Abstract
Background: The 2019 coronavirus disease epidemic (Covid-19) is a public health emergency of international concern and poses a challenge to the labor market. The pandemic has a devastating and disproportionate effect on young workers, their interest in entrepreneurship, and their mental health. Research is needed to develop evidence-based strategies to improve coping and reduce adverse psychological problems. The objective of this study was to analyze the impact that Covid-19 pandemic perception and psychological need satisfaction have on university students and their self-employment intention. In addition, we also analyzed the role of moderation played by psychological aspects. These psychological factors (i.e., Optimism and Proactiveness) can also improve young people’s mental health and well-being. Methods: An explorative study (online survey) was conducted in March 2020 934 university students from Latin America. Regression analysis models were built to examine the relationships between Covid-19 pandemic perception, personality variables, and entrepreneurial intention. Mediation models, through the bootstrapping method, were performed to analyze the mediating role of proactiveness and optimism. Results: Results indicate that students’ perception of Covid-19 and psychological need satisfaction are associated with entrepreneurial intention. Additionally, the present study argues that proactiveness and optimism mediate these relationships. Conclusions: This study identifies psychological factors associated with a lower level of Covid-19 impact and that can be used for psychological interventions that result in an improvement in the mental health of these vulnerable groups during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Highlights
Entrepreneurship is a determining factor for economic and social development [1,2], enhances the creation of wealth and value [3], and improves the well-being in nations [4]
The average scores indicate that the students in our sample show medium to high levels of optimism, proactiveness, psychological need satisfaction, and entrepreneurial intention
Our findings have shown that satisfaction of needs is positively related to entrepreneurial intentions in support of the consensus that, to be successful, an entrepreneur must express and use various skills, including those aimed at satisfying his needs and at achieving your own well-being in general [82,131]
Summary
Entrepreneurship is a determining factor for economic and social development [1,2], enhances the creation of wealth and value [3], and improves the well-being in nations [4]. The pandemic has a devastating and disproportionate effect on young workers, their interest in entrepreneurship, and their mental health. Research is needed to develop evidence-based strategies to improve coping and reduce adverse psychological problems. The objective of this study was to analyze the impact that Covid-19 pandemic perception and psychological need satisfaction have on university students and their self-employment intention. We analyzed the role of moderation played by psychological aspects. These psychological factors (i.e., Optimism and Proactiveness) can improve young people’s mental health and well-being. Regression analysis models were built to examine the relationships between Covid-19 pandemic perception, personality variables, and entrepreneurial intention. Through the bootstrapping method, were performed to analyze the mediating role of proactiveness and optimism.
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