Abstract:
The aim of the study is to investigate an association in counterfactual thinking, self-esteem and social anxiety. The study comprises of participants which were young adults aged from 19 to 25 (M= 21.65, SD= 2.05), from Government and Private Universities in Lahore. For the process of data collection, the convenient sampling strategy was used in the current study. Counterfactual Thinking for Negative Event Scale (CTNES: Kapur, 2008), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES: Rosenberg, 1965), and Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS: Beard, 2011) were used to measure counterfactual thinking, self-esteem and social anxiety in young adults, respectively. The results revealed that counterfactual thinking had a correlation with self-esteem but a positive correlation with social anxiety. Results revealed self-esteem had a negative correlation with social anxiety. Moreover, counterfactual thinking negatively predicted self-esteem and positively predicted social anxiety, whereas, self-esteem was also a negative predictor of social anxiety. Self-esteem was also a mediator between the relationship of counterfactual thinking and social anxiety. The findings suggest that the level of counterfactual thinking may be reduced by interventions that focuses on improving self-compassion and cognitive patterns. The counseling services could help young adults in Pakistan’s educational institutions deal with this problem and improve their mental health and academic performances. Present study implications has also been discussed
