P9: Social Anxiety Symptoms and Anger: The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation Difficulties

Emotion regulation strategies are considered as determinant variables on both normal and psychopathological processes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the mediating role of emotion regulation difficulties on the relationship between social anxiety symptoms and anger. A total of 171 participants (71 men, 100 women) from the city of Tehran participated in this study as volunteers. All participants were asked to complete the social phobia inventory (SPIN), the difficulties in emotion regulation scale (DERS) and the multidimensional anger inventory (MAI). Social anxiety symptoms showed significant positive correlations with emotion regulation difficulties as well as anger. The results of path analysis revealed that the association of social anxiety symptoms with anger arousal, hostile outlook and anger-in was mediated by difficulties in emotion regulation. Based on the results of the present study, it is concluded that the relationship between social anxiety symptoms and anger is not a simple linear one, but the other variables such as emotion regulation strategies play a mediating role in this relationship. These findings also imply the importance of emotion regulation strategies and anger in the process of psychotherapy for patients with social anxiety disorder.