Social Phobia and Its Impact on Quality of Life Among Regular Undergraduate Students of Mettu University, Mettu, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Social anxiety disorder is a serious and disabling mental health problem that begins before or during adolescence, with the potential to significantly interfere with an individual’s daily functioning and overall quality of life. OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to assess the prevalence, severity, and quality of life towards social anxiety disorder among students of Mettu University, Ethiopia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among a stratified sample of 523 undergraduate students to identify the prevalence, correlates of social anxiety disorder, and impacts on quality life. All participants completed the Social Phobia Inventory, Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, and World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief Form, Turkish Version (WHOQOL-BREF-TR). Of 523 students, 26% were screened positive for social anxiety disorder. About 69.4% and 17.4% of the students had mild and moderate symptoms of social anxiety disorder, respectively. WHOQOL BREF-TR scores showed that students with social phobia had significantly lower quality of life quality than those without social phobia. Being criticized by others or fear of parties was the most commonly feared situations. Talking to strangers was the most commonly avoided situations. Being females, current tobacco use, and family history of psychiatric illness were factors significantly associated with social phobia symptoms using logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSION: The current study shows high prevalence of social phobia among the university students and its significant negative effects on quality of life which require prompt identification and treatment.