Height dissatisfaction and loneliness among adolescents: the chain mediating role of social anxiety and social support

Abstract

Previous research on body dissatisfaction has mainly focused on the dissatisfaction with weight and appearance. Limited research has examined the dissatisfaction with another major body feature that is important to our social relationships and personal well-being, namely, body height. We hypothesized that height dissatisfaction would predict more intense loneliness among adolescents, and that this relationship is mediated by greater social anxiety and reduced social support. Participants of this study were 515 Chinese high school students. The Shortness subscale of the Negative Physical Self Scale, Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents, Perceived Social Support Scale, and ULS-8 were integrated into a paper-and-pencil survey. The results revealed that adolescents with high levels of height dissatisfaction reported higher levels of loneliness. A chain mediation model showed that the relationship between height dissatisfaction and loneliness could be both sequentially mediated by social anxiety and social support, and mediated by social anxiety. However, no mediating role of social support was found. We also found that body height did not predict social anxiety or social support, but can predict loneliness. The current findings provide novel insights into the occurrence of loneliness among adolescents, and indicate that negative self-perceptions of body height and the resulting social anxiety can lead to loneliness.

Keywords: Adolescents; Height dissatisfaction; Loneliness; Social anxiety; Social support.

Fig. 1

Chain mediation model indicating the mediating roles of social anxiety and social support in the association between height dissatisfaction and loneliness. Note: ^*p < .05; ^**p < .01; ^***p < .001