Abstract

One of the most important psychological conditions influenced by social changes is social anxiety disorder. Lack of balance in the sources of self-knowledge is considered to be a significant factor in development of social anxiety among adolescents with physical-motor disabilities. We aimed in this study to examine the importance of utilizing the sources of self-knowledge by adolescents with physical-motor disabilities and its relationship with social anxiety disorder among this population; therefore, the goal of the present study was to explore the role of sources of selfknowledge in predicting social anxiety among adolescents with by adolescents with physical-motor disabilities. This was a descriptive-correlational study. The statistical population included all middle and high school students with physical-motor disabilities in the school year 2016-2017. All the students in this population (n=126; 68 boys, 58 girls) were selected as the study sample. The Results indicated that Equality of variances (P ≥ 0.05) and normality presumptions were established by the results of Levene's test and Shapiro Wilk test, respectively (P ≥ 0.05), therefore, parametric tests were used, and given that a correlational and prediction design was used, Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis using the Enter method, were used to analyze the data. According to Pearson’s correlation results, self-observation, social feedback, and social comparison were positively correlated with social anxiety in adolescents with physical-motor disabilities. In addition, the regression analysis to predict social anxiety based on the sources of self-knowledge indicated that self-observation and social comparison were significant predictors of social anxiety in adolescents with physical-motor disabilities, however, social feedback was not a significant predictor. Identifying the sources of self-knowledge underlying social anxiety is an important approach that can be used by consultants and psychologists trying to improve the mental health of adolescents with physical-motor disabilities.

Keywords: Sources of self-knowledge; Social anxiety; Adolescents; Physical-motor disabilities