Multidimensional Poverty as a Determinant of Techno-Distress in Online Education: Evidence from the Post-Pandemic Era

Alejandro Cataldo, Natalia Bravo-Adasme (), Juan Riquelme, Ariela Vásquez, Sebastián Rojas and Mario Arias-Oliva
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Alejandro Cataldo: Escuela de Ingeniería Informática Empresarial, Facultad de Economía y Negocios, Universidad de Talca, Talca 3460000, Chile
Natalia Bravo-Adasme: Escuela de Ingeniería Informática Empresarial, Facultad de Economía y Negocios, Universidad de Talca, Talca 3460000, Chile
Juan Riquelme: Escuela de Ingeniería Comercial, Facultad de Economía y Negocios, Universidad de Talca, Talca 3460000, Chile
Ariela Vásquez: Escuela de Ingeniería Informática Empresarial, Facultad de Economía y Negocios, Universidad de Talca, Talca 3460000, Chile
Sebastián Rojas: Escuela de Ingeniería Informática Empresarial, Facultad de Economía y Negocios, Universidad de Talca, Talca 3460000, Chile
Mario Arias-Oliva: Departamento de Marketing, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 7, 1-25

Abstract: The rapid shift to online education during the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated mental health risks for students, particularly those experiencing multidimensional poverty—a potential contributor to psychological distress in digital learning environments. This study examines how poverty-driven techno-distress (technology-related stress) impacts university students’ mental health, focusing on 202 Chilean learners engaged in remote classes. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), we analyzed multidimensional poverty and its association with techno-distress, measured through validated scales. The results suggest that poverty conditions are associated with 32.5% of technostress variance (R 2 = 0.325), while techno-distress may indirectly relate to 18.7% of students’ dissatisfaction with academic life—a proxy for emerging mental health risks. Importance–performance map analysis (IPMA) identified housing habitability (e.g., overcrowding, inadequate study spaces) and healthcare access as priority intervention targets, surpassing purely digital factors. These findings indicate that techno-distress in online education may function as a systemic stressor, potentially amplifying pre-existing inequities linked to poverty. For educators and policymakers, this highlights the urgency of early interventions addressing students’ physical environments alongside pedagogical strategies. By framing techno-distress as a public health challenge rooted in socioeconomic disparities, this work advances preventive approaches to safeguard student well-being in increasingly hybrid educational landscapes.

Keywords: multidimensional poverty; techno-distress; education; remote learning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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