Social Anxiety and Public Social Interaction among Adolescents

during the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown

A partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Bachelor of Science in Psychology

Submitted by: (Group 8)

Awidan, Charlotte

Balionga, Arshyl

Bolla, Karysa

Bolleser, Francis Ivan

Lumas-e, Gerald

Submitted to:

Sagario, Herminio

Chapter 1
 THE PROBLEM

Background of the Study

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the 2019

Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Wuhan, China, a

pandemic on March 11, 2020. The virus became a global health

concern. Countries went on lockdowns as a response to the

pandemic and residents were forced to stay at home or were

advised not to not go out (Joffe, 2021).

President Rodrigo Duterte issued Proclamation No. 929,

placing the entire Philippines under a state of calamity for six

(6) months beginning March 16, 2020 (Carlos, 2020). National and

local governments implemented various degrees of community

quarantines based on the status of COVID-19 in their respective

areas to control the spread of COVID-19 from the strictest

Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) to the least restrictive

Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ) (Bueza, 2021). The

Philippines’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic was a long and

strict lockdown compared to other countries. On March 15 to April

14, an entire lockdown was ordered in the Manila region by

President Rodrigo Duterte (Hapal, 2021). It was meant to last

just a month, however, the rest of the Philippines followed into

lockdown (Aspinwall, 2020).

 In Baguio, three (3) people tested positive for Covid-19.

Due to this, Mayor Magalong opted to have the city border’s

closed and the city was placed under Enhanced Community

Quarantine. A 24-hour curfew was implemented and only one person

per household was allowed to go outside for groceries with the

use of a barangay pass(Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2020;

Hapal,2021).

The pandemic currently being experienced by the world has a

significant impact on society. Lockdowns associated with

pandemics have various and wide-ranged consequences on the

individual. Given the sudden and important changes in the daily

lives of people, high levels of stress can emerge(Brooks et.al.,

2020). The psychological impact experienced by people caused by

the pandemic is one of the consequences. Several studies in

various countries during the Covid-19 pandemic show higher levels

of psychological distress, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders,

traumatic stress symptoms, suicidal ideation, and substance abuse

(Ammerman et.al, 2020; Huang et.al., 2020; Newby et.al., 2020;

Qiu et.al., 2020; Wang et.al., 2020). According to WHO (2022),

the prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by 25 percent

during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. Estimates from

the latest Global Burden of Disease study, which shows that the

pandemic has affected the mental health of young people and that
they are excessively at risk of suicidal and self-harming

behaviors (WHO, 2022).

In the Philippines, due to the 17 month lockdown and

restrictions that were criticized as a slow response (Chui,

2021), mental health of the people were affected. It was expected

for mental health issues to worsen or prevail during the

lockdown. Depression, anxiety, panic attacks and disorders were

some of the mental issues that were expected to be affected

during the pandemic lockdown. (Munk,et al., 2020).

The WHO Philippines (2020) revealed that mental health

related concerns and disorders had significantly increased ever

since the start of the pandemic. Citing data from the WHO Special

Initiative for Mental Health, the Department of Health (DOH) said

at least 3.6 million Filipinos suffer from one kind of mental,

neurological, and substance abuse disorder in the early part of

2020 (Baclig, 2022). Furthermore, several other studies further

highlighted the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of many

individuals.

In compliance with the various community quarantines, social

interactions were limited or even non existent for some as there

were people who lived alone and away from their families. Social

activities and leisure have been limited or suspended. These

drastic changes in their lives that they could not control had a
significant impact on the economic, physical and psychological

state of many individuals. It caused a great deal of stress which

eventually resulted in depression and other mental health

concerns and disorders for some (Tee et.al., 2020). There were

several individuals who even committed suicide as a response to

being unable to function normally as a result of the stress and

anxiety they experienced (Gonzales et.al, 2020). Accordingly, the

DOH stated that difficulty in adjusting and coping with the new

normal has greatly impacted the mental health of many people (PTV

News, 2021).

Furthermore, Dr. Agnes Joy Casiño, a psychiatrist and

Department of Health (DOH) consultant, stated that a study which

was conducted by the University of the Philippines (UP) in 2020

reported that a quarter of 1,879 respondents reported having

“moderate to severe” anxiety issues due to COVID concerns. She

also stated how alarming it was that many of the calls received

by mental health hotlines during the pandemic came from

adolescents wanting to talk to someone about their mental health.

