Relationship Between Shyness and Career Decision-making Difficulties :Mediator Role of Social Anxiety

Objective: It is to explore the relationship between shyness,social anxiety and career decision-making difficulties among college students. Methods: 207 college students were investigated with Shyness Scale,Interaction Anxiousness Scale( IAS) and Career Decision-making Difficulties Scale. Results: Shyness was positively related to social anxiety,career decision-making difficulties and social anxiety was positively related to career decision-making difficulties; social anxiety entirely mediated the effect of shyness on preparation-lacking,Once social anxiety entered in the regression equation as a predictor,then the index of the effect of shyness on preparation-lacking was not significant( β = 0. 131,t = 1. 464,p 0. 05); social anxiety partially mediated the effect of shyness on career exploration difficulty. Once social anxiety entered in the regression equation as a predictor,then the index of the effect of shyness on career exploration difficulty dropped from 0. 347 to 0. 216,( t = 2. 548,p 0. 05). Structural equation model found,social anxiety was a mediator factor between shyness and career decision-making difficulties.Conclusion: Shyness affects career decision-making difficulties through social anxiety.