Determination of anxiety levels of turkish university students and affecting factors in COVID-19 pandemic: sample of a private university

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its consequences have created anxiety in various segments of society. In particular, the transition to online education brought by this process has made the education process of university students difficult. Therefore, in the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to examine the anxiety levels of university students and their relationship with somatic symptoms. OBJECTIVE: To examine the level of generalised anxiety disorder and to reveal the relationship between somatic symptoms and the generalised anxiety disorder level of Turkish university students. METHODS: Empirical research. Participants in the research constituted a total of 605 students studying at a private university in Istanbul. The Generalised Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) was used to collect data. Data were analysed using the chi-square test and Pearson correlation analysis. RESULTS: It was found that, among the participants, 193 (31.90%) of the students had mild anxiety, 149 (24.63%) had moderate anxiety and 121 (20.00%) had severe anxiety. The study revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between the number of somatic symptoms and generalised anxiety disorder scores of university students. CONCLUSION: Most of the university students are affected by anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic and this effect is correlated with the frequency of somatic symptoms. In this context, it would be beneficial for universities to plan for acute and long-term psychological services and to cooperate with the government to provide timely crisis-oriented psychological services.