According to the data reported by National Center for Mental

Health (NCMH), the number of calls from adolescents seeking help

drastically increased by 347 percent from 3,178 in 2019 to 11,016

in 2020(Baclig, 2022).
 In Baguio, Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center

(BGHMC) has recorded 143 cases of suicide and self-harm during

the lockdown period as reported by Dr. Jovy Ann Jimero-Tangalin

of the hospital’s department of psychiatry. In addition, she

stated that there were no specific studies available to measure

the population’s mental strain triggered by the lockdown in

Cordillera. However, a census conducted by BGHMC showed that

depression was a top mental disorder suffered by people who

sought psychiatric consultations. Moreover, she also stated that

the pandemic increased anxieties and severe bouts of depression

that could lead to suicide. She also emphasized that special

attention must be given to children and adolescents as they have

been indoors for a long period of time (Cabreza, 2022).

Adolescence is a significant period of development wherein

physical, mental, and economic foundations are set for adulthood.

This is a period where heightened stress that features complex

neurological changes in social interactions, emotions, and risk

processing is influenced by peers and societal pressures with

unexpected outcomes(Blakemore & Mills, 2014; Stirrups, 2018).

Approximately, adolescents who can experience mental health

disorders and concerns during this period is up to 20 percent,

with 75 percent of those occurring before the age of 18(Aquire

et.al., 2020). During this sensitive period, social interactions

in the right environment and psychological assistance is crucial

to the development of healthy physical, social and mental

skills(Blakemore & Mills, 2014).

With the pandemic, implementation of social restrictions

such as staying at home, social distancing, and engaging in

distance learning, inhibited the social interactions and

communication of adolescents with teachers, peers, and other

individuals of the society. In addition, the development of new

experiences and social contact with peers during this period has

been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic(Lane et. al.,

2021).

While anxiety is a psychological behavioral response induced

by a threat to wellbeing, social anxiety, also known as social

phobia, is described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of

Mental Disorders Fifth (5) Edition (DSM-V) published by the

American Psychology Association (2013) as “marked fear or anxiety

about one or more social situations in which the individual is

exposed to possible scrutiny by others” (p. 202). Social

situations such as interacting with other people, being observed,

or performing in front of others can cause distress and anxiety

(APA, 2013).

Furthermore, individuals with social anxiety are afraid that

their symptoms may be visible to others, or that they will be

judged during social interactions (APA, 2013). Social anxiety

does not eradicate easily and is often the result of social

anxiety which includes but not limited to; loneliness, low self-

esteem, reduced success in school, depression and substance

misuse (Anxiety and Depression Association of America,n.d).

Individuals with social anxiety often suffer silently. Early

intervention offers an opportunity to reduce the incidence of

anxiety in public spaces (Barett et.al., 2022).

Age-of-onset data point to adolescence as a developmentally

sensitive period for the emergence of the condition, at a time

when the peer group becomes increasingly important. Social

anxiety in adolescence is associated with a considerable

impairment that persists through to adulthood. There are clear

potential benefits to delivering effective interventions during

adolescence. Social interaction anxiety makes individuals feel

anxious in situations of interaction which include meeting and

talking. Although social anxiety has two dimensions in the

majority of research studies the term social anxiety was utilized

for both social interaction anxiety and social performance

anxiety.

Most people experience social anxiety in one part of their

lives (Sanders, 2003). However, social anxiety is more common in

late adolescence and adulthood than in other developmental

periods (Ollendick &Hirshfeld-Becker, 2002). Research on social

anxiety in the pre-pandemic era reliably showed that socially

anxious individuals worry excessively about negative evaluation

in social situations and rely on maladaptive self-protective

strategies to hide their self-perceived flaws that could be

scrutinized by evaluative others (Moscovitch et al., 2013). It is

possible that current pandemic-related preventive measures such

as self-isolation, physical distancing, and mask-wearing—each of

which enables varying degrees of self-concealment—have reduced

perceptions of social threat for socially anxious individuals,

allowing them to feel safer and less socially distressed than

they typically would. Socially anxious individuals tend to lead

impoverished social lives and experience chronic feelings of

loneliness and isolation (Alden, Regamball, & Plasencia, 2014).

It is currently unknown whether the use of preventive

measures during the pandemic may improve or worsen the poor

quality of their social interactions. Relatedly, it is unknown

whether socially anxious individuals, particularly those with

higher levels of pre-pandemic functional impairment, may be able

to access adequate social support during the pandemic. On one

hand, the pandemic may have isolated socially anxious individuals

further from opportunities for social connection and reward.

Alternatively, socially anxious individuals who struggled

significantly before the COVID-19 pandemic may feel relieved and

comforted by pandemic-related social restrictions, which might

improve their willingness to seek out and access the social

support they need without having to confront the typical kinds of

social situations they would normally fear and avoid. For

example, the new norms and expectations that have arisen for

social interaction during the pandemic may provide a socially

acceptable context for restricting their social encounters to

those with whom they feel most comfortable and in ways that

enable them to exert more control over their self-presentation,

for example via asynchronous or text-based communication rather

than having to engage in synchronous or in-person interactions

(Kamalou et al., 2019).

