title: Fear of Public Speaking: Perception of College Students and Correlates.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aims of the study were to determine the prevalence of fear of public speaking among college students and to assess its association with sociodemographic variables and those related to the voice and oral communication.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional descriptive and analytic study was conducted with 1135 undergraduates aged 17-58 years. The assessment instruments were (1) a questionnaire addressing the variables sex, age, field of undergraduate study, voice, and frequency of exposure to public speaking, and (2) the Self-statements During Public Speaking Scale (SSPS), which includes variables implicated in specific domains of public speaking. A descriptive analysis was performed of the variables as well as uni- and multivariate logistic regressions to examine their association with fear of public speaking. The level of significance was set at 5%.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all, 63.9% of the college students reported fear of public speaking. As many as 89.3% of the students would like their undergraduate program to include classes to improve public speaking. Being female, having infrequent participation as speakers in groups, and perceiving their voice as high-pitched or too soft increase the odds of exhibiting fear of public speaking compared with students without those features.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A great number of undergraduates report fear of public speaking. This fear is more prevalent among women, students who participate in few activities involving speaking to groups of people, and those who have a self-perception of their voice as high-pitched or too soft.
authors.affiliation: Department Speech-language Pathology and Audiology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Electronic address: anna.marinho9@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Anna Carolina
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ferreira Marinho
authors.affiliation: Department Speech-language Pathology and Audiology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Adriane
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mesquita de Medeiros
authors.affiliation: Department Speech-language Pathology and Audiology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Cristina
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Côrtes Gama
authors.affiliation: Department Speech-language Pathology and Audiology, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Letícia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Caldas Teixeira
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D013060:Speech; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D013067:Speech Perception; D013066:Speech-Language Pathology / Q000379:methods; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014833:Voice Quality; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Fear; Speech; Speech-language pathology; Students; Voice