Social phobia among university students and its relation to self-esteem and body image.
OBJECTIVE
To demonstrate the prevalence of social phobia and its relation to body image and self-esteem.


METHODS
Study participants were 1003 students recruited from Cumhuriyet University as a randomized sample. Subjects were administered the Diagnostic Interview Schedule-III-Revised (DIS-III-R) Social Phobia Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ). We analyzed the data, using Fisher's exact chi-square test.


RESULTS
Lifetime prevalence of social phobia among university students was 9.6% and past-year prevalence was 7.9%. Self-esteem was lower (P < 0.05) among those with social phobia than among those without social phobia. Students with social phobia had lower scores on the MBSRQ than did those without social phobia (P < 0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
The results show that persons with social phobia have lower self-esteem and more distorted body image than do those without social phobia.
Izgiç
Ferda
F
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Turkey.
Akyüz
Gamze
G
Doğan
Orhan
O
Kuğu
Nesim
N
D000328:Adult; D001828:Body Image; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012649:Self Concept; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities