PREVALENCE OF ANXIETY AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS, AFGHANISTAN

Anxiety is a common problem among university students. There is very limited information available on the prevalence of anxiety among university students in Afghanistan. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of anxiety among university students. A cross-sectional design was used in this study. The prevalence of anxiety was assessed by using a short version of Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), along with sociodemographicperforma. Descriptive statistics were applied using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 21 for data analysis. A total of 531(male = 203, female = 528) undergraduate students participated in this study their age range was 18 to 22 years. The prevalence of mild, moderate, and severe and extremely severe anxiety was 2.4%, 17.1%, 9.2%, and 11.3 % respectively. The overall prevalence of anxiety was found to be 40 %. The prevalence of anxiety was higher among female students, 18-19 years old students, first-year students, single students, students who live in private hostels, students with more family members, and students whose parental monthly income is low. It is suggested that authorities of universities together with mental health professionals design a comprehensive plan to address this issue and more attention should be paid on risky groups.