making. The results of the correlation analysis showed that all variables had significant relationships. Coping styles and career decision making were strongly related to the social interaction anxiety. The maladaptive coping was associated with more anxiety and worse career decision making whereas the opposite was found in adaptive coping. The mediation analysis showed that coping style played an important mediating role between social interaction anxiety and career decision making. They also experienced gender differences with males reporting more social interaction anxiety and career decision making, whereas females reported more effective coping styles. These results demonstrate the need to establish effective coping skills that can enhance psychological adaptation and career planning in young people.