2020 SCIENCELINE

Journal of Educational and Management Studies

J. Educ. Manage. Stud., 10(3): 55-60, September 25, 2020

License: CC BY 4.0,

ISSN: 2322-4770

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.51475/jems.2020.7

The psychological impact of COVID-19 on the

college students in Nepal

Megh Raj Dangal¹^and Lumanti Siddhi Bajracharya²

Department of Development Studies, Kathmandu University, Kathmandu, Nepal

^Email: megh@ku.edu.np;

: 0000-0002-3067-7405

ABSTRACT

Original Article

This article focuses on the psychological impact of COVID-19 and its effect among the Nepali

college students. As we know, the pandemic started in China with a few pneumonia-like cases

and has spread all over the world since December 2019.The outbreak has not only caused

suffering and fatality but also increased psychological stress and panic among people. This

study used convenience sampling and web-based quantitative questionnaire that included the

7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and other basic information to identify the

psychological impact of the pandemic. The General Anxiety Disorder Scale results indicated

that two-third of the college students who responded to the survey had some level of anxiety,

ranging from mild to moderate and severe. Associated gender of the respondents had some

relation to the anxiety during this pandemic. The correlation analysis results indicated that

certain worries related to financial impact of COVID were positively associated with anxiety

symptoms (P<0.05). In contrast to this, support from family, friends and society was

negatively correlated with the level of anxiety (P<0.001). It shows that social support provides

necessary help to college students in dealing with stressors and anxiousness that comes with

uncertain situations.

PII: S232247702000007-10

Rec. 28 July, 2020

Acc. 29 August, 2020

Pub. 25 September, 2020

Keywords

Psychological impact,

COVID-19,

Nepali college students,

Socio-demography

anxiety

To minimize the gap between students and

learning, an online approach has been adopted by

most of the schools and colleges across the country,

while the schools are closed. Experts have expressed

that online classes may affect a further digital divide

in the country (Neupane, 2020 ). Along with this, the

increment in cases day-by-day has created fear, stress

and worries which have been termed as normal

responses by the World Health Organization in the

milieu of COVID-19 (WHO, 2020 ). Studies have

suggested that there may have been mental health

impacts of the virus, including elevated stress, on the

general public on top of specific groups such as

patients, medical staff, children, older adults as well as

college students (Cao et al., 2020; Perz et al. 2020 ).

A China based study suggested that young

people were reported to have more anxiety and

depressive symptoms as compared to older ones

during this rampant (Huang & Zhao, 2020 ). Analogous

results have been reported from another study

INTRODUCTION

COVID-19 belongs to a large family of viruses which

may cause illness in animals or humans. Corona virus

was recognized by the World Health Organization

(WHO) as a pandemic on 11^thMarch, 2020. Close

contact with infected people or touching

contaminated objects or on the surface can easily be

transmitted (WHO, 2020 ) The first case of COVID-19

was found in Nepal when a 32 year old Nepali man

returned from Wuhan, China on 23 January 2020,

which followed a total shutdown of all the flights

along with the whole country going into lockdown

from 23 March 2020 (MOHP, 2020 ). All the economic

activities as well as the daily livelihood of people and

social gatherings came to a halt. This in turn, resulted

in over eight million students inside their homes,

keeping them away from classroom education. Over

35,000 schools have been closed since posing a huge

risk over the future of education (UNICEF, 2020 ).

To cite this paper: Dangal M.R and Bajracharya L.S. (2020). The psychological ımpact of COVID-19 on the college students in Nepal. J. Educ. Manage. Stud., 10(3): 55-60.

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.51475/jems.2020.7

Dangal and Bajracharya, 2020

conducted in Japan (Ueda et al., 2020 ). A study among

(not at all) to 3 (almost every day), such that the total

score ranges from 0 to 21 (Cao et al., 2020 ). The GAD-7

is a well-validated screening instrument, and has

demonstrated excellent internal consistency. The

GAD-7 is a valid and efficient tool for screening the

General Anxiety Disorder and assessing its severity in

clinical practice and research (Spitzer et al., 2006 ).

college students in Ethiopia advocated that most

college students experienced some sort of anxiety or

depressive disorder during this situation (Tadesse et

al., 2020 ). Conversely, no enough efforts has been put

to study the mental health of students facing this

pandemic in Nepal. Hence, this research aims to study

the psychological impacts of COVID-19 on students

from various colleges in Nepal, along with exploring

its association with socio-demographic and other

related variables.

