Social Phobia and Academic Achievement among Alfajr College for Science and Technology Medical Students, Khartoum, 2022

Abstract

Background: Social phobia, also called social anxiety disorder, is one of the anxiety disorders and is considered as one of the most common psychiatric disorders. It is defined as a persistent fear of one or more performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar people.

Aim: The study aimed at assessing the distribution pattern of social phobia and its effect on academic achievements among batches five and six medical students in Alfajr College 2022.

Methods: The study was a descriptive cross sectional institutional based study, carried out in Khartoum State at Alfajr College. The Data was collected through structured questionnaire using social phobia scale (SPS) by Raulin and Wee. Electronic Self-administered interview was the method of data collection. Convenience sampling technique was used to involve the first respondents of batch 5 and 6 medical students of Alfajr College. Data was entered, categorized, and analyzed using Excel and Statistical Package for Social Science.

Results:A total of 151 students were included in this study. The study showed that prevalence of social phobia among Alfajr medical students in batches 5 and 6 was 27.2%, while41.7% of students had impending social phobia.. In this study, social phobia did not affect academic achievements of the studied sample, as indicated by their Grade Point Average scores.

Conclusion: About a quarter (27%) of Alfajr medical students in batches 5 and 6 had social phobia. However, it didn’t affect the academic achievement in this studied sample.

Keywords: Social phobia, Academic achievement/performance, Medical students, Sudan.