RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-WORTH AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION: MODERATING ROLE OF FOMO AND ANXIOUS OR PREOCCUPIED ATTACHMENT

Abstract

Social exclusion is one of the sturdiest known predictors of low self-worth, but people do not all respond to exclusion in the same way. The present study tested a moderation model in which Fear of Missing Out and preoccupied attachment work as parallel moderators of the association between social exclusion and self-worth. Using a convenience sampling technique, a sample of 380 university and college students was selected from Haripur, Mansehra, and Abbottabad. Data were collected using the preoccupied-attachment subscale of the Fear of Missing Out Scale Attachment Style Questionnaire–Short Form, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem, and the Social Exclusion Scales. Preoccupied attachment and Fear of Missing Out were positively associated with social exclusion and were negatively linked with self-worth. Hierarchical regression showed social exclusion and preoccupied attachment significantly and negatively predicted self-worth, and adding the Social Exclusion, Preoccupied Attachment, and FoMO interaction terms significantly improved the model, indicating that preoccupied attachment and FoMO each moderate the social exclusion and self-worth relationship.  Self-worth also differed by age, gender, peer support, and social media use. The design was cross-sectional; moderation effects were interpreted as concurrent associations, and the findings carry implications for counseling students who are relationally anxious or digitally overexposed.