A Study of social anxiety symptoms among middle-aged teachers in secondary education schools in Chiang Mai province

Abstract

Background: Social anxiety is a prevalent mental health concern among teachers, yet limited research exists on its prevalence and associated factors specifically among middle-aged teachers in secondary education. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of social anxiety and its associated factors among middle-aged teachers in secondary education in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was employed, involving an online survey of teachers aged 45-59 years old from secondary schools in Chiang Mai from December 2023 to March 2024. Social anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale-6 and Social Phobia Scale-6. Additionally, negative mental health measures, including attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, neuroticism personality trait, loneliness, perceived stress, job burnout, and psychiatric symptoms, were assessed using the Experience in Close Relationship-Revised, neuroticism subscale of Zuckerman, Kuhlman, and Aluya Personality Questionnaire, Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, Burnout measure, and Outcome Inventory. Positive mental health measures, including extraversion, resilience, life satisfaction, inner strength, perceived social support, and quality of life, were assessed using the extraversion subscale of Zuckerman, Kuhlman, and Aluya Personality Questionnaire, Resilience Inventory, Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Assessment, Inner Strength-based Inventory, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and EuroQol-5-Dimension 5 Level. Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression were used to identify predictors for social anxiety symptoms. Results: A total of 341 secondary education schoolteachers from 34 public schools, 28 private schools, and one demonstration school in Chiang Mai participated in this study. The average age of the teachers was 50.22 years old (SD = 4.50), with 68.9% females. This study found that 98 out of 341 (28.7%) teachers presented social anxiety symptoms. Education (β = -0.174, 95% CI [-5.401, -1.139], p = 0.003), extraversion (β = -0.184, 95% CI [-0.625, -0.168], p = 0.001), resilience (β = -0.235, 95% CI [-0.424, -0.149], p <0.001), life satisfaction (β = -0.152, 95% CI [-0.501, -0.114], p =0.002), quality of life (β = -0.202, 95% CI [-22.549, -7.851], p <0.001) and teaching evaluation (β = -0.184, 95% CI [-1.431, -0.539], p <0.001) were negatively associated with social anxiety symptoms. Sex (β = 0.123, 95% CI [0.280, 4.483], p = 0.026), attachment anxiety (β = 0.179, 95% CI [0.127, 0.378], p <0.001), attachment avoidance (β = 0.154, 95% CI [0.076, 0.251], p <0.001), generalized depression (β = 0.291, 95% CI [0.363, 0.974], p <0.001), and perceived social stress (β = 0.172, 95% CI [0.066, 0.303], p =0.002) were positively associated with social anxiety symptoms. Conclusion: This study found a high prevalence of social anxiety symptoms among secondary middle-aged schoolteachers. Given the significant psychosocial variables related to social anxiety symptoms observed, there is a possibility of providing interventions for those at risk. Further studies are warranted to establish causal relationships between these variables.