Assessment of determinants and quality of life of university students with social phobias in a coastal city of south India

Background: Social phobia is a common psychiatric disorder, and its onset happens usually around late adolescence period. Therefore, early diagnosis and its management is essential in any educational setting. Objectives: To identify university students with social phobia, to find out its determinants and to observe its impact on their quality of life. Methods: The data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Social Phobia Inventory Questionnaire and Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire were used. Results: The mean age of the 450 student participants was 20.6 ± 1.6 years. Majority [312(69.3%)] were males and majority [305(67.8%)] were native of urban areas. Of the total, 169(37.6%) were found to have social phobia. Among them, 114(67.5%) had mild, 47(27.8%) had moderate and 8(4.7%) had severe social phobia. Family history of anxiety disorders (P = 0.006), embarrassment with own socio-economic status (P = 0.001) and past history of failure in academic examinations (P < 0.001) were significantly associated with the presence of social phobia among the participants. Preference of interaction using social media instead of face to face communication with people (P = 0.013), and by texting rather than calling the person (P = 0.002) were seen significantly more among those with social phobia. The mean quality of life scores was found to be deteriorating significantly with increasing intensity of social phobia among students (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Social phobia was seen among more than one-third of the participants. Counselling centers are therefore required to address this problem at universities. This will also help to improve the quality of life and the socializing skills of those affected.