A Mixed Methods Approach to Understanding Individuals’ Responses to Social Threat

Informed by the Belonging Regulation Model, this investigation used qualitative and quantitative methods to examine individuals' rejection experiences and subsequent responses. Common responses were: ignoring rejection-related thoughts/feelings (39%), communicating with others (26%), and withdrawal (25%). Concurrent factors (e.g., perceived intentionality and anxiety) and individual differences predicted threat-responses, though weakly.