Men In Russia Are More Afraid Of Being Rejected Than Women – Psychologists

This is the conclusion reached by psychologists from the National Research University Higher School of Economics – St. Petersburg, who studied the causes of social isolation among adult Russians. The study was conducted at the Laboratory of Psychophysiology of Emotions under the leadership of Vladimir Kosonogov. The work was published in the journal Asian Journal of Psychiatryreports the university press service.

Vicious circle

Social rejection is a situation when a person is not accepted in a group or is excluded from communication. People who react painfully to such behavior of others find themselves in a vicious circle. For fear of rejection, they avoid communication, which only increases their isolation and sensitivity.

To study the phenomenon, scientists adapted the international “Questionnaire for Sensitivity to Rejection in Adults” for Russia. This approach allowed the results to be compared with data from other countries. The study involved 407 adult respondents.

The methodology included an analysis of the relationships between rejection sensitivity, stress coping strategies, emotional regulation, and indicators of psychological well-being. The study revealed an unexpected feature of the Russian sample: men were more sensitive to rejection than women. This contrasts with data from other countries where the opposite pattern is observed.

“One would assume that women are more sensitive nOh it turned out the other way around. This may be due to cultural characteristics; additional research is needed for final conclusions,” speaks Vladimir Kosonogov, Head of the Laboratory of Psychophysiology of Emotions, National Research University Higher School of Economics – St. Petersburg

Change your thinking

The key conclusion of the study: people sensitive to rejection anticipate a negative reaction from others in advance, forming irrational attitudes and a pessimistic worldview. They develop problems with emotional regulation, depression, anxiety and stress.

Scientists have also found a link between rejection sensitivity and the phenomenon of hikikomori, a state of social isolation in which people rarely leave the house. The phenomenon, originally described in Japan, is now observed in many countries, including Russia.

A positive aspect of the study: with age, sensitivity to rejection decreases, which indicates the ability of people to adapt to the social environment.

“The valuable thing about cognitive behavioral therapy is that changing attitudes and increasing self-esteem can be enough for a person to learn to cope with their emotions. We humans are social animals. We receive a huge amount of positive needs and emotions from communicating with other people. The problem is that if we don’t know how to do this, it gets harder and harder to get out of it,” notes BLadimir Kosonogov.

LThe laboratory is expanding the boundaries of research by studying sensitivity to rejection in people with different psychological disorders. Preliminary evidence supports an association between social difficulties and borderline personality disorder, anxiety disorders, and ADHD.

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