Perceived stress and associated factors among university students in Ethiopia during the late stage of the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundDuring extensive outbreaks of infectious diseases, people who are impacted, particularly the subgroups of the community who are at an increased risk of mental health problems, may experience increased stress and mental health difficulties. University students are one such susceptible population and are prone to experiencing high levels of stress as compared with the general population. Therefore, this study aimed at assessing perceived stress and identifying its associated factors among university students in Ethiopia during the late stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among university students in Ethiopia from 30 May to 30 June 2021. Students were asked to fill out an online survey on Google Forms that included consent, sociodemographic information, the UCLA-8 Loneliness Scale, the standard validated stress scale (PSS-10) questionnaire, and the three-item Oslo Social Support Scale (OSSS-3) to assess social support. The collected data were exported to SPSS 26. Descriptive and analytical statistics were carried out. Binary and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to find associated factors, and variables with a p-value of 0.05 were considered statistically significant variables.ResultsA total of 426 university students were included in the survey, among whom 268 (62.9%) were male participants. The age of the participants ranged from 18 to 37 years. Health-related departments accounted for 37.1% of the participants, while non-health-related departments accounted for 62.9%. The prevalence of stress was 18.3% in the study population. In this study, extreme susceptibility to COVID-19, sleeping problems, poor self-efficacy to prevent COVID-19, and loneliness were significantly associated with perceived stress.ConclusionStress was prevalent among university students in Ethiopia during the late stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Extreme susceptibility to COVID-19, sleeping problems, poor self-efficacy, and loneliness were identified as factors for stress. Therefore, we suggest that universities should provide opportunities for safe social connection, counseling, and guidance for students.

Strategi Koping Fokus Emosi Mahasiswa Pada Masa Pandemi Covid-19

“…Perilaku ini dapat meredakan perasaan tertekan dan menunjukkan bahwa adanya dukungan emosional dapat meningkatkan penilaian stres dan mere-dakan mahasiswa dari stres (Apker, 2022). Keyakinan mahasiswa bahwa dukungan dari lingkungan sekitar dapat membantu dalam koping stres terjadi sejak tahap awal hinggal tahap akhir terjadinya pandemi COVID-19 (Simegn et al, 2022) (Li, 2022). Oleh karena itu, pentingnya integrasi antara layanan kampus, orang tua dan mahasiswa dalam mencegah stres pada mahasiswa seperti intervensi mengenai kesehatan mental mahasiswa secara berkala sebagai koping pada mahasiswa supaya tidak terjadi dampak fatal seperti menyakiti diri sendiri hingga bunuh diri (Klonoff-Cohen, 2022).…”