Data analysis and interpretation

The obtained data were analyzed with IBM SPSS

version 23.0. An analysis of descriptive statistics was

conducted to illustrate the demographic and other

selected characteristics of the respondents. Non

parametric test (Chi-square test) was used to explore

the significant associations between sample

characteristics and the anxiety level (categorized into

no anxiety or some anxiety) during the COVID-19

epidemic. Spearman's correlation coefficient, r, was

used to evaluate the association between COVID-19-

related stressors, including financial stressors and day

to day life, as well as the stressors related to delays in

education and learning, and anxiety among the

college students. A two-tailed p<0.05 was considered

statistically significant (Cao et al., 2020 ).

METHODOLOGY

Study design

Web-based quantitative questionnaire survey

design was used to conduct the survey among the

students. One-time cross-sectional method, using a

pre-determined questionnaire was used to receive

information regarding the psychological impact of

COVID-19 on students.

Study population and sample

The targeted population comprised of students

from various high schools, colleges and universities of

Nepal. The respondents were anonymous to ensure

the confidentiality and reliability of data. Finally, 105

respondents were included in the final analysis (100%

response rate).

Ethical considerations

All the participants voluntarily participated in

the study after being informed about the purpose of

the study. Concealment of the participants were

maintained and no identity was revealed.

Sampling technique

Convenient sampling technique was used to

gather the sample. Respondents answered the

predetermined questionnaire bundle via Google

Forms.

RESULTS

The socio-demographic part of the survey indicated

an average age of 20.95±2.81 years among 105

respondents. The other demographic and selected

characteristics of the study population are shown in

Table 1. Out of the total samples of 105 students,

majority i.e.64 (61%) were females as seen in Table 1.

72.4% 18.1% and 8.6 of the respondents were

undergraduate degree, graduate degree and plus two

degree respectively along with 1 (approximately 1%)

respondent being a student of post graduate one year

degree. Majority of the respondents lived inside the

capital; with 71.4% living in urban areas and the rest

either in sun-urban or rural areas. 89.5% were

dependents that were living with their parents or

guardians, with majority having a steady family

Tools of data collection

The study instrument comprised a structured

questionnaire format that inquired about socio-

demographic information such as sex, age, study level,

residency and so on as well as the worries related to

COVID-19 and availability of social support, among

others. Moreover, the participants responded to the 7-

item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7). The

GAD-7 scale consists of 7 questions that require

approximately 1–2 minutes to administer (Mossman,

et al., 2017). Similarly, the respondents reported their

symptoms using a Liker rating scale ranging from 0

J. Educ. Manage. Stud., 10(3): 55-60, 2020

income. Most participants lived in area where there

COVID-19 cases had been identified.

Table 1. Socio-demographic variables of the respondents

Variables

Frequency (n)

Percentage (%)

Male

39.05

60.95

14.29

85.71

8.57

Sex

Female

Less than 18

Age Groups

18 and above

Plus two

Undergraduate

72.38

18.10

0.95

Study level

Graduate

Others (PG Diploma)

Inside Capital

73.33

26.67

71.43

28.60

18.10

81.90

10.48

89.52

22.86

77.14

Residency

Outside Capital

Urban

Area of Residency

Semi-urban/Rural

Steady Family Income

Yes

Dependent

Yes

COVID-19 cases in your area

Yes

Mental health impact of the pandemic on

college students

demographic characteristics such as age group,

education, region, place of residency, family income,

dependency or living with parents as well as cases

identified in their area had no significant effect on

anxiety (P>0.05).

Table 2 shows the psychological impact or the

differing level of anxiety experienced by the students

during the outbreak. Of the 105 college students, one-

third (33.3%) students had no symptoms of anxiety,

whereas the rest i.e. 66.67% or two-third had some

level of anxiety ranging from mild to moderate and

even severe. Out of the 70 students that experienced

anxiety, 38.54% had mild anxiety, 34.29% had

moderate and 27.14% had severe anxiety.

