Childhood abuse and social anxiety: Socio-demographic correlates of social anxiety disorder among male and female youth exposed to childhood abuse

Background: Early childhood abuse is associated with adverse effects among young adults, especially social anxiety disorder (SAD). This study investigated socio-demographic correlates of SAD among youth exposed to childhood abuse and examined different regression models among male and female youth in three childhood abuse groups, i.e. emotional abuse (EA), physical abuse (PA,) and sexual abuse (SA). Methods: A total of 117,769 young adults from 63 colleges in Jilin Province, China, participated in this cross-sectional study (from October to November 2021). Childhood abuse and SAD were measured by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) and the social anxiety subscale of the self-consciousness scale (SASS-CS). Analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between childhood abuse and SAD, as well as the demographic correlates of SAD among male and female youth exposed to three forms of childhood abuse. Results: First, significant and positive relations were found between different forms of childhood abuse (EA, PA, SA) and SAD (p < .001). Second, subjective socioeconomic status and relationship with father/mother were associated with SAD in three childhood abuse groups (p < .001). When dividing these participants by gender, apart from the above factors, male participants from single-parent families, living in rural areas and with a lower father's educational level were associated with higher SAD (p < .05). In contrast, female participants from left-behind and reconstituted families were also associated with higher SAD (p < .05). Conclusions: Several demographic correlates are vital for developing prevention efforts and reducing the incidence of SAD among college students exposed to childhood abuse. Existing policies, programs, and practices should be strengthened and new evidence-based ones should be developed for the primary prevention of SAD among these youth.