PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AND ACADEMIC SELF-EFFICACY OF COLLEGE STUDENTS: THE MODERATING ROLE OF ANXIETY AMIDST THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Kaila Mei Muñoz, Ma. Arnella Lozano, Princess Diane Guintu, Irvin Jither Garcia, Justin Vianey Embalsado

Abstract


The distress and anxiety brought about by the academic demands negatively influences student performance during the abrupt shift to full-online classes. However, the literature indicates that self-efficacy significantly alleviates the negative effect of distress and anxiety.The current study aims  to determine the relationship of COVID-19 related distress and academic self-efficacy as well as investigate if anxiety is a moderator that aggravates the distress of Angeles University Foundation college students. A total of 223 college students’ participants were acquired from a voluntary convenience sample and participants answered the questionnaires through Google Forms, namely: The Online Learning Self-Efficacy (OLSE), The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6), and The Coronavirus Pandemic Anxiety Scale (CPAS-11). Additionally, all statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS 23. Moreover, the hierarchical regression was conducted to determine if COVID-19 distress predicted academic self-efficacy (ASE) with anxiety as the moderator. The findings indicate that COVID-19 distress and anxiety negatively affect the beliefs of the students in their capacity to perform academic tasks.   However, evidence failed to support the moderating role of anxiety between Covid-19 distress and academic self-efficacy.


Keywords


academic self-efficacy, anxiety, college students, COVID-19 distress

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abbasi, S., Ayoob, T., Malik, A., & Memon, S. I. (2020). Perceptions of students regarding E-learning during Covid-19 at a private medical college. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, 36(COVID19-S4). https://doi.org/10.12669%2Fpjms.36.COVID19-S4.2766

Aboagye, E., Yawson, J. A., & Appiah, K. N. (2020). Covid-19 and E-Learning: The challenges of students in tertiary institutions. Social Education Research, 2(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.37256/ser.122020422

Abreu, J. L. (2020). Times of Coronavirus: Online education in response to the crisis. Daena: International Journal of Good Conscience, 15(1), 1-15.

Aguilera-Hermida, A. (2020). College students’ use and acceptance of emergency online learning due to COVID-19. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2020.100011

Alemany-Arrebola, I., Rojas-Ruiz, G., Granda-Vera, J., & Mingorance-Estrada, Á. C. (2020). Influence of COVID-19 on the perception of academic self-efficacy, state anxiety, and trait anxiety in college students. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.570017

Badovinac, S., Grubic, N., & Johri, A. M. (2020). Student mental health in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic: A call for further research and immediate solutions. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 66(5), 517–518. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764020925108

Bandura, A. (1991). Social cognitive theory of self-regulation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 248–287. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(91)90022-L

Bandura, A. (1997). Editorial. American Journal of Health Promotion, 12(1), 8–10. https://doi.org/10.4278/0890-1171-12.1.8

Bandura, A. (1999). Social cognitive theory: an agentic perspective. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 2(1), 21–41. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-839X.00024

Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory of mass communication. Media Psychology, 3(3), 265–299. https://doi.org/10.1207/S1532785XMEP0303_03

Bokayev, B., Torebekova, Z., Davletbayeva, Z., & Zhakypova, F. (2021). Distance learning in Kazakhstan: Estimating parents’ satisfaction of educational quality during the coronavirus. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 30(1), 27–39. https://doi.org/10.1080/1475939x.2020.1865192

Brouwer, K., Walmsley, L., Parrish, E., McCubbin, A., Welsh, J., Braido, C., & Okoli, C. (2021). Examining the associations between self-care practices and psychological distress among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurse Education Today, 100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2021.104864

Browning, M. H., Larson, L. R., Sharaievska, I., Rigolon, A., McAnirlin, O., Mullenbach, L., ... & Alvarez, H. O. (2021). Psychological impacts from COVID-19 among university students: Risk factors across seven states in the United States. PloS one, 16(1), e0245327. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245327

Bruffaerts, R., Mortier, P., Kiekens, G., Auerbach, R. P., Cuijpers, P., Demyttenaere, K., Green, J. G., Nock, M. K., & Kessler, R. C. (2018). Mental health problems in college freshmen: prevalence and academic functioning. Journal of Affective Disorders, 225, 97–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.07.044

Chemers, M. M., Hu, L.-t., & Garcia, B. F. (2001). Academic self-efficacy and first year college student performance and adjustment. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(1), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.93.1.55

Chen, I. H., Chen, C. Y., Pakpour, A. H., Griffiths, M. D., & Lin, C. Y. (2020). Internet-related behaviors and psychological distress among schoolchildren during COVID-19 school suspension. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 59(10), 1099–1102.e1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2020.06.007

