Factors Associated with Psychosocial Symptoms Experienced by Students in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic: A Multivariate Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted many sectors, including the education sector. After in-person school activities were suspended due to the pandemic, a number of educational institutions in Indonesia reported concerns in implementing online learning due to the institutions’ unprepared...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Abdul Kadir Master, Stevan Deby Anbiya Muhammad Sunarno PhD, Amalia Oktaviana Master, Aldila Faza Zulfah Master, Cynthia Febrina Maharani PhD, Nanda Trio Santoso PhD, Fatma Lestari Professor, Dadan Erwandi, Surindar Kishen Dhesi PhD
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2023-02-01
Series:Inquiry: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/00469580231155720
Description
Summary:The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted many sectors, including the education sector. After in-person school activities were suspended due to the pandemic, a number of educational institutions in Indonesia reported concerns in implementing online learning due to the institutions’ unpreparedness. This issue may potentially induce mental health disorders among students and triggers long-term stress. This study aimed to examine factors linked to the psychosocial symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression in response to the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. An online cross-sectional study in Indonesia was conducted with 433 undergraduate and senior high school students aged 15 to 26 years old, both female and male. The self-reported symptoms were analyzed using both bivariate and multivariate linear regression methods. It was found that the percentage of participants with depression symptoms was 66%, while 61% and 43% participants experienced stress and anxiety respectively. The bivariate analysis presented strong correlations between anxiety and gender, learning duration and use of gadgets, internet expenses, and highly-interrupted learning. Furthermore, the multivariate regression revealed that only anxiety was significantly linked to internet expenses. This study indicates that many students are affected by COVID-19, the impacts of which manifest in psychosocial issues in the form of anxiety. We suggest that creating a supportive and positive family environment would help to alleviate some of these issues.
ISSN:0046-9580
1945-7243