Social competence, family well-being and anxiety among adolescents : evidence from Saudi Arabia

Abstract EN

adolescence is often a time of increased social worries and anxiety, and research has reported gender differences.

There is a lack of evidence from Saudi Arabia, however.

This study was aimed at investigating gender differences in the associations among social competence, family well-being and different dimensions of anxiety in Saudi adolescents 283 adolescents aged between 13 and 17 years participated in the study and were presented with the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders(Birmaher et al., 1997), the Social Competence Questionnaire (Sarason, Sarason, Hacker, & Basham, 1985), the Family Quality of Life Scale(Abdel-Wahab & Shand, 2010) and a sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire.

The results indicated gender differences in social competence, family well-being, and anxiety, where girls reported lower scores in generalized anxiety disorder, school avoidance and social competence, and higher scores in emotional happiness, physical/material well-being and family well-being, compared to males.

Moreover, gender differences were also found in the associations among social competence, family well-being, and different dimensions of anxiety.

These findings suggest patterns in adolescents' social competence and anxiety in Saudi Arabia different from those reported in the West.

The study invites future research to address the gender differences in adolescence in eastern cultures versus western cultures.