Abstract:
Background. The comorbidity of social anxiety disorder is very common in schizophrenia patients and affects almost all age groups.
This social anxiety disorder negatively impacts the quality of life, medication adherence, and treatment outcomes of people with
schizophrenia. It is not well recognized in clinical settings. Therefore, assessing social anxiety symptoms and its associated
factors was significant to early intervention and management of schizophrenia patients in Ethiopia. Methods. An institutionbased cross-sectional study was conducted at Amanuel Mental Specialized Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Data collectors
randomly recruited 423 schizophrenic patients by using the systematic sampling technique. A face-to-face intervieweradministered questionnaire was used to collect data. The standardized Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) was employed to
assess individual social anxiety symptoms. We computed bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regressions to identify factors
associated with social anxiety symptoms. Statistical significance was declared at p < 0:05. Results. The prevalence of social
anxiety symptoms was 36.2% (95% CI: 31.50, 40.80). Male sex (AOR = 2:03, 95% CI: 1.20, 3.44), age of onset of schizophrenia
(AOR = 1:91, 95% CI:1.17, 3.12), positive symptoms (AOR = 0:75, 95% CI:0.67, 0.83), depression/anxiety symptoms
(AOR = 1:29, 95% CI: 1.18, 1.41), number of hospitalizations (AOR = 2:80, 95% CI:1.32, 5.80), and suicidal ideation
(AOR = 0:44, 95% CI: 0.26, 0.74) were factors significantly associated with social anxiety symptoms at p < 0:001, whereas poor
social support (AOR = 5:23, 95% CI:2.03, 14.70) and suicide attempts (AOR = 1:93, 95% CI: 1.14, 3.26) were statistically
associated with social anxiety symptoms at p < 0:01. Conclusion. The prevalence of social anxiety symptoms among
schizophrenia patients was found to be high. Timely treatment of positive and depression/anxiety symptoms and suicide risk
assessments and interventions need to be done to manage the problems
