Social anxiety and its consequences for well-being through test anxiety and academic performance

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Autorzy: Wiktor Wróbel, Piotr Bereznowski, Aleksandra Uściłko, Bartosz Atroszko

Streszczenie: Social anxiety is one of the most common mental disorders. Studies show that 7-13 % of general population in Western countries suffers from this ailment. It may coexist with depression, general anxiety disorder, panic disorder and more. Moreover, social anxiety can cause eating disorders and a large percentage of social anxiety disorder patients were reported to abuse alcohol and drugs. On the other hand, social fears are also common amongst the general population. Approximately 40% of people find it difficult to talk to strangers, give public speeches or participate in various meetings or any other social situation. Specific form of social anxiety, interesting due to constant examination in educational system, is a problem which has been called test anxiety or examination stress. Evidence suggest that this condition may be responsible for some variation in subjective well-being. This article analyses the prevalence, risk factors, disease impact and treatment of social anxiety from the perspective of its meaning within educational context.