Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 4, 2026

The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test
Published on: November 19, 2015
Social Withdrawal and Social Surrogacy in Emerging Adulthood
Leanna M Closson1, Alicia McVarnock2, Kellie Sanford2
1Department of Psychology, Saint Mary's University, 923 Robie Street, Halifax, NS, Canada. leanna.closson@smu.ca.
Abstract:
Shyness has been well established as a hindrance to social adjustment and may be problematic for emerging adults attending university, given the high social expectations placed upon students. Previous studies suggest emerging adults high in shyness recruit their friends to act as social surrogates in order to help reduce the stress of entering social interactions; yet, whether other less studied forms of social withdrawal (i.e., avoidance, unsociability) are associated with social surrogacy remains uninvestigated. The goal of the present study was to examine differences between subtypes of withdrawal as related to social surrogacy, while considering the roles of social anxiety and social self-efficacy. Participants were 961 emerging adults (76% female; 67% Caucasian) between the ages of 18 and 25 (M = 20.15, SD = 1.71). The results indicated that patterns of social surrogacy varied between withdrawal subtypes, such that social surrogacy was positively related to shyness, and negatively related to unsociability, whereas avoidance yielded mixed results. The findings highlight the importance of considering withdrawal motivations in understanding social surrogacy.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Social Proof
Emerging Adulthood
Social Scripts
Social Traps
Social Facilitation
Social Loafing