In a study conducted by Hall & Goldberg (1977), republished

by Cambridge University (2018), in psychiatric patients, social

anxiety was the most common reason for having difficulties in

social interaction. There was an association of high social

anxiety and social behavior impairments found in socially anxious

psychiatric patients and non-psychiatric volunteers. Systematic

desensitization and social skills training were both effective in

reducing social anxiety. The training was most effective in

reduction of the problematic behavior while desensitizing

provided a more general improvement because it showed increased

social participation.In conclusion, they had three suggestions or

recommendations:

1) explicitly count the relational cost of public health

policies to control the pandemic,

2) Intelligently balance online and offline ways of

relating,

3) Build stronger and sustainable localized communities

Long and et.al (2021) studied the key aspects of social

relationships that were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. There

are four distinct domains of social relationships: social

networks, social support, social interaction, and intimacy. In

terms of social interaction, apply meaning in approving,

arranging, and redefining symbols of interaction such as

handshake. Social events or social gatherings are situations for

interactions.

Öztürk (2014) mentioned the influence of perceived five (5)

social support from family and individuals’ responsibility

attitudes on the social anxiety of university students. Results

showed that students’ responsibility, attitudes and perceived

social support from family significantly predicted social

anxiety. Van Zalk et. al.(2011) presented that youths who are

socially anxious are less likely to be popular and often chose

fewer friends from their surrounding social network. These

individuals were also likely to choose friends who were socially

anxious themselves and, over time they influenced each other into

becoming more socially anxious.

According to Cong, et al. (*) the most common mental health

issue among Malaysian adolescents is anxiety, especially social

anxiety. The study investigates the relationship between the

perceptions of Malaysian adolescents of their parent's parenting

style and their level of social anxiety and stresses the

importance of finding the factors associated with adolescents'

social anxiety in Malaysia. Adolescents have more apparent

symptoms of anxiety because of the developmental changes during

this developmental stage. It found that there was no significant

relationship or correlation between social anxiety and parenting

styles.

In the study conducted by Tee et.al. (2020), the prevalence

of psychiatric symptoms and identified factors contributing to

psychological impact in the Philippines was examined. It was

determined that one-fourth of the respondents in the Philippines

expressed moderate-to-severe anxiety, and one-sixth reported

moderate-to-severe depression and psychological damage during the

early stages of the pandemic. These identified factors can be

used to develop successful psychological support techniques.

 In the study conducted by Sannadan (2005) titled The social

anxiety of Tinguians. It was determined that college students

from Tinguian College generally have a high level of social

anxiety.

In view of the discussion above, there is a lack of studies

conducted on the social anxiety and public social interaction of

adolescents. Though there have been studies measuring the

prevalence of social anxiety among adolescents as well as the

impact of social anxiety on adolescents during the pandemic,

there are little to no studies conducted on the relationship

between social anxiety and the frequency of public social

interactions of adolescents. There is a need for studies to

determine the relationship between social anxiety and the

frequency of public social interaction among adolescents

particularly during this Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, this

study aims to measure the level of social anxiety, frequency of

public social interaction and the relationship of the level of

social anxiety and the frequency of public social interaction of

adolescents during the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, this study

is also conducted in order to explore whether the level of social

anxiety impacts the frequency of public social interaction of

adolescents. More importantly, the researchers hope to increase

the awareness of educators, guidance counselors, parents and

guardians that social anxiety can affect the student’s public

social interactions. Likewise, the study is a great value to the

following:

Adolescents. The findings of the study will help adolescents

to be able to find ways in regulating their anxieties and be able

to help in coping with social anxieties. It can help them in

finding suitable coping mechanisms that they can apply during

anxiety inducing situations. It will help them better understand

themselves and be able to better prepare for unexpected

situations.

Teachers. The findings of the study will help teachers in

structuring and creating their lesson plans. This can help in

adapting to the needs of the students that can better their

learning and experience. Adapting to students' needs will also

help in handling student’s behaviors that might be related to

social anxiety or anxiety symptoms even though they may not be

mental health professionals.

Guidance counselors. The study will greatly help guidance

counselors in aiding students professional help. They may be the

few people who are able to understand the students since they are

in the mental health field. The study will further their

knowledge in relating to their patients but also be able to adapt

their plan for their clients.

 Parents. The results of the study will help parents in

supporting their children during times of anxiety. It will help

parents provide emotional support and emotional needs for their

children. It will help in better understanding their children and

for better communication.

