The Prevalence and Correlates of Social Anxiety Symptoms among People with Schizophrenia in Ethiopia: An Institution-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background. The comorbidity of social anxiety disorder is very common in schizophrenia patients and affects almost all age groups. This social anxiety disorder negatively impacts the quality of life, medication adherence, and treatment outcomes of people with schizophrenia. It is not well recognized in clinical settings. Therefore, assessing social anxiety symptoms and its associated factors was significant to early intervention and management of schizophrenia patients in Ethiopia. Methods. An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted at Amanuel Mental Specialized Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Data collectors randomly recruited 423 schizophrenic patients by using the systematic sampling technique. A face-to-face interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. The standardized Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) was employed to assess individual social anxiety symptoms. We computed bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regressions to identify factors associated with social anxiety symptoms. Statistical significance was declared at p<0.05. Results. The prevalence of social anxiety symptoms was 36.2% (95% CI: 31.50, 40.80). Male sex (AOR=2.03, 95% CI: 1.20, 3.44), age of onset of schizophrenia (AOR=1.91, 95% CI:1.17, 3.12), positive symptoms (AOR=0.75, 95% CI:0.67, 0.83), depression/anxiety symptoms (AOR=1.29, 95% CI: 1.18, 1.41), number of hospitalizations (AOR=2.80, 95% CI:1.32, 5.80), and suicidal ideation (AOR=0.44, 95% CI: 0.26, 0.74) were factors significantly associated with social anxiety symptoms at p<0.001, whereas poor social support (AOR=5.23, 95% CI:2.03, 14.70) and suicide attempts (AOR=1.93, 95% CI: 1.14, 3.26) were statistically associated with social anxiety symptoms at p<0.01. Conclusion. The prevalence of social anxiety symptoms among schizophrenia patients was found to be high. Timely treatment of positive and depression/anxiety symptoms and suicide risk assessments and interventions need to be done to manage the problems.

Factors associated with poor social support in schizophrenia patients who are on follow up in public hospital, Tigray, Ethiopia: unmatched case-control study

“…Another study in Ethiopia showed that 45.5 percent reported that they had low social support. From those over two-thirds (63.8%) were smoking tobacco, 57.7% were drinking alcohol, and two thirds 59.2% were chewing chat (29). As far as my knowledge concerned, there is no study conducted in Ethiopia to show factors associated with the problem in case control study.…”

Social Cognition and Other Determinants of Perceived Social Support in Individuals With Serious Mental Illness

“…Current research demonstrates that social anxiety is highly comorbid with SMI and represents an independent feature (i.e., separate from negative symptoms) that contributes significant impairment in social functioning (Aikawa et al, 2018;Mazeh et al, 2009;Pallanti et al, 2004;Romm et al, 2011). Among the general population, social anxiety has been linked to lower perceived social support (Aune et al, 2021;Barnett et al, 2021;Lei et al, 2020), and there is emerging evidence supporting this trend in a schizophrenia population (Kibru et al, 2020). However, the relationship between social anxiety and social support has not been well-studied in persons with SMI.…”