ASSESSEMENT OF PREVALENCE AND FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER AMONG BETHELEHM SECONDARY SCHOOL, ADDIS ABABA ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Summary Introduction: - Anxiety is a state of intense apprehension, uncertainty, and fear resulting from the anticipation of a threatening event or situation, often to a degree that normal physical and psychological functioning is disrupted. It is estimated that 13% to 25% of the world adolescents in school face anxiety with Social anxiety disorder (SAD) having a relatively high lifetime prevalence of 7-13% in the general population. More specifically, in Ethiopia SAD has a 27.5% prevalence in a single study done in Woldia but no more research has been done to assess its prevalence in other parts of the country especially in a more urban setup. So the purpose of this research is to assess the extent of this problem in Bethlehem secondary school and put forward a plan to tackle it in the future. Objective: - To assess the prevalence and factors contributing to Social anxiety disorder among Bethlehem secondary school students. Methods: - This research is based in Bethlehem secondary school and it was school based analytical cross-sectional study. A total of 302 students were selected using systematic random sampling technique. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaire after obtaining a written consent from students’ parents or guardians. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 21 was used for data entry and analysis. Mean, Standard deviation, percentage and range were used as a descriptive statistics and logistic regression with confidence level (CL) 95% was used to examine the association between categorical variables. Result: - From 302 study participants, 160 (53%) of them were positive for social anxiety disorder. Being female (AOR = 2.82; 95% CI: 1.67–5.31), being in 9th grade (AOR = 2.806; 95% CI: 1.63 4.81), poor social support (AOR = 25.7; 95% CI: 9.504– 69.58), and living with relatives/alone (AOR = 2.812; 95% CI: 1.32–5.89) were significantly associated with social anxiety disorder. The proportion of social anxiety disorder was found to be higher compared to previous evidences. Recommendations: - Formulation of school-based youth-friendly mental health services; prepare a campaign to create awareness about Social anxiety disorder to help students with this problem understand the disorder and further studies in order to describe the longitudinal nature of the illness and to identify risk factors to obtain a clear picture of the problem.