1International Medical School, Management & Science University, Malaysia
2Department of Community Health, Medical Faculty, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Social phobia is a strong fear of being judged by others and of being embarrassed in social situations. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of social phobia and its correlates among university students in a Malaysian university. A crosssectional study design was conducted among 674 university students recruited using convenience sampling. Besides providing socio-demographics information, the participants completed a set of self-administered questionnaires including the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), the Body Shape Questionnaires (BSQ) and the Internet Addiction Test (IAT). Majority of respondents were female (77.0%) and from non-medical faculties (59.2%). The prevalence rates for moderate and severe social phobia among the students were 43.9% 19.1% respectively. The associations between gender, self-esteem, body shape concern and internet addiction with social phobia were significant (p=0.01, <0.001, <0.001, <0.001 respectively). As a conclusion, the prevalence of social phobia among private university students are influenced mainly by self-esteem, body shape concern and internet addiction. Provision of mental health education and counseling to students who are most affected by social phobia merit further consideration.
Social Phobia, Associated factors, internet addiction, body dysmorphia, anxiety, panic
