Negative affectivity and dropout intention among Accounting Science students during the covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought negative effects on the mental health of the population. Symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, here called negative affectivity, were enhanced in the pandemic period, which may have had an impact on the students' intention to dropout their higher education courses, given the adversity scenario. In this context, this study aimed to verify the influence of negative affectivity on the dropout intention among accounting science students during the Covid-19 pandemic. For that, survey was carried out with 194 accounting science students at a public university. For data analysis, descriptive analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling techniques were used. The structural model was developed in the light of the Theory of Planned Behavior, which made it possible to verify the influence of attitudes, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control on the dropout intention. Furthermore, the model expands the scope of the theory by integrating the variable negative affectivity, formed by elements related to symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. The results showed that the dropout intention is influenced by the attitude towards dropout and by negative affectivity, so that an unfavorable attitude towards the behavior reduces the dropout intention, while a higher incidence of negative affectivity (i.e., symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress) enhances the student's intention to drop out the course. On the other hand, the subjective norm and the perceived behavioral control had no influence on the dropout intention, diverging from what is proposed by the Theory of Planned Behavior. From a managerial point of view, the research findings help university managers to develop strategies focused on student’s retention and on the promotion and preservation of mental health in the university environment, considering that, by improving the students’ psychological conditions, dropout levels tend to decrease. In addition, from a social point of view, the research contributes by promoting the debate on the importance of a healthy and favorable academic environment for the students’ psychological well-being.