It's A Very Social World: A Study of Social Anxiety in College Students

Research surrounding social anxiety in college students is often quantitative rather than qualitative. Quantitative data only focuses on overall trends of social anxiety rather than specific experiences of students. A more qualitative analysis is needed to gain a better understanding of how social anxiety affects other aspects of students college life. This study aims to answer the following questions: (1) How does social anxiety influence student's college experiences and the perceptions they may have of mental health resources? (2) How does the student’s racial/cultural background influence the student’s decision to seek mental health help for their social anxiety? Some factors that will be examined in this study include student’s transition to college, student’s participation in normative college activities and student’s attitudes towards mental health resources. By conducting in-depth interviews with college students, this study seeks to gain a better understanding of the lived experiences of college students living with social anxiety.