Effect of social anxiety on self-esteem of special need university students in the war-affected region

This study aimed to investigate the correlation between social anxiety and self-esteem among the special need university students from Peshawar city, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The sample size was comprised of 100 disable university students aged 18-30 years, out of which 50 were male and 50 were female. A correlational study was designed. The social anxiety levels of the recruited subjects were determined through Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale. The level of self-esteem was determined through the standard self-report mechanism by applying the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale. The data collected were tabulated, analyzed and interpreted through SPSS software, Version 23, for windows, by using means, percentages, Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient (r) and Independent sample t-test.  On average, the students with high social anxiety and low levels of self-esteem were found (r = -620), social anxiety of female students was high (M=78.14, SD=14.67) as compared to male students (M=59.34, SD=14.41). However, the self-esteem of female students (M=16.08, SD=1.77) was the same as compared with male students (M=16.38, SD= 1.86). There was a significant negative relationship found between social anxiety and self-esteem. The social anxiety of female disable university students was high, however, the male and female disable university students have the same self-esteem. Further studies are recommended on a large scale to explore certain other issues that are related to the given variables.