Academic Stress Factors in Slovak University Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Oľga Orosová,Beáta Gajdošová,Jozef Benka

doi:10.15804/tner.21.65.3.10

Abstract

Academic Stress Factors in Slovak University Students During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Highlights

The aim of our study was to examine the relationship between the level of university students’ fear of contracting COVID-19 and academic stress, the so-called level of academic workload, fear of being unable to successfully complete the academic year due to COVID-19, stressfulness of the change in teaching methods caused by the COVID-19 pandemic
In line with the Hypothesis 4, our results showed that the relationship between fear of contraction and academic stress during the COVID-19 pandemic was serially mediated by university students’ loneliness and depressive symptoms (Picture 2, B)
In the context of the findings from the international study C19 ISWS published so far (Tasso, Hisli Sahin, & San Roman, 2021), the research results based on the sample of Slovak university students correspond with the overall results of C19 ISWS showing that high academic frustration was related to the change in teaching methods, increasing academic workload, lower quality of education, as well as concerns about completing the academic year successfully (Tasso, Hisli Sahin, & San Roman, 2021)

Summary

Introduction

On 18t March, 2020, the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic issued a measure on declaration of the national state of emergency. The development of a new concern of contracting COVID-19, fear for one’s own health and the health of the loved ones, changes in social aspects of life, coping with new aspects of psychological distress (Son, Hegde, Smith et al, 2020, Wang, Hegde, Son et al, 2020) created a special framework of university studies. A direct positive relationship between the level of fear of contraction and academic stress during the pandemic was hypothesized (Hypothesis 1H1, Picture 1). The impact of the pandemic has been seen in various academic activities, academic performance and academic progress; the pandemic lead to academic stress, feelings of uncertainty, fear of not being able to cope with assignments, difficulty in concentration; the risk of reduced motivation to learn and tendencies to procrastinate increased (Son, Hegde, Smith et al, 2020, Wang, Hegde, Son et al, 2020)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion