Prevalence of Anxiety and its Effect on Academic Performance Among Secondary School Students in Al-Ahsa City, Eastern Saudi Arabia, 2020: Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: One out of five adolescents with anxiety refuses to attend school and half the adolescents with anxiety are perceived by their parents as having impairment while concentrating on schoolwork, when giving oral reports or when taking an exam. There were few studies aiming to assess anxiety among school students in Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and determinants of anxiety among secondary school students and its association with sleep quality.
Methods: The study design is a descriptive cross-sectional study that included secondary school students in Al-Ahsa city. The sample size was determined based on the number of students in secondary schools in Al-Ahsa which was taken from the ministry of education, and it was calculated by a website-based statistical calculator with a 5% margin of error and 95% confidence level. Self-completed questionnaires were distributed to all participants, via electronic link, which contains sociodemographic questions, General Anxiety Disorder (GAD 7) scale.
Results: Out of 719 secondary school students responded to the survey, 70.1% were females and 41.9% were in the second year of the secondary school. Regarding anxiety levels, about 35% were considered to be non-anxious, 54% were considered to have mild to moderate anxiety levels, and 10.8% had severe anxiety. Female gender was significantly associated with anxiety as 69.2% of the female students were anxious in comparison to 54.4% of male students. Having inadequate sleep, having a stressful event in the past 6 months, and having working mothers were potential predictors for anxiety among the students.
Conclusions: The prevalence of anxiety among secondary school students is high and more than a tenth of the students had severe anxiety which may require a sort of professional intervention. Certain subgroups of high-risk students should be targeted by public health interventions, such as females or those with stressful events, aiming at improving mental health of school students in Saudi Arabia.