Childhood Behavioural Inhibition and Perceived Social Support as Predictors of Social Anxiety Among Secondary School Students in Oyo State, Nigeria.

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue VI, June 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186

Childhood Behavioural Inhibition and Perceived Social Support as Predictors of Social Anxiety Among Secondary School Students in Oyo State, Nigeria.

¹Elegbeleye, A. O., ²Akharume, R., ³Eyisi, M., & ⁴Agoha, B. C. E.
¹,³,⁴Department of Psychology, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria.
²Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN

Abstract:
Objectives: Social anxiety remains an issue among adolescents. This study was conducted to identify some predictors of social anxiety among adolescents. Two hypotheses were stated based on literature review.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 123 males and 172 females between the ages of 13 and 17 years. Participants were systematically recruited from 6 secondary schools in Oyo state, Nigeria. Data was collected using standardized questionnaires and subjected to SPSS (v.23).
Results: Childhood behavioural inhibition and perceived social support were significant predictors of social anxiety respectively.
Conclusion: Mental health practitioners should be cautious of the significant predictors in this study when designing intervention programs against social anxiety for adolescent population.

Keywords: Predictors, Social anxiety, Adolescents.

I. INTRODUCTION

The phase of adolescence remains a turbulent time as posited by many psychologists. Several studies have been conducted to inform the development of programs that mitigate the turbulence associated with adolescence (e.g. Agberotimi, et al. 2015; Constantine-Simms, et al. 2020). However, many of these studies still have failed to address crucial aspects of adolescent development which is social anxiety. Social anxiety is defined as the debilitating and chronic illness characterized by a marked and persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations involving exposure to unfamiliar people or scrutiny by others (Furmark, 2002). Social anxiety is a crucial problem as related studies such as Ayenibiowo, et al. (2012) have found a prevalence of social anxiety in adolescents to be around 27.47% with female participants exhibiting a higher level of social anxiety than their male counterparts on average.
This study, therefore, is interested in examining the predictors of social anxiety among secondary school students in Oyo state, Nigeria. The selected predictors were childhood behavioural inhibition and perceived social support. West and Newman (2016) found significant associations between

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