Beyond the surface: Cross-cultural roots of social anxiety in childhood traumas.

OBJECTIVE

In response to the growing need for cross-cultural perspectives on mental health, this study investigates and compares childhood trauma, rejection sensitivity, experiential avoidance, loneliness, and social anxiety in Canadian and Turkish general population samples to gain insights into potential cultural variations in mental health outcomes.

METHOD: The present study included 1,735 participants from the general population in Canada (n = 959; Mage = 20.82; 73.83% female) and Türkiye (n = 776; Mage = 25.01; 80.80% female). Data were collected using self-report measures. Zero-order correlations, two-way multivariate analysis of covariance and analysis of covariance, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to test research questions.

RESULTS

Our findings indicate positive associations among childhood trauma, social anxiety, rejection sensitivity, experiential avoidance, and loneliness in both samples. Notably, participants from Canada scored significantly higher on all these constructs compared to their Turkish counterparts. Furthermore, female participants scored higher on all main variables than males, except for physical abuse, where males reported higher scores.

CONCLUSION

In the Canadian sample, younger age, female gender, childhood traumas, rejection sensitivity, experiential avoidance, and loneliness were significant predictors of social anxiety. Conversely, in the Turkish sample, younger age, emotional neglect, rejection sensitivity, experiential avoidance, and loneliness were significant predictors of social anxiety. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).