Relationship Between Stress and Social Anxiety Among Freshman Year Students

Abstract

Transitioning to college from high school can be one of the major areas of stress. Many college students find changing environment leads them to face more stress, and anywhere from twenty to fifty percent of college students showcase social anxiety, especially after Covid-19 since the students are no longer habitual to physical educational settings and creating new social networks. The lack of exposure to an outdoor educational setup amongst students from the past two years might induce stress and social anxiety. The aim of this study was to study the relationship of stress and social anxiety among freshman year students, to investigate whether male freshman year students differ from female freshman year students on stress to investigate whether male freshman year students differ from female freshman year students on social anxiety. The study was done on 115 freshmen year college students between 18-21 years using the Perceived Stress Scale and The Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale. The results of the study indicated a positive correlation between stress and social anxiety among freshman year students, however no difference was found between stress and social anxiety among the male and female population.