Academic Community in the Face of Emergency Situations: Sense of Responsible Togetherness and Sense of Belonging as Protective Factors against Academic Stress during COVID-19 Outbreak

Fortuna Procentese, Vincenza Capone, Daniela Caso, Anna Rosa Donizzetti and Flora Gatti
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Fortuna Procentese: Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, 80133 Naples, Italy
Vincenza Capone: Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, 80133 Naples, Italy
Daniela Caso: Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, 80133 Naples, Italy
Anna Rosa Donizzetti: Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, 80133 Naples, Italy
Flora Gatti: Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, 80133 Naples, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 22, 1-12

Abstract: In the face of emergency situations, such as a global pandemic, individuals rely on their personal resources, but also on community dimensions, to deal with the unprecedented changes and risks and to safeguard their well-being. The present study specifically addresses the role of individual resources and community dimensions with reference to academic communities facing COVID-19-related lockdowns and the changes that these have implied. An online questionnaire was administered to 1124 Italian University students. It detected their sense of belonging and of responsible togetherness with reference to their academic community through community dimensions, their student self-efficacy as an individual resource, and their academic stress—potentially stemming from studying in the middle of a pandemic. A multiple mediation model was been run with structural equation modeling. The results show that both the community dimensions associate with higher student self-efficacy and the sense of responsible togetherness, while also associating with lower academic stress. Moreover, student self-efficacy, in turn, associates with lower academic stress and mediates the relationships between both community dimensions and students’ academic stress levels. From these findings, the protective role that community dimensions can exert on an individual’s life becomes apparent. Building on this, further strategies should be implemented to reinforce personal and community resources in order to strengthen individuals against potentially stressful circumstances.

Keywords: COVID-19; pandemic; sense of responsible togetherness (SoRT); sense of belonging; academic stress; student self-efficacy; university (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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