Background: Social anxiety disorder is a common mental health disorder characterized by persistent
fear of being embarrassed, humiliated, rejected and looked down by others. It can cause impairment in
education and in professional achievement, quality of life and social relationships. The objective of this study was to measure
the prevalence and study associated factors of social anxiety disorder among students of a tertiary medical college and
hospital.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 403 medical students of a medical college and Hospital. The
questionnaire used in the study had questions related to socio-demographic details and had the social phobia inventory
(SPIN) questionnaire which was used to assess social anxiety disorder.
Results: Out of 403 medical students, 61.53% (n=248) students were not having any type of social anxiety disorder. Among
38.46% (n=155) of students who were having SAD, 21.33%(n=86) were having mild SAD and 17.11% (n=69) were having
signicant SAD. Mild social anxiety is considered as normal. Factors such as age, year of study, self- perception of facial
appearance, history of chronic illness, academic performance satisfaction and language barrier were found to be statistically
associated with SAD.
Conclusion: Social anxiety disorder was signicantly associated with age, year of study, self perception of facial appearance,
history of chronic illness, academic performance satisfaction and language barrier.