Social anxiety and gender differences influence self-esteem and loneliness in Chinese primary school children

We examined the mediating role of social anxiety in the relationship between self-esteem and loneliness among 1,100 Chinese primary school students, exploring gender differences as a potential moderator. Participants completed validated measures of social anxiety, loneliness, and self-esteem. Results revealed that self-esteem was negatively correlated with both social anxiety and loneliness, while social anxiety was positively correlated with loneliness. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that self-esteem directly predicted reduced loneliness, and also indirectly influenced loneliness through the mediator of social anxiety. Finally, gender moderated these effects, with the mediating pathway being statistically significant in both boys and girls, but more pronounced in the latter. These findings suggest that interventions targeting loneliness reduction in children should prioritize enhancing self-esteem and mitigating social anxiety, while accounting for gender-specific vulnerabilities.