The relationship between adolescents' social development level and social anxiety: the multiple mediating roles of sense of self, authentic pride, and hubristic pride

•Lower social development level predicts higher social anxiety in adolescents.•Sense of self mediates between social development and social anxiety.•Authentic pride reduces, while hubristic pride increases social anxiety.•Sense of self and pride types jointly mediate social anxiety outcomes. Social anxiety has always been a widely concerned issue in adolescent mental health, yet the problem of social anxiety among Chinese adolescents continues to show an upward trend. The reason may lie in the development of modern society, which has caused a gap between the physical maturity and social competence development of adolescents. This is reflected in some adolescents whose social development level does not reach the normal level for their developmental stage, which may lead to them being at a disadvantage in interacting with their peers and causing social anxiety. This study investigates the relationship between adolescents’ social development level and social anxiety. It also examines the mediating roles of sense of self, authentic pride, and hubristic pride in this relationship. Using a questionnaire administered to 943 high school students, we measured their social development level, social anxiety, sense of self, authentic pride, and hubristic pride, along with various sociodemographic variables. The results indicated that a higher social development level is associated with lower social anxiety. Sense of self, authentic pride, and hubristic pride each act as mediators, with sense of self also serving as a multiple mediator through its influence on both types of pride. These findings highlight the importance of social development level in addressing adolescents’ social anxiety and underscore the significant roles of sense of self, authentic pride, and hubristic pride.