The impact of social phobia on educational performance.

These are the effects of social anxiety disorder at the school and educational level.

Social phobia is a problem that has repercussions in different spheres of the life of the person suffering from this condition.

On this occasion, we are going to put the focus on the effects it can have on the educational performance of individuals suffering from social anxiety disorder, listing some of the main repercussions on the educational performance of individuals suffering from social anxiety disorder.The main repercussions of social anxiety disorder are listed below, and we will go into more detail in order to understand them.

What is the impact of social phobia on educational performance?

In order to be able to analyze the impact of social phobia on educational performance as it deserves, it is necessary that we begin by focusing on this pathology in order to have a theoretical basis on which to advance. Only then will we be able to understand the scope of this issue.

Social phobia, or social anxiety disorder, is a psychopathology characterized fundamentally by the generation of significant anxiogenic symptomatology, triggered by the fear that the individual suffers when exposed to a social situation, i.e., an event in which the person feels that he/she is in danger.In other words, an event in which the person feels in some way evaluated by others, even if it is only his or her perception.

The pathology behind the question of the impact of social phobia on educational performance is the most frequent within the block of anxiety disorders, and shares part of its symptomatology with other ailments such as avoidant or anxious personality disorder.

Some of these symptoms are increased Heart rate, sweating, trembling, blushing, and even nausea and vomiting in those who experience it with greater intensity. This symptomatology can trigger a panic attack, in which the fear of the social situation and its consequences becomes totally unbearable for the subject.

Some of the situations that can trigger this torrent of symptoms are actions as common as going to a crowded place where the person has to interact with others, speaking in front of an audience, or even suddenly finding himself/herself in a situation where he/she has to interact with others.or even suddenly meeting a person he or she knows. Therefore, it is not surprising that the impact of social phobia on educational performance will be significant.

The feeling of being observed by others, whether this action is a reality or the subject's own perception, and even the anticipation itself that this is going to happen or may happen, can act as a trigger for all those anxiogenic symptoms we have listed. In addition, it should be borne in mind that social phobia can be generalized, where any social situation would trigger it, or specific, which would only be activated in certain contexts.which would only be activated in certain contexts.

Once we know the main features and characteristics of this disorder, we can move on to analyze the impact of social phobia on educational performance, focusing on a very specific scenario, which is academic.

Characteristics of students with social anxiety

When we explore the question of the impact of social phobia on educational performance, what we are referring to is the group of children who suffer from anxiety in the school context and therefore, one of the consequences is that they are going to experience difficulties in achieving some of the academic goals..

In this case, social anxiety could be specific, being activated only in the school setting, although it may also be the case that social anxiety is generalized and the academic context is only one of those that activate it, although it is the effects in this particular area that concern us on this occasion.

First of all, it should be noted that most children experience or have experienced fear for various reasons, many of them in the educational context. However, they usually tend to disappear without major problems, but a small group of them maintain these fears. a small group of them maintain these fears, suffering them with a high intensity and continuing with them when they become adults..

It would be this small group that we would be looking at in order to analyze the impact of social phobia on educational performance. In order to identify them, the criterion would be a four-week period in which the student has continuously experienced anxiogenic symptoms when attending school or high school, or participating in any of the activities that take place there.

Such scenarios can be simply attending class, having to talk to classmates or teachers, participating in games or activities during recess or school classes, or participating in a school activity. during recess or physical education classes, facing evaluation tests, or some other. Depending on the case, the student with social phobia may experience fear in any of these situations, in a combination of several, or even in all of them.

Effects of social anxiety disorder on educational performance.

When we talk about the impact of social phobia on educational performance, we must be aware that this can be considerable, because a child who suffers a severe case of social anxiety in the school context, can be affected different levels of his life, which we will review below to know them in detail.

1. Academic objectives

The first of affectation is also the most evident, and it refers to the own academic objectives that the minor has throughout the school course. If the student experiences fear simply by attending school, doing homework in the classroom or taking exams or other assessment tests, his or her results will be affected.their results will be affected.

A person, in this case a child, who is experiencing anxiogenic symptomatology, will have difficulties in achieving a performance equal to that of an individual who is calm or at least does not have those levels of activation. Logically, this is a generalization, without taking into account the specific variables of each case, such as IQ or other factors that can predict academic performance.

Therefore, the academic results themselves will be the first of the consequences that social anxiety may trigger in students who suffer from it.

2. Social skills

Continuing with the impact of social phobia on educational performance, another factor that may be compromised is the social skills of these students. Childhood and adolescence are a time when learning stages, not only academically, but in all aspects, and one of them is the social skills themselves..

By feeling fear in anticipation of a social situation, the affected children and adolescents will not be able to carry out the necessary interactions with their peers in which these skills are learned and improved, because although they have a theoretical basis, they will lack the practical situations in which these tools are consolidated.

Furthermore, this lack of social skills can act as a vicious circle, causing the subject, aware of this limitation, to feel even more insecure in a social situation, such as those that occur in the school environment, which in turn would hinder the acquisition of these skills and therefore would make the next situation, the fear could be greater.

Physical and mental health

It is clear that by suffering from a psychopathology such as social anxiety, mental health itself is already being compromised. But in addition, as there are several anxiogenic symptoms that are physical in nature, one's physical health can also deteriorate. The discomfort caused by palpitations, agitated breathing, trembling, or difficulty sleeping, are examples of symptoms that can affect health..

That is why when we refer to the impact of social phobia on educational performance, we cannot forget also the dimension of health and well-being and the student, which could be some of the factors deteriorated by this issue and therefore should be repaired immediately.

4. Future socioeconomic level

The last of the levels of impact that we are going to analyze is that of future socioeconomic level, a factor that is not altered directly, but indirectly. Specifically, it is a possible consequence that comes from the decrease in academic performance that we saw in the first point above..

A student with poor academic performance, in this case due to social anxiety, will be less likely to have access to higher education, which generally gives access to better paid jobs. Of course, this is an assessment in general terms, and not all cases must be like this.

These would be the main levels of the impact of social phobia on educational performance that we can observe, mainly.