Prevalence and Associated Factors of Social Phobia Among College of Health Science Students, Mettu Town, Southwest Ethiopia 2019; Institutional Based Cross-Sectional Study

Social phobia or social anxiety disorder is a serious and disabling mental health problem that begins before or during adolescence, and is associated with significant impairment in social functioning. It was the most prevalent anxiety disorder to seek psychiatric help, leading to an underestimation of the problem.

The objective of the study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of social phobia among Mettu health science college students, Mettu, Southwestern Ethiopia, 2019.

Pretested and self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data. Social phobia was assessed using the Social Phobia Inventory. Data was entered into the Epi - data version 3.1 and analysis was done using statistical package for social science version 20. Logistic regression analysis was done and the strength of the association was presented by odds ratio with 95%C.I and variable with P value less than 0.05 considered as statistically significant.

The prevalence of social phobia in the current study was 16.4%. Of 336 total study participants, 16.4% showed positive for social phobia; female sex,[AOR: 1.95, 95% CI [1.07, 3.55], previous history of chronic physical illness[AOR: 1.83, 95% CI [1.01, 3.35], current use of tobacco[AOR: 2.95, 95% CI [1.36, 6.40] were found to be independent predictors of social phobia among college students.

Social phobia among college students was significantly higher than studies conducted in different settings. Early detection and availing appropriate management in the college students may be of great importance in reducing the prevalence of this common disorder.