A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SOCIAL ANXIETY AND EMOTION REGULATION AMONG YOGA PRACTITIONERS AND NON-PRACTITIONERS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69919/whvsq980Keywords:
Yoga, social anxiety, emotional regulation, cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, mind-body interventionAbstract
Social anxiety is a prevalent psychological condition characterized by intense fear of social scrutiny, often leading to emotional dysregulation and impaired functioning. While mind-body practices such as yoga has shown positive. impact on various kinds of anxiety. This study examines the comparison in the levels of social anxiety and emotion regulation between yoga practitioners and non-practitioners. A total of 160 participants were divided in two groups yoga practitioners and non-yoga practitioners (n= 80 in each group) to assess the levels of social anxiety and emotion regulation strategies. Independent t-tests analyzed group differences in social anxiety, avoidance, cognitive reappraisal, and expressive suppression. Yoga practitioners showed significantly lower social anxiety (p<0.01) and avoidance (p<0.01) compared to non-practitioners. Expressive suppression was also lower among yoga practitioners (p<0.01), while cognitive reappraisal scores were unexpectedly higher in non-practitioners (p<0.01). Thus, this study supports yoga's potential benefits for social anxiety management, particularly in reducing suppression and avoidance behaviors.
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