Development of a Social Anxiety Model Based on Dark Personality Traits and Metacognition With the Mediating Role of Alexithymia Among University Students in Kermanshah
Keywords:
social anxiety, dark personality traits, metacognition, alexithymiaAbstract
Objective: The objective of this study was to develop and test a structural model of social anxiety based on dark personality traits and meta-worry, with alexithymia as a mediating variable, among university students.
Methods and Materials: This applied study used a descriptive–correlational design based on structural equation modeling. The statistical population consisted of all students enrolled in universities in Kermanshah during the second semester of the 2024–2025 academic year. A total of 238 students were selected using convenience sampling. Data were collected using the Social Phobia Inventory, the Dirty Dozen Dark Personality Traits Questionnaire, the Meta-Worry Questionnaire, and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Data analysis was conducted at descriptive and inferential levels using SPSS version 21 and SmartPLS version 3, applying the partial least squares approach due to non-normal data distribution.
Findings: Structural equation modeling results indicated that dark personality traits did not have a significant direct effect on social anxiety (p > .05). In contrast, meta-worry showed a positive and significant direct effect on social anxiety (β = 0.42, p < .01). Dark personality traits had a significant positive effect on alexithymia (β = 0.24, p < .01), and meta-worry also had a significant positive effect on alexithymia (β = 0.49, p < .01). Indirect path analyses revealed that dark personality traits were significantly related to social anxiety through alexithymia (β = 0.07, p < .01). Similarly, meta-worry was significantly related to social anxiety through alexithymia (β = 0.14, p < .01). Overall model fit indices indicated a strong and acceptable fit for both the measurement and structural models.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that social anxiety in university students is primarily influenced by meta-worry directly and by dark personality traits indirectly through deficits in emotional awareness, highlighting the central mediating role of alexithymia in translating dispositional and metacognitive vulnerabilities into social anxiety symptoms.
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