Table 2. Proportion of students with varying anxiety

Frequency

(n)

Percentage

(%)

Anxiety

Normal (No Anxiety)

Some form of Anxiety

Total

33.33

66.67

100

105

Factors influencing students’ anxiety during

the pandemic

Anxiety Categorization

Table 3 shows the association between the socio-

demographic variables of students and their anxiety

associated with COVID-19. Gender of the respondents

Mild

38.57

34.29

27.14

100

Moderate

Severe

Total

had

significant effect on the respondent’s

anxiousness, where the females had an increased

anxiety as compared to the male respondents

(P<0.005). On the other hand, other socio-

Dangal and Bajracharya, 2020

Table 3. Association between the socio-demographic variables of students and the level of anxiety

Anxiety (rounded off percent)

Items

Statistics

p-value

No Anxiety

Some Anxiety

Gender

12.5

<0.001

Male

Female

22 (20.95%)

13 (12.38%)

19 (18.10%)

51 (48.57%)

Age group

0.35

0.554

0.738

Less than 18

18 and above

Study level

4 (3.81%)

31 (29.52%)

11 (10.48%)

59 (56.19%

0.607

Plus two

Undergraduate

Post graduate or similar *

4 (3.81%)

25 (23.81%)

6 (5.71%)

5 (4.76%)

51 (48.57%)

14 (13.33%)

4.773

5.25

0.116

0.22

Residency

Inside Capital

Outside Capital

21 (20%)

14 (13.33%)

56 (53.33%)

14 (13.33%)

Area of residency

Urban

Semi-urban/rural

20 (19.05%)

15 (14.29%)

55 (52.3%)

15 (14.29%)

Steady family income

0.803

0.051

0.972

0.37

Yes

8 (7.62%)

27 (25.71%)

11 (10.48%)

7 (6.67%)

Dependent

0.822

0.324

Yes

4 (3.81%)

31 (29.52%)

7 (6.67%)

63 (60%)

COVID cases identified in your area

Yes

10 (9.52%)

25 (23.81%)

14 (13.33%)

56 (53.33%)

*Graduate degrees and post graduate diploma were combined into one category

Correlation between the COVID-19-related

stress factors and anxiety among students during

the COVID-19 pandemic

The results of the correlation analysis between

the stressors related to COVID-19 pandemic and

anxiety among the college students are shown in

Table 4.

The students’ worries concerning the financial

consequences were caused because of the lockdown

that was enforced due to the pandemic were

positively related to anxiety in students (r=0.297,

P<0.05). In addition, the results also suggested a

negative association between psychological support

provided by friends, family and their society and

general anxiety disorder among students during the

COVID-19 outbreak. (r=−0.380, P<0.001).

Table 4. Correlation analysis between the COVID-19-

related stressors and students' anxiety (no anxiety or

some anxiety) during the pandemic

COVID related stress factors

P-value

0.002

0.123

DISCUSSION

Worry about financial

consequences

Worry about delays in education

and learning

Influence of pandemic on day-to-

day life

Support from friends, family and

society

0.297

0.152

-0.141

-0.380

The main goal of this study was to evaluate the

mental health or the psychological impact of students

during this pandemic and explore the factors that

might have been associated with their anxiety at this

time. The outcomes of this study specified that two-

thirds of the college students that participated in the

0.152

<0.001

J. Educ. Manage. Stud., 10(3): 55-60, 2020

survey experienced some level of anxiety. Out of these

oneself (WHO, 2020 ). A study in a university in

Baoding, China suggested that increases in anxiety

and depression were seen after the confinement of

due to the onset of the outbreak (Li et al., 2020 ). The

findings of our study indicates that female students

experienced more stresses and negative emotions as a

result of the pandemic, as compared to the male

students which might have been possible due to

emotional reasons. This is a similar result across

various studies including one conducted in United

States and Ethiopia (Browning et al. 2020; Tadesse et

al., 2020 ). The results also suggested positive

association between COVID-19 related financial

burden and psychological distress and anxiety

symptoms in the students. Cao et. al. (2020) that

indicated similar results, in addition to positive

association between effects on day-to-day life and

anxiety, which is in contrast to our study. Students in

Nepal as well as across the globe might be worried

about paying their tuition fees as well as concerned

with the delays in their studies and education caused

by this COVID-19 pandemic.

