Anxiety and the Onset of COVID-19: Examining Concerns of Historically Excluded Scholars

Abstract

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic increased uncertainty, leading to questions about how it spread, how long it would last, and its long-term effects. In academia, many scholars worried about their positions and career advancement. Our research focuses on how different groups within academia coped during the initial period of the pandemic, with particular attention paid to the role of anxiety. We argue that vulnerable groups, such as historically excluded individuals, graduate students, and women, felt even higher levels of anxiety. We use original survey data collected from international relations and political science scholars during May 2020. We content analyze open-ended responses to illustrate the impacts of the pandemic on our participants’ work life, including research productivity, the job market, promotion, and tenure. These analyses reveal not only what different groups of scholars are concerned about, but also the different ways in which they discuss the pandemic. Our research aims to highlight the social and mental health effects of the pandemic, with an eye toward addressing inequalities in academia.