Impact of Social Anxiety and Humor Styles on Mental Health

Abstract

The present study is a “cross-sectional survey research”; aimed toward monitoring the impact of Social Anxiety and Humor Styles on Mental Health. For the study, 500 subjects (205 males, 295 females) were approached. The sample was obtained through the use of random sampling. “The age range” of the applicants was as of 18 to 31 years. The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale by Michael Liebowitz was used to measure the Social Anxiety among the participants, the “four Humor Styles (Affiliative, Self-enhancing, Aggressive and Self-defeating)” be measured by means of Humor Style Questionnaire by Dr. Rod A. Martin, and the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5) by Veit and Ware was used to measure the Mental Health of the research participants. Results of the study revealed that Social Anxiety and Humor Styles have a significant impact on Mental Health. The study further monitored how men and women differ in terms of Social Anxiety, Humor Styles and Mental Health. The findings suggested that no gender differences exist in Social Anxiety and Mental Health. As far as the four Humor Styles are concerned, no gender difference was found in “Aggressive and Self-enhancing Humor Styles”; while Affiliative and “Self-defeating Humor Styles” varied in terms of gender. The findings of the study suggested that make use of the “Adaptive Humor Styles Affiliative and Self-enhancing” lessens the Social Anxiety and causes amelioration in the Mental Health; while the use of “Mal-adaptive Humor Styles (Aggressive and Self-defeating)” exacerbates the Social Anxiety and causes deterioration in the Mental Health.