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A Caring Campus: The Association between COVID-19 Anxiety in University Students and the Support They Receive on Campus
COVID-19 Anxiety
COVID-19 anxiety includes physical and emotional distress such as:
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fear of losing one's life to COVID-19
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feeling anxious and uncomfortable when thinking about COVID-19
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physical effects when thinking about COVID-19, such as racing heart and difficulty sleeping
Researcher: Hannah Pearo
Background: Due to its novelty, little research has been conducted on how COVID-19 relates to school-based mental health support. The purpose of this study was to determine whether mental health support at school is associated with COVID-19 anxiety for post-secondary students.
Method: Participants were 260 emerging adults between the ages of 18 and 25 (M=20.22, SD=1.80), who were enrolled in either an undergraduate or graduate university degree program. Participants completed an online survey assessing school mental health support, COVID-19 anxiety, and positive/negative affect.
Results: Results indicated that school based mental health support was not significantly correlated with COVID-19 anxiety. Results also showed that higher affect balance scores were significantly correlated with lower COVID-19 anxiety levels and greater school mental health support.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that school based mental health support may not be an effective tool in combatting COVID-19 anxiety, despite being related to experiencing more positive than negative feelings.
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