Background Social anxiety usually occurs in university life, which coincides with late adolescence, and can affect life in many dimensions, such as social relationships, academic success, and professional skills. The study was designed to examine the social anxiety experiences of nursing students. Methods The study was based on a focus group interview using a descriptive‐qualitative research method. Data were collected with four focus group interviews. Interviews were completed with n = 25 students, with 6‐7 students ( n = 25 ) in each group. The interviews lasted for approximately 81–97 min. The COREQ checklist was followed in the study. Results Four themes of students’ social anxiety experiences were derived through descriptive analysis: “The meaning of social anxiety,” “Social anxiety controls my life,” “Coping characteristics,” and “The aims to be achieved by change.” Conclusions Students experienced intense anxiety about not being able to express themselves and being the center of attention. Social anxiety brought about difficulties, such as frustration, worrying too much about others’ opinions, being overly self‐critical, and being unable to plan for the future. In coping with social anxiety, students stated that they tended to engage in more security‐seeking behaviors. Considering the vital role of interpersonal relationships in nursing, social anxiety, one of the most important causes of failure in interpersonal communication, must be understood in depth. In nursing education, addressing student nurses’ social anxiety, which may hinder therapeutic communication, should be ensured. For this, psychosocial approaches should be planned and implemented at an early stage.
Ercan et al. (Thu,) studied this question.