Correlates of Social Phobia among Undergraduate Students in Universities in Rivers State (Published)
The prevailing level of social anxiety especially in Rivers State is on the increase and this has led to a number of issues including low self-esteem, poor emotional intelligence, poor communication, low performance in oral examination, quizzes and debates. Again, the lack of awareness on the part of the parents resulting in poor parental support not only heightens social anxiety among students but makes the problem complex. Hence, the current study focused on correlates of social phobia among undergraduates in Universities in Rivers State. Correlational research design was used in the study. The population consisted of 84,000 undergraduates in three Universities in Rivers State. A sample of 509 respondents drawn using multi-stage sampling procedure used in the study. Four instruments including Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS) Students Self-concept Questionnaire (SSCQ) as the Social Anxiety Scale (SAS) were used for the study. The reliability coefficient values were 0.81, 0.70, 0.71, and 0.79 respectively. Simple regression was used to analize the data collected. Result showed that EI (p=0.034<0.05), self-concept (p=0.039<0.05) and self-efficacy (p=0.043<0.05) all had significant relationship with social phobia. Based on this, it was recommended among others that counselors, parent and teachers should help build good emotions skills in the students. They should not make them to be afraid neither should they make them to be timid as this to a great extent has significant influence on the extent which they can create social relationship.
Keywords: Depression, Emotional Intelligence, Self-Concept, social phobia