(PS1-61) Rejection Sensitivity and Social Anxiety: The Role of Anticipatory Social Behavior and Depression

Abstract Text: Rejection sensitivity (RS), a cognitive-affective tendency to anxiously anticipate social rejection, disrupts social functioning and is linked to social anxiety (SA) and depression. However, the mechanisms underlying these associations are unclear, particularly in SA-depression comorbidity. Maladaptive anticipatory social behaviors (ASB), such as preparation (e.g., imagining how one will appear to others) and avoidance (e.g., planning how to escape or avoid interactions), may maintain SA. Further, levels of depression may differentially influence the relationship between RS and SA. This aligns with reinforcement learning models (e.g., sensitivity shift theory), which propose that a predisposition toward social sensitivity may reduce perceived social reward, reinforcing maladaptive ASB and contributing to SA and depression. The present study examined the indirect effect of RS on SA through ASB (i.e., preparation and avoidance), with depression as a moderator of the ASB-SA pathways. The final sample consisted of 162 undergraduate students (Mage = 18.95, SD = 1.24), the majority of whom identified as cisgender women (n = 120, 74.1%) and White (n = 147, 87.7%). Measures included the Adult Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (ARSQ), Social Interaction Anxiety Scale straightforward version (SIAS-S), Anticipatory Social Behaviors Questionnaire (ASBQ), and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). SIAS-S scores exceeded the suggested clinical cut-off (≥28; Rodebaugh et al., 2011) in 31.8% of the sample, and PHQ-9 scores exceeded the recommended cut-off (≥10; Kroenke et al., 2001) in 18.5% of the sample. A parallel moderated mediation analysis was conducted using bias-corrected bootstrapping (5,000 samples). Higher RS significantly predicted increased preparation, β = .37, 95% CI [.2228, .5132], and avoidance, β = .41, 95% CI [.2678, .5526]. The direct effect of RS on SA was significant, β = .35, 95% CI [.1869, .5065]. Increased preparation significantly predicted higher SA, β = .19, 95% CI [.0173, .3663], but avoidance did not. Depression moderated the relationship between preparation and SA, β = -.22, 95% CI [-.3890, -.0456]. The conditional indirect effect of RS on SA through preparation was significant only when PHQ-9 scores were low (-1 SD; β = .15, 95% CI [.0643, .2562]) or moderate (sample mean; β = .06, 95% CI [.0098, .1475]). Depression moderated the relationship between avoidance and SA, β = .22, 95% CI [.0222, .4157]. The conditional indirect of RS on SA through avoidance was only significant when PHQ-9 scores were high (+1 SD; β = .15, 95% CI [.0236, .2536]). These findings suggest different pathways linking RS to SA based on depression. At low levels of depression, preparation was more prominent, which may amplify self-focus and increase SA. Higher levels of depression may reduce social motivation, increasing avoidance, which also maintains SA. Importantly, the indirect effect of RS on SA through avoidance was significant only when accounting for the moderating effect of depression. Our results highlight a need to tailor interventions for SA based on depression levels.