Effects of Reassurance Seeking on Interpersonal Stress and Mental Health among University Students

Abstract

Previous studies suggested that people who engaged in reassurance seeking tend to experience interpersonal stress and develop depression. However, few studies examined the relationship between interpersonal stress and reassurance seeking in detail. This study investigated the effects of reassurance seeking on three aspects of interpersonal stress (conflict, inferiority complex, and dislocation). In addition, we examined whether interpersonal stress mediated the effects of reassurance seeking on depression. University students (N=102) completed a self-report questionnaire at baseline (Time 1) and three weeks later (Time 2). The results indicated that an interpersonal inferiority complex mediated the relationships between reassurance seeking behavior and depression. Improving reassurance seeking and an interpersonal inferiority complex, which could be caused by reassurance seeking, may be important to prevent depression in university students.