SaiPraharshitha Srinivasan

What is the difference in social anxiety between adolescent victims of IPV, social exclusion, and hate comments?

Started Mar. 29, 2022

Abstract or project description

Cybervictimization has risen in adolescents with the age of technology and the rapid progress in the field of computer science. As such, the rise in mental health conditions such as social anxiety — the condition in which social interactions cause irrational anxiety —- has seen an abnormal increase in a positive correlation with cybervictimization. In particular, relational victimization is associated with increased social anxiety in adolescents. Yet, with its rise we have yet to find a common ground for victims to seek help and effective solutions backed by research. As such, the most important aspect of this study is identifying factors such as the frequency of victimization, what online platforms victimization takes place on, and the reasoning behind relational victimization that could affect the level of social anxiety experienced by an individual. To do this, this study will conduct a review of other research papers and deploy a survey. We aim to survey about 75 high school students between the ages of 14-17 regarding specifically targeted questions that would identify the factors that affect their social anxiety. The factors analyzed will be adapted from the LSAS (Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale) and will be used to identify which cluster of factors are mainly found in each type of victim.