Reassurance Seeking Behavior and Interpersonal Difficulties in University Students: Mediating Role of Self-Esteem

The current study intended to investigate the role of self-esteem as a mediator between reassurance-seeking behavior and interpersonal difficulties in 300 university students (50% men and 50% women) aged between 18-30 years (M = 20.72, SD = 1.88). Measures consisted of the Reassurance Seeking Behavior Scale (Hafeez, 2020), Self-Esteem Scale (Zafar et al., 2012), Interpersonal Difficulty Scale (Saleem et al., 2014), and a demographic proforma. According to the results, reassurance-seeking behavior was positively correlated with low self-esteem, anxious self-esteem, and interpersonal difficulties. Low self-esteem and anxious self-esteem were also correlated positively with interpersonal difficulties. Furthermore, low self-esteem and anxious self-esteem significantly mediated the relationship between reassurance-seeking behavior and interpersonal difficulties in university students.