Social anxiety in students

Social anxiety is the third most common mental-health problem after depression and alcohol abuse. Studies have shown that adults with social anxiety do less well than their peers on measures of education and subsequent career attainment and these changes might be made worse by changes in the higher-education system. There is much more emphasis now on group-based learning, peer review and assessed presentations - all things which are more likely to be stressful for students with social anxiety. Researchers at Plymouth University surveyed 1,007 students and found that approximately 10% of them reported marked-to-severe social anxiety.

Russell, Graham and Shaw, Steve - A study to investigate the prevalence of social anxiety in a sample of higher education students in the United Kingdom Journal of Mental Health June 2009, 18(3), 198-206