THE PREVALENCE OF SELF-REPORTED SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER ON IRANIAN STUDENTS

Social anxiety is a common disorder and has a high comorbidity with other
disorders. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of social anxiety among Iranian students
(N=960).
Materials & Methods: The design of this survey was descriptive. The population included all students
of Urmia University in the academic year 2014-2015. The number of 960 students was selected through
cluster sampling. The participants answered questionnaires on demographic characteristics, fear of
negative evaluation, and social interaction anxiety scale. The data were evaluated on the basis of scores
located above the cut-off points to examine the prevalence of social anxiety and its associated
characteristics as well.
Results: The results showed that 5.2% of students suffered social anxiety. The prevalence of social
anxiety in female and male students was determined as 5.5% and 4.7%, respectively. The data analysis
showed that female and male students were significantly different in terms of level of social anxiety. In
addition, undergraduate students had more social anxiety than graduate students and this difference was
also statistically significant. There was no sign of social anxiety among doctoral students. The
prevalence of social anxiety was not significantly different between native and nonnative students.
Conclusion: The results of this study were consistent with the results of other studies in terms of the
prevalence of social anxiety and socio-demographic characteristics of the studied population