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. 2022 Jul 27;22(1):505.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-022-04147-z.

Social anxiety disorder and its associated factors: a cross-sectional study among medical students, Saudi Arabia

Wejdan M Al-Johani  1 , Nouf A AlShamlan  2 , Naheel A AlAmer  2 , Rammas A Shawkhan  3 , Ali H Almayyad  4 , Layla M Alghamdi  2 , Hatem A Alqahtani  2 , Malak A Al-Shammari  2 , Danya Mohammed Khalid Gari  2 , Reem S AlOmar  2
Affiliations

Social anxiety disorder and its associated factors: a cross-sectional study among medical students, Saudi Arabia

Wejdan M Al-Johani et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Social Anxiety disorder (SAD) is common worldwide. However, data from Saudi Arabia is deficient. This study aims to determine the prevalence of SAD across Saudi medical students and its associations with sociodemographic factors and their academic performance.

Methods: The main outcome was presence/absence of SAD and the secondary outcome was its level of severity. These were assessed from the Social Phobia Inventory. Associated factors included sociodemographic variables, as well as educational characteristics of students. Descriptive statistics were reported as counts and percentages, and unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed through bivariate and multivariate logistic regression.

Results: Of 5896 Saudi medical students who participated in the study, the prevalence of SAD was almost 51%. While 8.21% and 4.21% had reported severe and very severe SAD, respectively. Older age students were at lower risk of developing SAD (OR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.89 - 0.96). In contrast, females (OR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.01 - 1.26), students enrolled in private colleges and colleges implementing non-problem-based learning (OR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.09 - 1.52 and OR = 1.29. 95% CI = 1.15 - 1.46 respectively) were at higher risk. A significant elevated risk of SAD was found among students who had previously failed, and had a low GPA.

Conclusion: SAD is prevalent among the sampled population, and different associated factors were identified. Current results could raise the awareness of faculty members and healthcare providers towards early detection and management of these cases.

Keywords: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Medical students; Prevalence; Social anxiety disorder; Social phobia.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The five-level score of the Social Phobia Inventory and students’ GPA, Saudi Arabia, N = 5896
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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