Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate effects of ostracism, and social exclusion on depression, anxiety, stress, and this study was conducted with the view that ostracism and social exclusion are different types of exclusion from each other. The sample was composed of 191 university students studying at a state university in Turkey. Data was gathered by using personal information form, Ostracism Experience Scale for Adolescents, and Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale-21. In order to examine the effects of ostracism and social exclusion on depression, anxiety and stress, hierarchical regression analysis was carried out. Correlation analysis was also carried out to determine the relationships among variables. The results showed that both ostracism and social exclusion were associated with depression and stress. However, only ostracism was related to anxiety. Results of hierarchical regression analysis showed that ostracism and social exclusion predicted depression and stress, but social exclusion’s contributions to these models were found to be limited. Moreover, ostracism predicts anxiety, and age and gender were not found to be significant. According to these results, it can be concluded that ostracism and social exclusion could be a different type of exclusion. As a result, their effects on depression, anxiety and stress might differ from each other.

Key words: ostracism, social exclusion, depression, anxiety, stress, exclusion types