The Relationship between Social Connectedness and Anxiety, Self-Esteem, and Social Identity

Social connectedness and its relationship with anxiety, self-esteem, and social identity was explored in the lives of women. Social connectedness was negatively related to trait anxiety and made a larger unique contribution to trait anxiety than social support or collective self-esteem. Women with high connectedness also reported greater social identification in high, as compared with low, cohesion conditions. Women with low connectedness exhibited no difference in either condition. Social connectedness was also positively related to state self-esteem across both conditions but did not have an effect on state anxiety. Future research in gender and cultural differences, self-evaluation process, and intervention strategies are discussed in light of the findings.