Shame is a distressing self-conscious emotion which arises from evaluating oneself as immodest or indecorous and leads to avoidant behaviour as well as defensive anger. Guilt is the negative appraisal of a behaviour or thought and provides readiness to take action to compensate for the wrongdoing. Experiencing these emotions more intensely and frequently with interruptions during the daily life is named as shame or guilt-proneness. Emotion regulation includes processing and regulation of emotions to keep one pursuing goals in life. Individuals who lack effective skills to regulate their emotions or adopt ineffective ones experience difficulties in emotion regulation. Somatic symptoms include medically unexplained symptoms that one suffers from. Mostly, these symptoms, such as headache, dizziness or nausea, are due to unprocessed emotions carried from childhood as a result of maltreatment or abuse. The literature shows that these variables are related to each other. This study focuses on how emotion regulation difficulties mediate between shame and guilt-proneness and somatic symptoms. The data were collected from 374 participants on online platforms using questionnaires with relevant scales. In order to summarize the data collected descriptive statistics was conducted and the relationship between variables was understood with correlation analysis. Furthermore, predictor role of shame-proneness was analysed with regression analysis and mediation analysis was employed to reveal the mediator role difficulties in emotion regulation in relationship between shame-proneness and somatic symptoms. The results illustrated that all variables except guilt-proneness were associated with each other and difficulties in emotion regulation have a mediator role between two variables. The results can benefit mental health workers and patients who lack emotion regulation strategies and deal with somatic symptoms.

Experiential avoidance is a coping strategy that is adopted so often when dealing with unwanted internal experiences, such as emotions, thoughts and memories. Experiential avoidance is associated with mental disorders, such as depression and PTSD, as well as the manifestation of somatic symptoms despite providing short-term relief. This study aimed to explore the mediator role of experiential avoidance in the relationship between perceived stress and somatic symptoms. Data were collected from 371 participants who filled out the survey on online platforms. The survey consisted of demographic form and scales for experiential avoidance, perceived stress and somatic symptoms. SPSS version 23 was used to analyse data. Pearson correlation, descriptive statistics and mediation analysis were employed. According to the research analysis, it was revealed that experiential avoidance had a mediator role in the relationship between perceived stress and somatic symptoms’ intensity. Furthermore, three variables were significantly correlated with each other. Experiential avoidance as a coping strategy with perceived stress was a mediator for the manifestation of somatic symptoms burden. The results will guide mental health professionals and individuals with chronic somatic symptom burden, such as headaches, dizziness and fibromyalgia, to adopt more acceptance-based strategies in dealing with stressful situations.

Amaç: Bu çalışma, nitel yöntem kullanarak Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti’ndeki bir üniversitede öğrencilerin COVID-19 pandemi süresince uzaktan eğitime devam ettikleri süredeki deneyimlerini anlamayı ve bu süreçteki gereksinimlerini belirlemeyi amaçlamıştır. Yöntem: Bu çalışma katılımcılarla birebir görüşme tekniği kullanılarak fenomenolojik desenden yararlanılarak gerçekleştirilmiştir. Amaçlı örneklem stratejisi kullanılarak çalışmaya toplamda 15 kişi katılmıştır. Elde edilen verikümesinin analizi için, kritik realist ontolojik bakış açısı ile birlikte tümevarımsal yaklaşım kullanılarak refleksif tematik analiz tekniği kullanılmıştır. Temel Sonuçlar: Analiz sonucu toplamda beş tema geliştirilmiştir. Bunlar sırasıyla: 1) Kısıtlanmış sosyal hayatın sonuçları, 2) Çevrim içi eğitimin beraberinde getirdiği zorlukların akademik performansa etkisi, 3) Pandemi süresince deneyimlenen psikolojik belirtiler, 4) Pandemi sonrası yeniden şekillenen gelecek ile ilgili tutumlar ve 5) Zorluklara karşı sıklıkla kullanılan baş etme stratejileri’dir. Her tema, katılımcıların paylaştığı örnek ifadeler kullanılarak desteklenmiştir. Araştırma ve Uygulama için Öneriler: Öğrencilerin COVID-19 pandemisi nedeniyle çevrim içi eğitim aldıkları dönemde gündelik yaşamlarını ve psikolojilerini olumsuz etkileyen faktörler ve bunların akademik performanslarına etkisi birlikte değerlendirildiğinde, psikososyal anlamda bu öğrencilerin desteklenmesi gerektiği ortaya çıkmıştır. Özellikle çevrim içi ve yüzyüze eğitimin birarada verildiği karma eğitim sisteminden kademeli olarak yüzyüze eğitim sistemine geçilmesiyle akademik kurumlara öğrencilerin sosyal ve psikolojik sorunlarını azaltmaya yönelik birtakım öneriler sunulabilir. Öğrencilerin iyilik hallerini artırmaya yönelik olarak kurumlar öğrencilere kendilerini daha rahat hissedecekleri sosyal ortamlar sağlayabilir, ihtiyaç duyduklarında erişebilecekleri psikososyal destek sunabilir ve gelişimlerini destekleyici etkinlik ve faaliyetler planlayabilir.

