The association between Big Five personality traits and social anxiety symptoms in Chinese college students: a network analysis

Abstract

Abstract Background The concept of social anxiety (SA) has long been recognized for its heterogeneity, with individual SA symptoms varying in their relationships with predisposing factors. Despite playing a prominent role in theoretical and empirical works on SA, studies investigating the specific links between Big Five personality traits and individual SA symptoms, remain limited. This study aims to explore these unique trait-to-symptom relationships among Chinese college students using network analysis. Methods A regularized graphical Gaussian model was estimated among 1,239 Chinese college students. The Chinese Big Five Personality Inventory-15 and the social anxity subscale of the Self-Consciousness Scale were used to assess personality traits and SA symptoms respectively. Bridge expected influence (BEI) was utilized to quantify the relative importance of each node within the network, while the network comparison test was conducted to explore potential sex differences in the Big Five-SA relationships. Results The study's findings unveiled distinct associations between Big Five traits and SA symptoms. Notably, the strogest edge is between Neuroticism and symptom "Get embarrassed very easily". Furthermore, Neuroticism was found to have a strong positive bridging effect on the SA symptom cluster, especially among females, while Extraversion have a strong negative bridging effect on the SA symptom cluster. Conclusion These results underscore the significant influence of Neuroticism as a potential target for interventions aimed at reducing SA, particularly among women. Furthermore, personalized care strategies base on individual symptom profiles should be considered.