Cheng, C., Wang, H. Y., & Ebrahimi, O. V. (2021). Adjustment to a “New Normal:” coping flexibility and mental health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.626197

Dost, S., Hossain, A., Shehab, M., Abdelwahed, A., & Al-Nusair, L. (2020). Perceptions of medical students towards online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic: A national cross-sectional survey of 2721 UK medical students. BMJ Open, 10(11), 4–7. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042378

Dresel, M., Schmitz, B., Schober, B., Spiel, C., Ziegler, A., Engelschalk, T., ... & Steuer, G. (2015). Competencies for successful self-regulated learning in higher education: structural model and indications drawn from expert interviews. Studies in Higher Education, 40(3), 454-470. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2015.1004236

Freire, C., Ferradás, M. D. M., Regueiro, B., Rodríguez, S., Valle, A., & Núñez, J. C. (2020). Coping strategies and Self-Efficacy in university students: A Person-Centered approach. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00841

Geitz, G., Brinke, D. J. T., & Kirschner, P. A. (2016). Changing learning behaviour: Self-efficacy and goal orientation in PBL groups in higher education. International Journal of Educational Research, 75, 146–158 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2015.11.001

Goldberg, Y., Mandel, M., Bar-On, Y. M., Bodenheimer, O., Freedman, L., Haas, E. J., ... & Huppert, A. (2021). Waning immunity after the BNT162b2 vaccine in Israel. New England Journal of Medicine, 385(24), e85. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2114228

Grøtan, K., Sund, E. R., & Bjerkeset, O. (2019). Mental Health, Academic Self-Efficacy and Study Progress Among College Students - The SHoT Study, Norway. Frontiers in psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00045

Hashemi, A. (2021). Effects of COVID-19 on the academic performance of Afghan students’ and their level of satisfaction with online teaching. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 8(1), 3–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2021.1933684

Heckel, C., & Ringeisen, T. (2019). Pride and anxiety in online learning environments: Achievement emotions as mediators between learners’ characteristics and learning outcomes. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 35(5), 667–677. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12367

Hodges, C. B. (2008). Self-efficacy in the context of online learning environments: A review of the literature and directions for research. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 20(3–4), 7–25. https://doi.org/10.1002/piq.20001

Honicke, T., & Broadbent, J. (2016). The influence of academic self-efficacy on academic performance: a systematic review. Educational Research Review, 17, 63–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.11.002

Kashiwazaki, Y., Takebayashi, Y., & Murakami, M. (2020). Relationships between radiation risk perception and health anxiety, and contribution of mindfulness to alleviating psychological distress after the Fukushima accident: Cross-sectional study using a path model. PLOS ONE, 15(7). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.023551

Kessler, R. C., Andrews, G., Colpe, L., Hiripi, E., Mroczek, D., Normand, S. L., Walters, E., & Zaslavsky, A. (2002). Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress. Psychological Medicine, 32(6), 959–976. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291702006074

Khoshaim, H. B., Al-Sukayt, A., Chinna, K., Nurunnabi, M., Sundarasen, S., Kamaludin, K., Baloch, G. M., & Hossain, S. F. A. (2020). Anxiety level of university students during COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.579750

Knight, L. K., & Depue, B. E. (2019). New frontiers in anxiety research: the translational potential of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. Frontiers in psychiatry, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00510

Liang, L., Ren, H., Cao, R., Hu, Y., Qin, Z., Li, C., & Mei, S. (2020). The effect of covid-19 on Youth Mental Health. Psychiatric Quarterly, 91(3), 841–852. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-020-09744-3

Lorant, V., Smith, P., Van den Broeck, K., & Nicaise, P. (2021). Psychological distress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and suppression measures during the first wave in Belgium. BMC Psychiatry, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-021-03109-1

Moberg G. P. (1987). Problems in defining stress and distress in animals. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 191(10), 1207–1211.

Muris, P., Schmidt, H., Lambrichs, R., & Meesters, C. (2001). Protective and vulnerability factors of depression in normal adolescents. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39(5), 555–565. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0005-7967(00)00026-7

Navarro-Mateu, D., Alonso-Larza, L., Gómez-Domínguez, M. T., Prado-Gascó, V., & Valero-Moreno, S. (2020). I’m not good for anything and that’s why I’m stressed: analysis of the effect of self-efficacy and emotional intelligence on student stress using SEM and QCA. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 295. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00295

Odaci, H. (2011). Academic self-efficacy and academic procrastination as predictors of problematic internet use in university students. Computers & Education, 57(1), 1109-1113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2011.01.005

Odriozola-González, P., Planchuelo-Gómez, Á., Irurtia, M. J., & de Luis-García, R. (2020). Psychological effects of the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown among students and workers of a Spanish university. Psychiatry research, 290, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113108

