Swiss University Students’ Risk Perception and General Anxiety during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Julia Dratva, Annina Zysset, Nadine Schlatter, Agnes von Wyl, Marion Huber and Thomas Volken
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Julia Dratva: Department of Health, Institute of Health Sciences, Zurich University of Applied Sciences Winterthur, 8400 Winterthur, Switzerland
Annina Zysset: Department of Health, Institute of Health Sciences, Zurich University of Applied Sciences Winterthur, 8400 Winterthur, Switzerland
Nadine Schlatter: Department of Health, Institute of Health Sciences, Zurich University of Applied Sciences Winterthur, 8400 Winterthur, Switzerland
Agnes von Wyl: Department of Psychology, Zurich University of Applied Sciences Winterthur, 8400 Winterthur, Switzerland
Marion Huber: Department of Health, Institute of Health Sciences, Zurich University of Applied Sciences Winterthur, 8400 Winterthur, Switzerland
Thomas Volken: Department of Health, Institute of Health Sciences, Zurich University of Applied Sciences Winterthur, 8400 Winterthur, Switzerland

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 20, 1-11

Abstract: University students were confronted with abrupt changes to their daily lives by the COVID-19 lock-down. We investigated Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7 (GAD-7) and anxiety levels, and the association between perceived impact on well-being, studies, and daily lives and anxiety levels, adjusted for gender, age, social class and affiliation. Early in the lock-down all students of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences ( N = 12,429) were invited to a voluntary longitudinal health survey. Participation rate was 20% ( n = 2437): 70% females, median age 25 yrs. (IQR 23–28). A total of 10% reported a deterioration of well-being compared to pre-Corona. LCA yielded three classes varying in perceived COVID-19 impact: 1 (low, n = 675), 2 (moderate, n = 1098), and 3 (strong, n = 656). Adjusted proportion of moderate to severe anxiety by class were 45% (95% CI: 28.0–62.0), 15.5% (95% CI: 13.1–17.9), and 5.1% (95% CI: 4.7–5.6), respectively. Multivariate regression analyses yielded an OR for moderate to severe anxiety of 3.88 (95% CI: 2.5–6.0, class 2) and 22.43 (95% CI: 14.5–34.6, class 3) compared to class-1. The investigated association implies that containment measures have a selective effect on anxiety in students. The diversity of students’ perception and associated anxiety should be monitored and considered in future response to pandemics.

Keywords: anxiety; COVID-19; GAD-7; latent class analyses; university students; young adults (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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