Social anxiety, dysfunctional attitudes and body image in lovemaking of the real and virtual world among students of Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz

Background and objectives: Nowadays, it is noteworthy to consider the nature of lovemaking as an important issue in social psychology and individual personality assessment. Therefore, this study was done aiming to compare the social anxiety, dysfunctional attitudes and body image in three groups of lovemaking in the real world, lovemaking in the virtual world and without lovemaking. Methods: This is a descriptive study of causal – comparative type. The study population includes all male and female students of Shahid Chamran University in the academic year of 2014-15. A sample size of 300 students was selected using snowball sampling method. Data collection tools were: Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS) and Multidimensional Body – Self Relations Questionnaires (MBSRQ). Data were analyzed using SPSS 16.0 and ANOVA Multivariate Analysis. Results: We showed that a significant difference exists between scores of social anxiety, body image and dysfunctional attitudes in three groups of lovemaking in the real world, virtual world and without lovemaking (P < 0.0001). Our results revealed that the body image, social anxiety and dysfunctional attitudes in real world lovemaking group compared to virtual lovemaking and without lovemaking is significantly different and has a lower level. Body image, social anxiety, and dysfunctional attitudes in virtual lovemaking were also significantly different and had a lower level (P < 0.0001). Conclusion: The results of this study could be helpful in pre-marriage and awareness counseling to people about the types of relationships and promotion of healthy communication patterns in society.