Psycho-emotional effects generated by the covid-19 pandemic on the lives of students

Abstract

The central objective of this paper was to analyze the psycho-emotional effects that the Covid-19 Pandemic caused on the lives of students in Romania. To achieve this goal, 91 students were surveyed, using quantitative and qualitative methods. The aim was to identify levels of anxiety, depression, dysfunctional and functional emotions (fear and sadness). In addition to these variables, it was also observed how personality traits can moderate the psycho-emotional effects generated. The results obtained in this correlational study are supported by other research conducted in the last 3 years. The results reveal how extraversion and emotional stability can be good predictors of functional emotions. Extraversion correlated positively with depression, and emotional stability correlated negatively with the dysfunctional emotions of fear and sadness. While, at the opposite pole, introversion and neuroticism are risk factors for mental health. They may experience more severely the psychosocial and affective impact of the changes related to COVID19. While extraversion and emotional stability proved to be good predictors of functional emotions, conscientiousness represented an indicator for the extent to which young people are willing to comply with measures to prevent infection with the Covid-19 virus (mask wearing, timely declarations of night, social distancing, keeping the distance limit). On the other hand, the students claimed that the pandemic created for them a state of tension, anxiety, insecurity, the reason being that they did not know how things would evolve and what would happen next with classes/exams, and the information received from the management side were not clear. The felt anxiety was associated with the variable - alcohol consumption. The findings of this research create the favorable context for the development of larger, qualitative research, providing evidence regarding the importance of personality traits as a relevant predictor of differences between individuals during the pandemic. Due to the small number of participants in the study, there are certain limitations in that the results obtained cannot be generalized to a larger population than the subjects that make up the sample.