Does Involution Cause Anxiety? An Empirical Study from Chinese Universities

Da Yi, Jingwen Wu, Minqiang Zhang (), Qing Zeng, Jinqing Wang, Jingdan Liang and Yashi Cai
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Da Yi: School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
Jingwen Wu: School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
Minqiang Zhang: School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
Qing Zeng: School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
Jinqing Wang: School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
Jingdan Liang: School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
Yashi Cai: School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 16, 1-17

Abstract: The debate over whether involution causes anxiety has persisted because no studies have attempted to quantify introversion and study its relationship to anxiety. This study quantified involution and explored its relationship with anxiety, provided evidence about whether involution was related to anxiety, and created a foundation for other scholars to carry out research on involution. Interviews and questionnaires were conducted to investigate the characteristics of 535 Chinese college students’ involution behavior and its relationship with anxiety. We found that involution was not necessarily positively related to anxiety. The specific results were as follows: (1) The involution behavior of the Chinese college students could be divided into three types: the passive involution, reward-oriented involution, and achievement-motivated involution; (2) Significant differences in the involvement of involution existed at the college level; (3) Three motivations that resulted in involution, from primary to secondary, were achievement-motivation, reward-orientation, and passive engagement; and (4) Passive involution, reward-oriented involution, and the total scores for the involution behavior of the college students were significantly and positively correlated with anxiety. Among the three types of involution behavior, the college students’ passive involution had a significant and positive predictive effect on their anxiety, while achievement-motivated involution had a significant and negative predictive effect.

Keywords: college students; involution behavior scale; active involution; passive involution; anxiety (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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