Social Anxiety Disorder Among Undergraduate Students of Hawassa University, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ethiopia

INTRODUCTION: Social anxiety disorder (SAD), also called social phobia, is an uncontrollable fear of social situations, which involve fear of observation or making contact with strangers. So, helping individuals with social anxiety, which is among the factors affecting mental health, can significantly influence a students’ mental health and prevent other problems. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed at assessing the magnitude of SAD and its determinants among undergraduate students of Hawassa University, College of Medicine and Health Sciences. METHODS: An institution based cross-sectional study was conducted from April 1 to May 30, 2018, in Hawassa University, College of Medicine and Health Sciences. We selected participants by a stratified random sampling method, and we collected data independently from each stratum (department) using a 17 item self-rating Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) scale to assess SAD. We performed multiple logistic regression analysis to find factors associated with SAD. RESULTS: Out of 304 students, 293 completed the questionnaire, with a response rate of 96.3%. The mean age of the participants was 22.13 years with a standard deviation of ± 2.176, and 172 (58.7%) were males. The prevalence of SAD was 32.8%. Family history of mental illness (AOR=4.72, 95% CI (1.25, 17.74)), being a 3rd-year student (AOR=0.178, 95% CI (0.055, 0.57)) and being a 4th year student (AOR=0.15, 95% CI (0.049, 0.49)) were significantly associated with SAD. CONCLUSION: This study showed a high prevalence of SAD among medicine and health science students of Hawassa University. Therefore, the Ethiopian Ministry of Higher Education and university officials need to draw up a plan to reduce social phobia.