The Prevalence and Determinants of Generalized Anxiety Disorder among Undergraduates of Obafemi Awolowo University Ile – Ife, Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed the level of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) among undergraduates of Obafemi Awolowo university Ife – Ife, Nigeria. It also examined the socio-demographic variables (that is age, sex, religion and family background) associated with GAD. The study employed a cross-sectional survey of 1,856 respondents. A questionnaire and a standardized psychological instrument the Anxious Thoughts Inventory (AnTI) was used to elicit data from the respondents. The results revealed that 75(4%) of the respondents experienced severe symptoms of GAD. This implies that, the prevalence of GAD in the study population was 4%. The result also, indicated that, the younger the age of participants the more significant their experience of GAD. The results further revealed that males experience a significant level of GAD symptoms that females, (F {1,1815} =  1.82, p < .05). The findings also show that religion had no significant influence on the experience of GAD, (F {2,1815} = 0.84, P > .05).. Finally the results indicated that, there is no statistically significant main influence of family background on the Suffering of GAD, (F {2,1815} = 0.006, P >.05).. The study concludes that there is significant prevalence of GAD among the participants. Also socio-demographic factors; age and sex differences influenced the self-reported experience of GAD while the religion of participants and their family background had no influence their experience of GAD.