Schools. The results will better adapt their system to

students' needs. The results may influence how schools structure

their environment to prevent triggering events but also to

nurture the students.

Psychology. The findings and study will bring further

advancement in the field of psychology. Research on this study is

limited and this research will be additional information to the

field. The research may lead to further research that will

further advance the field of Psychology.

Future researchers. This research will serve as foundation

for future researches that plan on advancing on the results of

this study. The limitations of the study may serve as future

research topics and further enrich their study.

Theoretical/Conceptual Framework

This research was based on the theories, concepts, and further

research on social anxiety, public interaction, social isolation,

and adolescents.
 Self-efficacy theory

Self-efficacy was initially defined as the judgments that

individuals make about abilities, based on which they organize

and execute their actions, in order to achieve the desired

performance as taught by Bandura, as cited in Rodriguez & Marmol

(2019). General self-efficacy may have significant effects on the

behaviors or activities involving the individual, on the effort

invested, and on the individual’s thoughts and emotional

reactions (Blanco, 2010) as cited by Rodriguez & Marmol 2019.

According to Bandura’s model, with lower overall perceived self-

efficacy a person may find higher levels of psychological

distress such as social anxiety and avoidance behaviors.

Social Anxiety

According to Foa et al. and Foa and Kozak (2003) the main

reason for people experiencing social anxiety is from their

exaggerated perceptions or holding negative or unrealistic

beliefs. If the person believes that they will not do well and

that their actions will lead to negative outcomes, they will

choose to avoid that situation. In social situations, people with

social anxiety are more concerned with making a good impression

or how they appear to other people. When they focus on themselves

it impairs their actual performance, prevents seeing the positive

in the situation, and impairs their memory. When they lack in

performance, they will seem to lack social skills or have a

negative view of them to others which is exactly the fear of

people with social anxiety. People with social anxiety fail to

see the positive sides of a situation and will ignore it to

protect their beliefs. Memories of the social situation will seem

negative and distorted which will likely lead to avoidance of

similar situations. There is an emphasis on the importance of

safety behaviors which are avoidance strategies that help social

situations be more manageable and prevent feared outcomes. The

point of view of the individual experiencing social anxiety

affects how they act in front of others. They have the fear of

being seen negatively which leads to their anxiety when

interacting with others. This anxiety affects their experience

and leads them to avoid similar public social interactions due to

the fear and thinking the situation will become disastrous.

Public social interaction

In order to survive physiologically and psychologically, the

individuals must be in relation to living and non-living beings.

Such characteristics emerge when social skills are adequate and

facilitate human relations. Shepherd (2016) defined social skills

as the observable behaviors of a person in public interaction.

The extent to which an individual feels themselves qualifies for

social skills in parallel with the social roles as being a wife,

manager, child, etc. Living with other individuals and

establishing social relations are very difficult for the

individuals. Socialization is a very complex process that is

affected by many factors such as the other people, the countless

events that individuals encounter every day, the socio-economic-

cultural conditions, and the physical environment (Kağıtçıbaşı,

1988).

Social isolation

Social isolation is a multi-dimensional construct that can

be defined as the inadequate quantity and/or quality of

interactions with other people, including those interactions that

occur at the individual, group, and/or community level

(Nicholson, 2012; Smith and Lim, 2020; Umberson and Karas Montez,

2010; Zavaleta et al., 2017). Some measures of social isolation

focus on external isolation which refers to the frequency of

contact or interactions with other people. Other measures focus

on internal or perceived social isolation which refers to the

person’s perceptions of loneliness, trust, and satisfaction with

their relationships. This distinction is important because a

person can have the subjective experience of being isolated even

when they have frequent contact with other people and conversely,

they may not feel isolated even when their contact with others is

limited (Hughes et al., 2004).

Adolescents

Adolescents is the phase of life between childhood and

adulthood, from ages 10 to 19. It is a unique stage of human

development and an important time for laying the foundations of

good health. Adolescents experience rapid physical, cognitive and

psychosocial growth. This affects how they feel, think, make

decisions, and interact with the world around them. (WHO, 2020)

It is the period of transition between childhood and adulthood.

Children who are entering adolescents are going through many

changes (physical, intellectual, personality and social

developmental). Adolescents begins at puberty, which now occurs

earlier, on average, than in the past. The end of adolescents is

tied to social and emotional factors and can be somewhat

ambiguous. (Cleveland C., 2022)

Statement of the Problem:

 1. What is the level of social anxiety of adolescents?

2. What is the frequency of public social interaction of

adolescents?

3. What is the relationship between social anxiety and the

frequency of face-to-face interaction?

Hypothesis

Ha: There is a significant relationship between social

anxiety and the frequency of public social interactions among

adolescents.

Research paradigm

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

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