Is Lower Trust in COVID-19 Regulations Associated with Academic Frustration? A Comparison between Danish and German University Students

Julia Ballmann, Stefanie M. Helmer, Gabriele Berg-Beckhoff, Julie Dalgaard Guldager, Signe Smith Jervelund, Heide Busse, Claudia R. Pischke, Sarah Negash, Claus Wendt and Christiane Stock
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Julia Ballmann: Institute of Health and Nursing Science, Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany
Stefanie M. Helmer: Institute of Health and Nursing Science, Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany
Gabriele Berg-Beckhoff: Unit for Health Promotion Research, University of Southern Denmark, 6705 Esbjerg, Denmark
Julie Dalgaard Guldager: Unit for Health Promotion Research, University of Southern Denmark, 6705 Esbjerg, Denmark
Signe Smith Jervelund: Section for Health Services Research, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, 1014 Copenhagen, Denmark
Heide Busse: Department Prevention and Evaluation, Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology–BIPS, 28359 Bremen, Germany
Claudia R. Pischke: Institute of Medical Sociology, Centre for Health and Society, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
Sarah Negash: Institute for Medical Epidemiology, Biometrics and Informatics (IMEBI), Interdisciplinary Center for Health Sciences, Medical School of the Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06112 Halle (Saale), Germany
Claus Wendt: Department Sociology of Health and Healthcare Systems, University Siegen, 57068 Siegen, Germany
Christiane Stock: Institute of Health and Nursing Science, Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 13353 Berlin, Germany

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 3, 1-11

Abstract: Despite the proximity of both countries, Danes and Germans differ in the level of trust in their government. This may play a role with respect to the disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students. This study investigated the association between trust in governmental regulations, trust in university regulations, risk perceptions, and academic frustration among Danish and German students. As part of the COVID-19 International Student Well-being Study, an online survey was distributed among university students in participating European and non-European universities. In Denmark, 2945 students and Germany, 8725 students responded to the questionnaire between May and July 2020. Students from both countries reported approximately the same level of academic frustration concerning their progress and quality of education. However, German students perceived a higher risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 compared to Danish respondents. Danish students showed higher trust in their government’s COVID-19 regulations than German students. Lower trust in government and university COVID-19 regulations and higher risk perception were associated with higher academic frustration. These results indicate that the level of trust in COVID-19 regulations might have an impact the overall frustration of students regarding their study conditions.

Keywords: students; university; COVID-19; frustration; governmental trust; Denmark; Germany (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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