Subclinical Social Anxiety and Paranoid Tendencies in University Students: The Role of Cognitive Biases

Subclinical paranoia and social anxiety frequently co-occur in non-clinical populations, yet the cognitive mechanisms underlying their association remain unclear. This study examined whether social anxiety severity is associated with paranoid tendencies among university students and whether cognitive biases account for this association. University students (N = 123) completed measures of social anxiety (LSAS), delusion-like experience endorsement (PDI), and cognitive biases (DACOBS and CBQp). Bivariate correlations, hierarchical regression, and cross-sectional mediation (indirect-effects) analyses were conducted, with age and sex included as covariates in the regression and mediation models. Results indicated that higher social anxiety was associated with higher levels of paranoid ideation and higher cognitive-bias scores. Regression and mediation models using total DACOBS and CBQp scores further showed that maladaptive cognitive biases were significantly associated with paranoid ideation and statistically accounted for the association between social anxiety and paranoia. The findings support a dimensional account in which maladaptive cognitive biases are linked to both social anxiety and subclinical paranoid thinking in university students.