Abstract: This study sought to examine the coping strategies used by undergraduate students to manage social anxiety in Zanzibar Universities. The study used descriptive cross-sectional design which was complimented by a mixed method approach. But in this objective only qualitative method was applied. propulsive sampling was used to obtain 20 respondents who were used to collect qualitative data. In addition to that, qualitative data was obtained through semi-structured interviews from three key informants. Upon accrual, qualitative data was analyzed by using content analysis process, thus, data was prepared and organized upon collection, data was then reviewed by the researcher, the researcher then created initial codes that were combined into themes, and lastly themes were presented in a cohesive manner as quotations. the findings of the study revealed that both adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies are used by Zanzibar undergraduate students in dealing with social anxiety. Adaptive coping mechanism used are: seeking counseling services available in university, managing negative thoughts, and emotion, facing one`s fear by taking risks while other students used maladaptive method such as isolation behaviors, substance abuse and avoidance of academic setting. The study concluded that social anxiety is highly prevalent among university students in Zanzibar and students are struggling with different coping mechanism which other affect their academic performance. Therefore, it was recommended as per findings that among others, instructors should be capacitated to identify and refer social phobic students for therapy.
Keywords: undergraduate students, manage social anxiety, qualitative data.
Title: THE COPING STRATEGIES USED BY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TO MANAGE SOCIAL ANXIETY IN ZANZIBAR UNIVERSITIES
Author: abdulfatah Ramadhan Khamis, Dr. Hafsa Mwita, Dr. Dorothy Lubawa
International Journal of Healthcare Sciences
ISSN 2348-5728 (Online)
Vol. 11, Issue 2, October 2023 - March 2024
Page No: 9-15
Research Publish Journals
Website: www.researchpublish.com
Published Date: 03-October-2023