Pajares, F., & Valiante, G. (2002). Students’self-efficacy in their self-regulated learning strategies: a developmental perspective. Psychologia, 45(4), 211-221. https://doi.org/10.2117/psysoc.2002.211

Petzold, M. B., Bendau, A., Plag, J., Pyrkosch, L., Mascarell Maricic, L., Betzler, F., Rogoll, J.,

Große, J., & Ströhle, A. (2020). Risk, resilience, psychological distress, and anxiety at the beginning of the Covid‐19 pandemic in Germany. Brain and Behavior, 10(9), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.1745

Qin, Z., Shi, L., Xue, Y., Lin, H., Zhang, J., Liang, P., Lu, Z., Wu, M., Chen, Y., Zheng, X., Qian, Y., Ouyang, P., Zhang, R., Yi, X., & Zhang, C. (2021). Prevalence and risk factors associated with self-reported psychological distress among children and adolescents during the Covid-19 pandemic in China. JAMA Network Open, 4(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.35487

Richardson, M., Abraham, C., & Bond, R. (2012). Psychological correlates of university students' academic performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological bulletin, 138(2), 353. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026838

Ridner, S. H. (2004). Psychological distress: concept analysis. Journal of advanced nursing, 45(5), 536-545. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.2003.02938.x

Ritchie, L., Cervone, D., & Sharpe, B. T. (2021). Goals and self-efficacy beliefs during the initial COVID-19 lockdown: a mixed methods analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 3826. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.559114

Rodríguez-Hidalgo, A. J., Pantaleón, Y., Dios, I., & Falla, D. (2020). Fear of COVID-19, stress, and anxiety in university undergraduate students: a predictive model for depression. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.591797

Rosenman, R., Tennekoon, V., & Hill, L. G. (2011). Measuring bias in self-reported data. International Journal of Behavioural and Healthcare Research, 2(4), 320-332. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJBHR.2011.043414

Saravanan, C., Mahmoud, I., Elshami, W., & Taha, M. H. (2020). Knowledge, anxiety, fear, and psychological distress about COVID-19 among university students in the United Arab Emirates. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.582189

Sebastian, V. (2013). A theoretical approach to stress and self-efficacy. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 78, 556–561. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.04.350

Sharma, H. L. & Nasa, G. (2014). Academic self-efficacy: a reliable predictor of educational performances. British Journal of Education, 2(3), 57-64. https://www.eajournals.org/journals/british-journal-of-education-bje/vol-2issue-3july-2014/academic-self-efficacy-reliable-predictor-educational-performances-2/

Son, C., Hegde, S., Smith, A., Wang, X., & Sasangohar, F. (2020). Effects of COVID-19 on college students’ mental health in the United States: Interview survey study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(9). https://doi.org/10.2196/21279

Sun, S., Goldberg, S. B., Lin, D., Qiao, S., & Operario, D. (2021). Psychiatric symptoms, risk, and protective factors among university students in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Globalization and Health, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-021-00663-x

Tee, M. L., Tee, C. A., Anlacan, J. P., Aligam, K. J. G., Reyes, P. W. C., Kuruchittham, V., & Ho, R. C. (2020). Psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. Journal of Affective Disorders, 277, 379–391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.08.043

Thompson, M. N., Her, P., Fetter, A. K., & Perez‐Chavez, J. (2019). College student psychological distress: Relationship to self‐esteem and career decision self‐efficacy beliefs. The Career Development Quarterly, 67(4), 282–297. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12199

Uzun, K., & Karataş, Z. (2020). Predictors of Academic Self Efficacy: Intolerance of Uncertainty, Positive Beliefs about Worry and Academic Locus of Control. International Education Studies, 13(6), 104-116. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v13n6p104

Viertiö, S., Kiviruusu, O., Piirtola, M., Kaprio, J., Korhonen, T., Marttunen, M., & Suvisaari, J. (2021). Factors contributing to psychological distress in the working population, with a special reference to gender difference. BMC public health, 21(611), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-10560-y

Yokoyama, S. (2019). Academic Self-Efficacy and academic performance in online learning: A mini review. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1-4. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02794

Zimmerman, W. A., & Kulikowich, J. M. (2016). Online learning Self-Efficacy in students with and without online learning experience. American Journal of Distance Education, 30(3), 180–191. https://doi.org/10.1080/08923647.2016.1193801

Zimmermann M, Bledsoe C, Papa A. (2020). The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on college student mental health: A longitudinal examination




DOI: https://doi.org/10.17509/ije.v16i1.50257

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2023 Kaila Mei Muñoz, Ma. Arnella Lozano, Princess Diane Guintu, Irvin Jither Garcia, Justin Vianey Embalsado



Lisensi Creative Commons
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.