Predictors and mediators of pressure/tension in university students’ distance learning during the Covid-19 pandemic: A self-determination theory perspective

Due to the global restrictions to decrease the risk of infection in classrooms, the transition from face-to-face education to distance learning was a necessity during the Covid-19 pandemic. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, the present research sought to explore how the pandemic affects university students during distance learning. Specifically, the study examined the predictors of pressure/tension and attempted to identify the unique and mediator roles of correlates of pressure/tension of university students. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 432 university students from different departments of different universities in Turkey. The online survey was administered between the last week of October and the second week of December 2020. Our findings revealed that there is a positive association between pressure/tension and Covid-specific worry. Also, there is a negative association between learning climate and pressure/tension and between perceived competence and pressure/tension. Further, learning climate mediated the link between Covid-specific worry and pressure/tension. The data of the present study depends on students' academic (learning climate) and also non-academic (Covid worry) experiences during the pandemic. Methodological limitations concerning the research design are discussed.