title: Role of ethnicity in social anxiety disorder: A cross-sectional survey among health science students.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the influence of ethnicity in social anxiety disorder (SAD), and the relationship with symptom severity, depression and substance use or abuse, in health sciences' students .
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional survey of 112 1(st), 2(nd) and 3(rd) year students from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa. The self-reported Social Anxiety Spectrum questionnaire was used to assess for SAD. The Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN) was adapted to a version called the E-SPIN (Ethnic-SPIN) in order to evaluate the effects of ethnicity. Two sub-questions per stem question were included to assess whether SAD symptoms in social interactions were ethnicity dependent. Substance use was assessed with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test and Drug Use Disorders Identification Test, and depression with the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 112 students who completed the E-SPIN questionnaire, 54.4% (n = 61) met criteria for SAD, with significantly more females than males meeting criteria. Ethnicity had a significant effect on SAD symptomatology, but there was no effect of ethnicity on the rates of drug and alcohol abuse in students with and without SAD. Overall significantly more students with SAD met criteria for depression compared with students without the disorder.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among university students, SAD is prevalent regardless of whether interactions are with individuals of the same or different ethnic group. However, ethnicity may be an important determinant of social anxiety for some ethnic groups. SAD was significantly associated with major depression but not significantly associated with drug or alcohol abuse.
authors.affiliation: Philip De Jager, Vrije Universiteit, Faculty of Health Sciences, 1055 VB Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Philip De
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Jager
authors.affiliation: Philip De Jager, Vrije Universiteit, Faculty of Health Sciences, 1055 VB Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Sharain
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suliman
authors.affiliation: Philip De Jager, Vrije Universiteit, Faculty of Health Sciences, 1055 VB Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Soraya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Seedat
keywords: Ethnicity; Social anxiety; Social phobia; South Africa; Students