The Impact Of Social Avoidance On Peer Rejection In Junior High School Students:the Role Of Resilience And Solitary Ability

In adolescence,some students may experience problem behaviour and social maladjustment distress due to poor peer relationships.Social avoidance is a specific psychological state that manifests itself when individuals choose to avoid social situations to avoid being influenced by others.Relevant studies have shown that peer rejection is strongly associated with social and school maladjustment.Based on this,this study aimed to investigate the predictive role of peer rejection on social avoidance among junior high school students,as well as to gain insight into the mechanisms by which solitary ability and mental toughness play a role in this predictive process.In Study 1,850 junior high school students from three secondary schools in Hubei Province were selected and the scales of social avoidance,solitary ability,peer rejection and psychological resilience were used to administer the questionnaire.The results shows,(1)Peer rejection was significantly and positively related to social avoidance,and the ability to live alone was positively related to psychological resilience.(2)psychological resilience mediated the relationship between peer rejection and social avoidance.(3)The solitary ability moderated both the direct and indirect effects of peer rejection on social avoidance.Ten students were selected for qualitative interviews in Study 2.The results of the interviews showed that socially avoidant individuals in the low subgroup had good interpersonal peer relationships and higher quality friendships,relatively positive self-perceptions and higher psychological resilience.Moreover,the opposite was true for the high subgroup.In conclusion,this study suggests that mental health education should be used to help adolescents acquire social skills and methods by increasing social opportunities;enhancing frustration tolerance and improving mental toughness levels,and understanding students’ solitary preferences and developing their solitary skills,so as to provide appropriate guidance and suggestions for junior high school students to build good interpersonal relationships.