Social anxiety mediates the effect of attachment to parents on friendships and loneliness during the college transition

The main goal of this study was to investigate direct and indirect effects of attachment to parents on the formation of friendships, satisfaction with friends, and loneliness over the transition to college. Social anxiety and gender were tested as a possible mediator and moderator respectively. A total of 210 college freshmen at a large university in Spain participated in at a baseline assessment and a six-month follow-up assessment. Results demonstrated indirect effects of attachment to parents on ease forming friendships, satisfaction with friends, and loneliness through social anxiety, and a direct effect of attachment to loneliness. Gender did not play a moderating role. Taken together, these results suggest that programs to support the development of healthy social relationships across the college transition may be particularly beneficial for youth with challenges in familial relationships, and that screening for social anxiety may identify those students who would particularly benefit from support.