The Effect of Social Phobias on Academic Performance of University Students in Bangladesh: A Qualitative Study

Social phobia or social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by a high level of anxiety in social situations and low self-esteem as the person is scared of being judged by others. This can be a serious problem in university contexts, causing almost a serious impediment to the academic performance of students. This study attempts to investigate how social phobia impairs academic engagement, involvement and overall academic performance of university students. For this purpose, a qualitative approach was followed through case study method. The respondents were selected from different departments of Bangladesh Army University of Science and Technology (BAUST), Saidpur Cantonment, Saidpur, Nilphamari, Bangladesh. The data was collected from 18 students diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, using unstructured interview schedule face to face interviews and the data was collected from two months, March 2024 and April 2024. The results reveal that social phobia has a profound impact on the academic excellence of the students with symptoms manifested in poor participation in class, poor participation in a group activity and difficulty in forming relation with peers, facing difficulties in public speaking and presentations and decline in academic confidence and performance. Even with the utilization of multiple coping mechanisms students still faced different struggle with academic achievement. Therefore, the paper advises that universities offer better individualized mental health services and academic adjustments to cater for children with social anxiety difficulties and stress the need to reduce that stigma.