Anxiety and depression among Kosovar university students during the initial phase of outbreak and lockdown of COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Measures taken to prevent COVID-19 infections, aside from causing disruptions in many facets of our daily life, have impeded education, including the higher education process, as never seen before on a global scale. Recent studies have indicated the potential negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health trajectory of university students. Anxiety and depression can seriously hamper students' quality of life and educational achievement. This study explored anxiety and depression among university students in Kosovo during the lockdown as a result of COVID-19 pandemics. The study was implemented during the initial phase of the pandemic. This study also explored the impact of selected determinants on the reported mental health of students. Methods: In total, 904 university students from the largest public university in Kosovo were enrolled in a web-based cross-sectional study during the early phase of the national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The first and second hierarchical regression models indicated that the anxiety and depression scores of students were predicted by gender, knowing someone who was infected with COVID-19, concerns about the potential financial impact of measures taken by governments to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and excessive information seeking about COVID-19. The third model improved significantly when the variables concerns about family members' health, concerns about being lonely, problems with online lectures and requests for help from the university related to online lectures were added to the model. Overall, the findings indicated that situational variables associated with measures taken to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic appeared to predict anxiety and depression among students. Conclusion: These findings indicate that universities and public health ARTICLE HISTORY

Perceived Safety of Learning Environment and Associated Anxiety Factors during COVID-19 in Ghana: Evidence from Physical Education Practical-Oriented Program

“…This approach was because the COVID-19 affected virtually every university student [ 13 , 14 , 15 ], and thus, sampling more students for such a study was prudent. Several similar studies have supported the use of a quantitative approach for studies of this nature [ 19 , 21 , 22 ].…”

“…Students’ reported concerns about their academic performance and declined social interaction because of the pandemic have also been established [ 18 ]. Despite numerous studies investigating the impact of COVID-19 on university students’ mental health, economics, social, education, and related stress, anxiety, and depression reactions in several countries [ 16 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ], the perception of safety measures and the impact of anxiety on students may vary from one country to another, including subject-specific needs [ 8 ]. Country-specific data suggest that, as of 5 November 2021, Ghana had a total of 130,608 cases with 128,131 recoveries, 37 severe, 12 critical, 1203 deaths, and 1274 active cases per 100,000 population.…”

“…This trend (<1.0%) in Ghana is considerably lower, compared to 3.3% of all case fatality and 4.3% of mortality rates reported in the African sub-region and globally [ 25 ]. Though about 3,188,144 doses of AstraZeneca, Sputnik-V, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines have been administered to some Ghanaians [ 25 ], the perceived safety learning environment and potential anxiety reactions of students cannot be underestimated [ 19 ].…”

Students’ Experiences in Suddenly Transformed Living and Educational Environments by COVID-19

“…The detection of these initial reactions opened several studies on students’ psychological stress and distress. One example was the study by Arënliu and Bërxulli (2020) , who measured the psychological pain of students at the University of Pristina in the early days of the Covidien-19 pandemic in Kosovo. These authors found significant differences among students in their motivation to attend online lessons and their levels of psychological distress.…”

“…Students reported that they were not motivated to participate in online teaching and showed high (moderate to severe) levels of psychological distress, in contrast to students who reported being highly motivated to attend online lessons. It should be kept in mind that these results may have changed in later stages of physical distancing ( Arënliu and Bërxulli, 2020 ) and that there may be an increase in stress levels with prolonged social isolation or quarantine ( Brooks et al, 2020 to Arënliu and Bërxulli, 2020 ). Within this line of studies on students’ experiences, one of the most relevant to the breadth of the sample is the one that has focused on how the pandemic has affected students’ wellbeing and lives ( Van de Velde et al, 2020 ).…”