THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL ANXIETY DISORDER ON MIDDLE SCHOOL LEARNERS AND TEACHER’S INTERVENTION

Abstract

Anxiety and somatic symptoms are some of the most common and debilitating mental health problems in childhood yet frequently go unnoticed and untreated. UK schools have been urged to take a more prominent role in promoting good mental health in their pupils; yet whether their teachers can recognise children‘s anxiety and somatic symptoms, and how teachers identify these symptoms has not been investigated . This study examined theeffects of social anxiety on middle school learners and its impact on their academic performance. Also the professor‘s knowledge extent of social phobia and its symptoms.Thirty students of fourth grade middle school in Algeria completed a questionnaire of social anxiety test describing their feelings and attitude in socialsituations. And seven middle school teachers completed a questionnaire exploring their definitions of anxiety and the indications they associated with social anxiety disorder in middle school learners. Results showed that social anxiety can affect adolescent and over participants 5 of them have social anxiety symptoms. Despite mostteachers had an understanding of what anxiety was in general, they did not consistently diagnose the disorder and its effects on their students, often defining all anxiety as a negative experience. Teachers were not able to identify symptoms of SAD in learners and recognizing anxiety-specific and general problem indications. The results provided preliminary evidence that teachers‘ knowledge of anxiety and anxiety disorders does not appear to be a barrier in preventing children‘s referrals for mental health treatment, and thus the teacher‘s intervention became useless. Finally, suggestions for further research and clinical implications are discussed.