Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40635728›Full record

ArticleAdvances in medical education and practice2025

Effect of Social Anxiety Disorder on Specialty Choice Among Residents and Interns in Saudi Arabia: A Multi-Center Cross-Sectional Study.

Abdulaziz Muflih Abudasser, Ibtihal Sultan M Alshehri, Raghad Yahya S Alasiri, Rahaf Yahya Wakidah, Raghad Yahya Alqahtani

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Advances in medical education and practice, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Associations of traditional social support andFrontiers in psychology · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Abdulaziz Muflih AbudasserDepartment of Medicine, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.ORCID 0000-0002-8265-757X
Ibtihal Sultan M AlshehriCollege of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Raghad Yahya S AlasiriCollege of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Rahaf Yahya WakidahCollege of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Raghad Yahya AlqahtaniCollege of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Aim: This study aims to assess the association between social anxiety disorder (SAD) and specialty preference among medical residents and interns in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A multi-center cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among medical interns and residents across Saudi Arabia. A validated online questionnaire was distributed between July 12 and September 2, 2023. Social anxiety was measured using the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS), a 20-item self-reported tool. A score of ≥36 was used to identify significant levels of social anxiety. Results: A total of 196 interns and residents participated in the study. The most preferred specialties included surgical subspecialties (31.1%), followed by medical subspecialties (19.9%). A total of 47 participants (24%) reported that fear influenced their specialty choice, while 63 (32.1%) exhibited significant levels of social anxiety. Social anxiety was significantly higher among interns (59.4%) than residents (33.3% for R1 and 35.1% for R2), with none reported among R5 residents (P =0.001). Fear of social interaction was most common in paramedical (88.9%) and radiology (69.2%) specialties. Conclusion: Nearly one in three residents and interns experienced significant social anxiety, which influenced their specialty selection-particularly toward less patient- facing fields such as radiology and paramedical specialties. These findings underscore the importance of early psychological screening and support in medical training, which could inform medical education reforms and workforce planning to ensure balanced specialty distribution in the healthcare system.

Indexed as

medical studentsresidentsSaudi Arabiasocial anxietysocial phobiaspeciality preference

Identifiers

PMID40635728
PMCPMC12239918

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.