SOCIAL ANXIETY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL BEING OF MALE AND FEMALE UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATES IN ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

This study investigated social anxiety and psychological well-being of university undergraduates in Anambra State. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. Correlational research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study consisted of 39,000 university undergraduates (25,000 university undergraduates from Nnamdi Azikiwe University and 14,000 university undergraduates from Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University) in the two public universities in the State.  A sample of 1,000 university undergraduates were drawn using stratified random sampling technique. Two instruments were used for the data collection. These were Social Anxiety Questionnaire (SIQ) and Psychological Well being Questionnaire (PWBQ). The instruments were subjected to face validation. The reliability of the instruments was established using Cronbach Alpha method. The result gave coefficient values of 0.75 for Social Anxiety Questionnaire and 0.75 for Psychological Well Being Questionnaire. The data were collected by the researcher with the help of four research assistants who were properly briefed on how to administer the instrument. The completed copies of questionnaire were collected on the spot. Data analysis were done using SPSS VERSION 25. The study found out that social anxiety was a weak correlate of psychological well being among university undergraduates in Anambra State. The findings also showed that there was weak positive relationship between social anxiety and psychological well being for both male and female students. The study concluded that there was a significant positive relationship between social anxiety and psychological well-being of male and female university undergraduates in Anambra State. The researcher recommended among others that the university environments should be made to be student friendly and that activities that are capable of bringing students face to face with one another should be encouraged. This may go a long way in improving the well being of students. The researcher would add as contribution to knowledge that students should be encouraged to make their voice be heard and ready to face life and its challenges.