Working Title: Socioeconomic Backgrounds and Social Isolation
Topic:
I will be researching how socioeconomic backgrounds cause social isolation among college students. The paper will help people better understand the impacts of one’s family’s socioeconomic backgrounds on their life as a college student and why students from less affluent families are more vulnerable to social isolation than students who come from more affluent families.
Research Question:
The current research question I have in mind is "what kind of student is more likely to experience social anxiety and why?" and "what impact(s) does a lack of friends and support groups have on students college experiences and life after college?"
Theoretical Frames:
From everything I’ve read so far I’ve come to a conclusion that students from less affluent backgrounds are more prone to social isolation and social anxiety than students from more affluent backgrounds. Also, less affluent foreign and/or international students are the most funeralable to social isolation and anxiety. In my research paper I will be talking more about the causes of social isolation and anxiety, cultural factors, and personal factors that go into the lives of college students. I will also be researching ways in which students can reduce their social anxiety by popular methods of stress relief such as meditation, music, and exercising.
Examples:
1.”Does the mortality risk of social isolation depend upon socioeconomic factors?”: “This study considers whether socioeconomic status influences the impact of social isolation on mortality risk. Using data from the Alameda County Study, Cox proportional hazard models indicate that having a high income worsens the mortality risk of social isolation. Education may offset risk, however, and the specific pattern that emerges depends on which measures for socioeconomic status and social isolation are included. Additionally, lonely people who earn high incomes suffer especially high risk of accidents and suicides as well as cancer. Further research is needed that contextualizes the health risks of social isolation within the broader social environment.”
2. Self-esteem and fear of negative evaluation as mediators between family socioeconomic status and social anxiety in Chinese emerging adults.: “The social causation hypothesis suggests that the stress in connection with a depressing social position results in the development of mental disorders. This study examines the psychological mechanisms underlying the link between family socioeconomic status (SES) and social anxiety in Chinese emerging adults. A self-administered questionnaire was given to a representative sample (N = 717) of undergraduate students (17-23 years old) at three universities in China. Correlational and structural equation modeling analyses were employed to test the hypothesized three-path effect of self-esteem and fear of negative evaluation (FNE) as mediators between family SES and social anxiety. Findings suggest the following: (1) the emerging adults belonging to families with low SES are at an increased risk of social anxiety, and (2) lower family SES caused lower self-esteem, which, in turn, serves to enhance the levels of FNE, thereby increasing social anxiety. In addressing the prevention and treatment of social anxiety, we conclude that preventive efforts toward improving self-esteem may help reduce social anxiety in individuals with low family SES. Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Ltd.”
3. Vilaplana-Pérez A, Pérez-Vigil A, Sidorchuk A, et al. Much more than just shyness: the impact of social anxiety disorder on educational performance across the lifespan. Psychological medicine. January 2020:1-9. doi:10.1017/S0033291719003908: “Social anxiety disorder (SAD) has been linked to academic underachievement, but previous studies had methodological limitations. We investigated the association between SAD and objective indicators of educational performance, controlling for a number of covariates and unmeasured confounders shared between siblings. This population-based birth cohort study included 2 238 837 individuals born in Sweden between 1973 and 1997, followed-up until 2013. Within the cohort, 15 755 individuals had a recorded ICD-10 diagnosis of SAD in the Swedish National Patient Register. Logistic regression models tested the association between SAD and educational performance. We also identified 6488 families with full siblings discordant for SAD. Compared to unexposed individuals, individuals diagnosed with SAD were less likely to pass all subjects in the last year of compulsory education [adjusted odds ratios (aOR) ranging from 0.19 to 0.44] and less likely to be eligible for a vocational or academic programme in upper secondary education [aOR = 0.31 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.30-0.33) and aOR = 0.52 (95% CI 0.50-0.55), respectively], finish upper secondary education [aOR = 0.19 (95% CI 0.19-0.20)], start a university degree [aOR = 0.47 (95% CI 0.45-0.49)], obtain a university degree [aOR = 0.35 (95% CI 0.33-0.37)], and finish postgraduate education [aOR = 0.58 (95% CI 0.43-0.80)]. Results were attenuated but remained statistically significant in adjusted sibling comparison models. When psychiatric comorbidities were taken into account, the results were largely unchanged. Treatment-seeking individuals with SAD have substantially impaired academic performance throughout the formative years. Early detection and intervention are warranted to minimise the long-term socioeconomic impact of the disorder.”
Works Cited:
Patterson AC. Does the mortality risk of social isolation depend upon socioeconomic factors? Journal of Health Psychology. 2016;21(10):2420-2433. doi:10.1177/1359105315578302 :
Cheng G, Zhang D, Ding F. Self-esteem and fear of negative evaluation as mediators between family socioeconomic status and social anxiety in Chinese emerging adults. International Journal of Social Psychiatry. 2015;61(6):569-576. doi:10.1177/0020764014565405:
Vilaplana-Pérez A, Pérez-Vigil A, Sidorchuk A, et al. Much more than just shyness: the impact of social anxiety disorder on educational performance across the lifespan. Psychological medicine. January 2020:1-9. doi:10.1017/S0033291719003908:
Karlsen BS, Clench-Aas J, Van Roy B, Raanaas RK. Relationships between Social Anxiety and Mental Health Problems in Early Adolescents from Different Socioeconomic Groups: Results from a Cross-sectional Health Survey in Norway. 2014.