Social Anxiety Symptoms in The Visually Impaired Versus Healthy Control: Saudi Arabian Samples
Sultan Saad Alsubaie Department of Psychiatry, Armed Forces Hospital, Khamis Mushayt, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Sultan Saad Alsubaie, Consultant Psychiatrist, psychiatry department, Armed Forces Hospital Southern Region, P.O. Box 101, Khamis Mushayt, Saudi Arabia, Tel +96-6503799971, Email dr.slt4...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Dove Medical Press
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment |
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| Online Access: | https://www.dovepress.com/social-anxiety-symptoms-in-the-visually-impaired-versus-healthy-contro-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-NDT |
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| Summary: | Sultan Saad Alsubaie Department of Psychiatry, Armed Forces Hospital, Khamis Mushayt, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Sultan Saad Alsubaie, Consultant Psychiatrist, psychiatry department, Armed Forces Hospital Southern Region, P.O. Box 101, Khamis Mushayt, Saudi Arabia, Tel +96-6503799971, Email dr.slt4444@gmail.comPurpose: This study aims to compare self-esteem and social anxiety disorder (SAD) symptoms levels between visually impaired and sighted individuals, and to explore the relationship between social anxiety and various sociodemographic factors.Materials and Methods: A case-control study was conducted from March to June 2017 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, involving 62 participants (24 visually impaired and 38 sighted). Participants completed a demographic form, the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). Data analysis included descriptive statistics, and t-tests to compare psychological outcomes between groups.Results: The mean age of visually impaired participants was significantly higher than that of sighted participants (24± 2.8 vs 22.4± 2.2 years, p=0.013). No significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of gender, marital status, or education level. The RSES scores indicated no significant difference in self-esteem between visually impaired and sighted individuals (18.13± 2.66 vs 17.42± 2.04, p=0.244). Similarly, LSAS scores did not significantly differ between the two groups (32.63± 24.19 vs 36.68± 22.68, p=0.506).Conclusion: The findings suggest that visually impaired individuals do not have significantly different levels of self-esteem or social anxiety compared to their sighted peers, indicating that visual impairment may not directly contribute to lower self-esteem or higher social anxiety. Future research should involve larger, more diverse samples and longitudinal studies to further explore these relationships.Keywords: social anxiety disorder, self-esteem, visually impaired, sighted individuals, case-control study, Saudi Arabia |
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| ISSN: | 1178-2021 |