Examining the Relationship between Distance Learning Processes and University Students’ Anxiety in Times of COVID-19

Governments worldwide have implemented strict physical and social distancing measures to prevent contamination from the COVID-19 pandemic and flatten the epidemic curve. Recent findings show that university students have experienced increased anxiety and moderate-to-severe stress because of confinement measures (quarantine) (Husky et al., 2020; Islam et al., 2020). In Cyprus, universities switched to distance learning in mid-March 2020. The present research examined the social and academic challenges that university students are experiencing during the lockdown measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus. We focused on assessing the students' stress levels while they were trying to adjust to distance learning and while, at the same time, balancing their jobs with their studies. We considered whether they lived with or separated from their family and friends during that time. Our study is a quantitative study with a sample of 80 students from Cyprus and Greece who attended a private university in Cyprus until November 2020. We collected our data using Beck's Anxiety Inventory and a self-report e-questionnaire, which we created especially for the purposes of our study. The instrument was generated using the Google Form, and shared through social media platforms. We analyzed data with the chi-square test application to detect correlations between working and non-working students and students who lived with or away from their family network during the lockdown regarding their stress levels and their adaptability to distance-learning. Results indicated statistically significant positive correlations between employment, distance learning, students' anxiety and stress levels