Experiential avoidance, defined as unwillingness to stay in contact with personal experiences such as thoughts, emotions and memories and difficulties in emotion regulation are closely related as emotional awareness and acceptance are crucial for regulating distressing emotions. Avoidance of internal experiences is associated with emotion regulation difficulties such as lack of emotional clarity and lack of emotional awareness. Somatic symptoms referring to bodily symptoms such as headaches, nausea and fatigue without any underlying medical conditions are frequently reported among individuals who experience unresolved trauma or emotional conflicts as these manifest as physical symptoms when avoided or not regulated in the long term. The study aimed to examine the mediating role mediator role of difficulties in emotion regulation between experiential avoidance and somatic symptoms. The cross-sectional correlational study included correlation study had a sample size of 397 recruitedemployed from a non-clinical population with convenience sampling technique. The measurement instruments were Brief Experiential Avoidance Quetionnaire (BEAQ), Somatic Symptom Scale (SSS-8) and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). Statistical analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS 29 computed on SPSS IBM 29 statistical program and SPSS Process Macro 4.2 extension. Correlation and mediation analyses were performed analysis were conducted to test hypotheses of the study. Results indicated thatdifficulties in emotion regulation mediated the relationship between experiential avoidance and somatic symptoms and all variables were significantly correlated with each other.

Social anxiety and perfectionism are closely related constructs that may contribute to psychological distress among young adults. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between multidimensional perfectionism and social anxiety and to evaluate the predictive roles of perfectionism dimensions in explaining social anxiety levels. The study was conducted with 139 young adults aged 18–29 years. Participants completed the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS) and the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). Pearson correlation analyses were performed to examine associations between the dimensions of perfectionism and social anxiety. Social anxiety was assessed using the anxiety subscale of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale. Simple and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to determine the extent to which perfectionism and its dimensions predicted social anxiety. Social anxiety was positively associated with overall perfectionism. Simple linear regression analysis indicated that overall perfectionism significantly predicted social anxiety, accounting for 3.5% of the variance (R² = .035, β = .19, p = .027). A multiple regression model including FMPS dimensions was also significant, explaining 26.1% of the variance in social anxiety (R² = .261, p < .001). Within this model, Concern over Mistakes and Doubts about Actions emerged as a significant positive predictor of social anxiety (β = .48, p < .001), whereas Personal Standards was a significant negative predictor (β = −.36, p < .001). Parental Expectations, Criticism, and Organization were not significant predictors. The findings highlight the multidimensional nature of perfectionism and suggest that maladaptive perfectionism characteristics, particularly concerns about mistakes and doubts regarding one’s actions, are associated with elevated social anxiety. In contrast, adaptive perfectionism characteristics, such as higher personal standards, may serve a protective role against social anxiety. These findings underscore the importance of considering distinct dimensions of perfectionism when understanding and addressing social anxiety among young adults.

Experiential avoidance, defined as unwillingness to deal with personal experiences such as thoughts, emotions, and memories, is closely related to difficulties in emotion regulation. This is because emotional awareness and acceptance are crucial for regulating distressing feelings. Somatic symptoms, referring to bodily sensations such as headaches, nausea, and fatigue with or without any underlying medical condition, are frequently reported among individuals with avoided or dysregulated emotional burden. This cross-sectional correlational study aimed to examine the mediating role of emotion regulation difficulties in the relationship between experiential avoidance and somatic symptoms; we used a sample size of 397 individuals recruited from a non-clinical population with the convenience sampling technique. The measurement instruments were the Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (BEAQ), Somatic Symptom Scale (SSS-8), and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16). Statistical analysis was conducted using the IBM SPSS 29 statistical program and the SPSS Process Macro 4.2 extension. The results indicate that difficulties in emotion regulation mediated the relationship between experiential avoidance and somatic symptoms controlling for age, education, gender and perceived income and all variables were significantly correlated with each other, including subscales of difficulties in emotion regulation. Limited access to emotion regulation strategies was subscale with an indirect effect on the association between experiential avoidance and somatic symptoms. These findings are expected to guide mental health professionals in consulting clients with somatic symptoms and emotion regulation difficulties.