Psychological distress in university students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction. In the last year, COVID-19 has become a pandemic that has noticeably affected the usual actions of human beings. The exponential increase of infections in the world and Ecuador, and therefore the limitations to perform common activities have generated a negative stress that has affected people. University students in their academic work have been limited in their classes and professional practices. Aim. For this reason, this study was conducted with the aim of identifying the symptoms of psychological distress in students of the Basic Education Career of the Technical University of Ambato caused by the coronavirus. The data was collected through an online survey at the end of the April-September 2021 semester, during a cycle in which education was still virtual. The use of the coronavirus psychological impact questionnaire (CIPC) is made up of nine scales, but only the Distress (ED) and experience with coronavirus (EC) scales were used, which contain questions related to emotional events in greater and lesser frequency. Methodology. Therefore, the methodology used in the present investigation was descriptive, since there was a series of questions in accordance with the experience with the coronavirus, where 39.5% of the 100% of the population affirmed having been infected with COVID-19 and 20.9% confirmed it by means of a medical diagnosis or a laboratory test. In addition, 57.6% had a close relative or close friend hospitalized and 33.9% of them died due to this virus. This indicates that the students had a close experience with the coronavirus and may be closely related to the symptoms of stress. Results.  In connection with psychological distress, 91.5% of the students felt anxiety or fear at some point during their confinement, 88.7% felt sad or depressed, 91% had feelings of worry without being able to control them, 89.3% had feelings of loneliness, 92.7% had feelings of hopelessness about the future, 89.8% felt irritable, 91.5% felt nervous, 93.2% felt overwhelmed or stressed, and 93.2% felt uneasy. In the same way, 88.7% felt sad or depressed, 91% felt worried and unable to control it, 89.3% felt lonely, 92.7% felt hopeless about the future, 89.8% felt irritable, 91.5% felt nervous, 93.2% felt overwhelmed or stressed, 92.7% felt uneasy, 86.4% had trouble sleeping, and 63.8% had anxiety or panic attacks. In conclusion, the data show that university students presented some symptoms of distress at some time during this period due to the situation caused by the coronavirus. Conclusion. The data analyzed from the test contribute that the university students presented symptoms of distress at some point during this period due to the situation caused by the coronavirus.