Abstract

Prevalence of Social Anxiety Disorder and Its Impact on Academic Performance among Female Secondary School Students in Saudi Arabia

Background: Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is a common type of anxiety disorder among females that impacts their quality of life and academic performance if not discovered and treated early. Objectives: To determine the prevalence, severity, and associated factors of SAD and to assess its impact on the academic performance of female secondary school students in Medina. Subjects and methods: This cross-sectional study included a representative sample of Saudi girls enrolled in governmental secondary schools in Al-Madinah. A selfadministered questionnaire was used for data collection It included socio-demographic data, the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) to detect SAD, and the Leibowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) to evaluate the severity of SAD. Results: The study included 405 female students. The majority were aged ≤ 17 years (58.2%). The prevalence of SAD was 51.1%. Marked, severe, and very severe SAD was reported by 12.8%, 4.7%, and 3.7% respectively. SAD was higher among first birth order students, those with less-educated parents, and those with lower income (p<0.05). SAD was significantly associated with all aspects of the paternal-students relationship (p<0.05). Conclusion: SAD is common among girls in secondary schools in Medina. SAD was significantly associated with income, level of parental education, and paternal-students relationship.

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