Abstract

This study examined the influence of independent and interdependent self-construals on social anxiety across different cultural groups, focusing on Koreans, Asian Americans, and European Americans. It also aimed to explore the mediating role of modesty in the relationship between self-construals and social anxiety. Surveys were conducted with adults holding Korean or American citizenship, resulting in data from 402 Koreans, 163 Asian Americans, and 193 European Americans. The findings are as follows: First, Koreans showed significantly lower interdependent self-construal than Americans, while their independent self-construal was the highest. Second, there were no significant differences in self-construal levels between Asian Americans and European Americans. Third, no significant differences were found in social anxiety levels across cultures. Fourth, for Asian Americans and European Americans, both self-construals had direct effects on social anxiety, but no mediating effect of modesty was observed. However, for Koreans, modesty fully mediated the relationship between interdependent self-construal and social anxiety and partially mediated the link between independent self-construal and social anxiety. These findings suggest that the pathways from self-construal to social anxiety may differ depending on cultural context. In particular, modesty, a distinctive feature of East Asian culture, mediates the relationship between self-construal and social anxiety for Koreans, functioning as either a protective or risk factor depending on the self-construal type. This highlights the need for culturally tailored approaches to understanding, preventing, and intervening in social anxiety.