Understanding the links between self-concept, sociocultural deviance and mental health problems in pathological social withdrawal

Pathological social withdrawal (PSW), an extreme form of socially avoidant behaviour, is emerging as a global public health issue. Prior PSW theories implicate personal values that deviate from sociocultural norms resulting in inner conflict and mental health problems. Speculatively, this conflict could manifest or be embedded within a person's cognitive and affective self-concepts (self-construal and self-esteem respectively). In this study, we tested the hypotheses that compared to those without PSW, individuals with PSW would have lower personal and collective self-esteem, and endorse independent and/or interdependent self-construals to differing degrees. 343 Taiwanese adults completed a two-step online survey, which consisted measuring their social withdrawal condition, sociocultural deviance, personal/collective self-esteem, independent/interdependent self-construal and mental health problems. As expected, data showed that the affected group had lower self-esteem than the unaffected group, but no group difference emerged in either self-construal dimension. We also found that personal self-esteem in the PSW group was (concurrently) associated with sociocultural deviance and symptoms of poor mental health. Our results tentatively supported theories of PSW, suggesting that the influences individuals' personal self-esteem and sociocultural deviance should be considered in future studies or treatments/preventions.

Automated summary

Pathological social withdrawal is a global public health issue that is associated with personal self-esteem and sociocultural deviance, leading to mental health problems. This study tentatively supports the theories of pathological social withdrawal and suggests considering the influences of personal self-esteem and sociocultural deviance in future studies and treatments.