Interpretable analysis of social anxiety status and influencing factors among college students

Background Social anxiety is prevalent among college students. Previous studies have identified various factors influencing social anxiety; however, there is limited focus on its specific determinants in the college population and a lack of clear ranking regarding their relative importance. This gap makes it challenging to implement effective intervention strategies under resource constraints. This study aims to assess the level of social anxiety among college students, rank the importance of its influencing factors, and provide essential insights for developing effective and targeted interventions. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 5,996 college students. Data were analyzed using Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) to identify and rank the importance of influencing factors. Results The incidence of social anxiety among college students was 47.915%. The factors predicting social anxiety, ranked in descending order of importance, were: gender, grade, physical activity level, monthly household income, depression, age, and smoking. Conclusions Social anxiety among college students should not be overlooked. Greater attention should be directed toward factors such as gender, grade, physical activity level, monthly household income, depression, age, and smoking. Educators should consider screening for social anxiety in this population and developing individualized intervention strategies tailored to students’ specific characteristics.