Social anxiety and differentiation of self: A comparison of Jewish and Arab college students

This study examined the relationship between differentiation of self and social anxiety, comparing young Jewish and Arab college students in Israel and looking at gender differences. The sample consisted of 300 college students: 127 Jews and 173 Arabs (107 Muslims, 43 Christians and 23 Druze). Of these, 175 were males and 123 females, while 2 did not specify their gender. Results indicated that Jews reported higher levels of I-position and lower levels of emotional cutoff than Arabs. Females reported higher levels of emotional reactivity and fusion with others than males. On the whole, results lend support to the universality of Family Systems Theory and point to the importance of examining differentiation of self when trying to decrease social anxiety.