Adult Anxiety
James P. Arnold, B.S.
Research Assistant
George Mason University
FAIRFAX, Virginia
Kerry Kelso, M.A.
Graduate Student
George Mason University
Arlington, North Carolina
Todd B. Kashdan, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia
Elijah P. Kohn, B.S.
Research Assistant
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia
According to Schwartz’s Theory of Basic Values, ten values can be organized based upon their relationship to anxiety: power, security, conformity, and tradition reflect anxiety avoidance, whereas self-direction, hedonism, stimulation, benevolence and universalism reflect an anxiety-free pursuit of positive emotional experiences. Socially anxious people experience fewer positive emotions and events, and these effects are independent of depressive symptoms (Kashdan, 2007; Kashdan & Steger, 2006). What is not known is whether social anxiety is linked to holding different underlying values related to aspirational and pleasurable pursuits. The present study tests the relevance of Schwartz’s framework of values to dispositional social anxiety. We hypothesized that people with higher social anxiety endorse anxiety-based values more and anxiety-free values less.
A sample of 409 adults (55% female; 75% white) completed the Social Anxiety Questionnaire for Adults (SAQ-A30; Caballo et al., 2012) and an abbreviated version of the Schwartz Portrait Values Questionnaire Survey (PVQ; Schwartz, 2003). We conducted correlational analyses between PVQ scores and SAQ-A30 scores and subsequently, divided the sample into high ( >1 SD above mean, n=65) and low social anxiety ( >1 SD below mean, n=76) groups. A series of independent samples t-tests examined group differences. Finally, values were rank-ordered for the overall sample and participants high and low in social anxiety.
Social anxiety was negatively associated with self-direction (r= -0.18, p< .001), hedonism (r= -0.16, p< .01), stimulation (r= -0.31, p< .001), benevolence (r= -0.14, p< .01), and power (r= -0.23, p< .01). The high social anxiety group reported lower self-direction (t= -2.79, p< .01), hedonism (t= -2.89, p< .01), stimulation (t= -4.99, p< .001), benevolence (t= -1.90, p< .05), and power (t= -3.54, p< .001) values compared to the low social anxiety group. When presented as a rank order list of values, the value preferences of the whole sample and between each social anxiety-based group were similar.
Results support Schwartz’s (2012) organization of anxiety-free values. The more social anxiety a person endorses, the less they value benevolence, self-direction, stimulation, and hedonism. Although anxiety-free values may be less important with greater social anxiety, the relative ordering of a person’s values is consistent regardless of their distress: universalism, benevolence, and self-direction were prioritized highest, whereas tradition and power were prioritized lowest. We failed to uncover correlations with social anxiety and universalism, achievement, tradition, conformity, and security, which may bring into question whether anxiety-based values truly support anxiety coping. Future directions should investigate the downstream effect of particular value orientations on the goals and behaviors of socially anxious individuals, and the usefulness of value clarification interventions in this population.