Frequent social comparison and emotional maladjustment among students

1909

Abstract

Results of pilot study based on integration of social and clinical psychology are pre¬sented in the article. Hypothesis on correlation between social comparison orienta¬tion and emotional maladjustment among students has been tested. Social comparison orientation along with symptoms of depression, anxiety, worry, social distress, envy, jealousy and everyday stress were measured in the sample of 122 universities students. All indicators of emotional maladjustment enrolled into analysis were higher in the subgroup of students prone to frequent social comparisons. The severity of symptoms among these "comparers" is compatible with analogue indices, reg¬istered among patients with affective spectrum disorder. The strongest correlations revealed between social comparison orientations and worry symptoms.

General Information

Keywords: social comparison orientation, depression, anxiety, worry, envy, jealousy

Journal rubric: Empirical Researches

Article type: scientific article

For citation: Garanyan N.G., Shchukin D.A. Frequent social comparison and emotional maladjustment among students. Konsul'tativnaya psikhologiya i psikhoterapiya = Counseling Psychology and Psychotherapy, 2014. Vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 182–206. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)

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Information About the Authors

Natalia G. Garanyan, Doctor of Psychology, Professor of the Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Associate Professor, leading researcher at the Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, member of the editorial board of the journal "Consultative Psychology and Psychotherapy", Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1227-2682, e-mail: garanian@mail.ru

D. A. Shchukin, Moscow, Russia, e-mail: ShchukiDA@gmail.com

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