Assessing the prevalence of anxiety among a Sample of Students at Faculty of Medical Technology, Azzaytuna University, Libya

Abstract

     This study aimed to Assessing anxiety prevalence among a sample of students at Faculty of Medical Technology, Azzaytuna University, Tarhuna, Libya. A sample consisted of 80 second-year students (5 males and 75 females), aged 19-20 years, with a mean age of 19.7 years and a standard deviation of 0.42. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale, developed by Spitzer et al. (2006), was used in its Arabic version, which the researcher translated after validating it for high reliability within the local context. The results clearly showed that the prevalence of anxiety among the sample of students at the Faculty of Medical Technology, Azzaytuna University, Tarhuna, Libya, was high. Furthermore, the results indicated significant differences attributable to gender, favoring females over their male peers across all academic departments. The researcher recommends focusing on a sound scientific approach to developing psychological diagnostic tools for anxiety and promoting experimental psychological, genetic, social, and economic research in order to achieve in-depth and accurate results for a more comprehensive understanding of how biological, psychological, and hereditary factors interact to shape the causes and symptoms of anxiety among university students, which will contribute positively in the future to developing their personal and academic abilities and skills, and to facing the challenges of anxiety-provoking life situations, as well as their ability to participate in the development of the society around them.