Peter Brandon*, Rebecca Stones, James William, Mohammad Ibrahim, Cristina Jonas, Suchivrat Arya, Kritika Kumari
Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence, impact and associating factors of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) amongst University students in the UAE.
Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted amongst 352 undergraduate students from year 1-3 in Gulf medical University and City university college Ajman chosen using a convenience sampling method. Social anxiety was assessed using a self-administered questionnaire which included socio-demographics, general questions on age of onset, impact and duration and the Leibowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS). The data was assessed using SPSS version 25 in form of tables, figures and texts. Associations between factors and Social anxiety was assessed using chisquared and logistic regression analysis.
Results: Amongst the 352 students who participated, 24.5% self-reported social anxiety. The study reported mild anxiety (22.2%), Moderate (16.5%), marked (20.7%) and severe and very severe (17.1%). The study established students fear mostly participation related questions, it suggests the most feared situation was acting, performing and giving a talk in front of an audience. The proportion of participants with Social Anxiety Disorder is higher among those who have younger age of onset. A statistically significant association was seen between Social anxiety and age with students 20 and above having the highest severity of Social Anxiety Disorder (44.8%). 81.5% of participants self-reported Social Anxiety Disorder having an effect on their daily activities while almost half of the participants (49.5%) self-reported Social Anxiety Disorder having effect on achievement.
Conclusion: Females, Single and Eastern Mediterranean students have a higher prevalence rate of social anxiety compared to their counterparts. Social Anxiety Disorder can have a debilitating impact on a person’s quality of social, emotional and educational life. Since our study showed a high prevalence of Social Anxiety Disorder, efforts should be made to continuously increase awareness and encourage students affected to speak up about it