Presentation Information
[P-35-04]Inhibitory Control and Social Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Irritability and the Specific Contribution of Avoidance
*Juyeong Kim, Somi Yun, Eunjae Lee (Hanyang University Guri Hospital(Korea))
Keywords:
Inhibitory control,Irritability,Social anxiety,Mediation
Background: Inhibitory control has been discussed as a cognitive factor associated with social anxiety, but a consistent explanatory mechanism between the two has yet to be clearly established. Meanwhile, irritability is a common emotional response pattern observed across various psychiatric conditions and has been suggested to play a mediating role, particularly in anxiety-related symptomatology.
Objective: This study aimed to examine whether irritability mediates the relationship between inhibitory control and social anxiety, and to investigate whether this mediation effect differs between the two subcomponents of social anxiety: anxiety and avoidance.
Methods: A total of 83 psychiatric patients completed questionnaires on irritability (Brief Irritability Test) and social anxiety (Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale; LSAS). The LSAS includes subscales for anxiety and avoidance. They also completed the Stroop task to assess inhibitory control. Regression analyses and bootstrap sampling methods were used for data analysis.
Results: Inhibitory control showed no significant total or direct effect on the total score of social anxiety or on the anxiety subcomponent, but the indirect effect through irritability was significant in both. Additionally, for the avoidance subcomponent, while the direct effect was not significant, both the total effect and the indirect effect through irritability were significant, indicating a full mediation model.
Conclusion: This study empirically demonstrated that irritability serves as a significant mediating pathway in the relationship between inhibitory control and social anxiety, with the proposed model showing the strongest explanatory power in the avoidance domain. These findings suggest that the pathway between inhibitory control and irritability is more clearly expressed in avoidance symptoms of social anxiety, and that identifying this specific mechanism contributes to a more integrated understanding of the cognitive and emotional underpinnings of social anxiety.
Objective: This study aimed to examine whether irritability mediates the relationship between inhibitory control and social anxiety, and to investigate whether this mediation effect differs between the two subcomponents of social anxiety: anxiety and avoidance.
Methods: A total of 83 psychiatric patients completed questionnaires on irritability (Brief Irritability Test) and social anxiety (Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale; LSAS). The LSAS includes subscales for anxiety and avoidance. They also completed the Stroop task to assess inhibitory control. Regression analyses and bootstrap sampling methods were used for data analysis.
Results: Inhibitory control showed no significant total or direct effect on the total score of social anxiety or on the anxiety subcomponent, but the indirect effect through irritability was significant in both. Additionally, for the avoidance subcomponent, while the direct effect was not significant, both the total effect and the indirect effect through irritability were significant, indicating a full mediation model.
Conclusion: This study empirically demonstrated that irritability serves as a significant mediating pathway in the relationship between inhibitory control and social anxiety, with the proposed model showing the strongest explanatory power in the avoidance domain. These findings suggest that the pathway between inhibitory control and irritability is more clearly expressed in avoidance symptoms of social anxiety, and that identifying this specific mechanism contributes to a more integrated understanding of the cognitive and emotional underpinnings of social anxiety.