Development of Social Skill Programming for Communication Avoidance and Apprehension

近年来，日本对交际理解的研究主要集中在了解日本学生的交际理解过程和特点。通过这些努力，对CA的影响有了基本的了解。然而，在日本学生中缺少对CA的潜在原因的认识。本研究项目的目的是深入探讨日本大学生CA表现的原因。采用日语交流恐惧量表（JCFS）对某重点私立大学292名学生进行问卷调查，抽取23名高度焦虑学生（SD>+1.0）作为焦点小组。通过一系列半结构化的问题，学生们讨论了忧虑对他们日常生活的影响。所有的评论都被记录下来，然后用专题分析程序进行分析。结果表明，高度忧虑的学生报告患CA主要是由于熟悉程度（已知与未知）和接受者地位（高年级与低年级）的差异。理论上，CA水平升高的潜在原因与缺乏发明技能和/或害怕负面评价有关。未来的研究方向，包括讨论哪些治疗方案可能适合治疗日本人群中的CA，结束了研究项目。

Recent research on Communication Apprehension (CA) in Japan has focused on understanding the processes and characteristics of the phenomenon on Japanese students. As a result of those effort, a basic understanding of the impact of CA has been achieved. Missing from the picture, however, is an awareness of the underlying causes of CA among Japanese students. The purpose of this research project was to explore in-depth the reasons for the manifestation of CA among Japanese college students. The Japanese Communication Fear Scale (JCFS) was administered to 292 students at a major private university, and a subsample of 23 highly apprehensive students (SD>+1.0) was drawn for participation in a focus group. Using a series of semistructured questions, students discussed the impact of apprehension on their daily lives. All comments were transcribed and subsequently analyzed with a thematic analysis program. Results suggest that highly apprehensive students report suffering from CA mainly as a result of differences in level of familiarity (known versus unknown) and status of the receiver (senior-junior). Potential reasons for increased levels of CA are theorized to be linked to the lack of skill of invention and/or fear of negative evaluation. Directions for future research, including a discussion of which treatment programs may be suitable for treating CA among Japanese populations closed out the research project.