The Education and Health Committee of the

Parliament in Nepal had directed the schools not to

admit new students or charge tuition fees until the

situation returns back to normal. Conversely, defying

the government’s directives, the guardians reported

that pressure has been put on them to pay the fees,

especially in case of private schools (Ghimire, 2020 ).

Even though the lockdown modality has loosened a

bit, most schools, colleges and universities have

shifted to and are following distant schooling

methods but the psychological factors associated as

well as monetary factors and digital divide might have

put more burden on the students.

70 students that were found to have some level of

anxiety, 38.54% had mild anxiety, 34.29% had

moderate and 27.14% had severe anxiety. The Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention in United States

suggests that any new disease or uncertainty can be

overwhelming and cause strong reactions of panic

and worry among adults and children (CDC, 2020 ). A

study on psychological impacts of the pandemic

conducted in Ethiopian students suggested that most

of the participants (77.2%) were reported to have

experienced some psychological impact due to

COVID-19 (Tadesse et al., 2020 ).

Anxiety disorders are more likely to occur

and deteriorate in the absence of interpersonal

communication or social support, especially among

college students (Cao et al., 2020 ) which may have

occurred as a result of social distancing and lockdown.

The anxiety disorders might also result in the loss of

activeness and productivity in a person resulting to a

poor and a difficult life. In any given situation,

support; especially psychological support, is said to

ease mental health turmoil such as depressive

thoughts, fear, anxiousness and worry. Societal

support was negatively correlated with the anxiety of

the students in a Chinese university in a study by Cao

et. al. (2020). Similar findings were seen in this study

as well, where support from friends, family as well as

society was negatively correlated with experiences of

anxiousness among college students. Social support

not only moderates the psychological pressure during

these emergencies but also changes the attitude

regarding social support and help-seeking methods

and also calms down a person`s mind to bring in

positive thoughts instead of a tangled mind (Cao et al.,

2020 ).

The shortage of Personal Protective Equipment,

specifically during the early onset period, combined

with the overwhelming news headlines and

inaccurate news reports have only added to the

anxiety and fear experienced by students (Ayittey et

al., 2020 ). Even the World Health Organization has

suggested to reduce watching, reading or listening to

news about COVID-19 and to only seek information

from reliable sources, mainly because the abrupt and

continuous stream of news and reports regarding the

outbreak can cause anyone to feel anxious and

worried which in return causes even greater harm to

CONCLUSIONS

This study intended to find the psychological impact

or the mental health situation of college students

caused by the unforeseen COVID-19 pandemic. The

results of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7)

scale found that majority (70 students or two-thirds)

of the students have experienced anxiety because of

this pandemic, out of which 38.6% experienced mild

anxiety, 34.3% experienced moderate and 27.1%

experienced severe anxiety. Gender of the student was

found to be a factor for experienced anxiousness

Dangal and Bajracharya, 2020

Ghimire, B. (2020, July). Defying government’s directives

among students. The female respondents were found

to have increased levels of anxiety as compared to

males. The worries related to financial aspect of the

pandemic were positively associated with the anxiety

among students, whereas collective support from peer

groups, family as well as the society was negatively

correlated with their anxiety.

and parliamentary committee’s order, private schools

ask parents to pay tuition fees. The Kathmandu Post. Link

Huang, Y., and Zhao, N. (2020). Generalized anxiety disorder,

depressive symptoms and sleep quality during COVID-

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In conclusion, a significant amount of students

are experiencing anxiety during this situation, not

only in Nepal but throughout the world due to various

reasons. With the uncertainty that has arisen with the

circumstances caused by COVID-19 virus, students

require support, help and attention from personal

groups as well as the surrounding society, educators

and institutions. Psycho-social help must be offered to

the students in need, not only from educational

institutions but also from governments and related

psychological and non-government organizations.

Li, H. Y., Cao, H., Leung, D. Y., & Mak, Y. W. (2020). The

Psychological Impacts of a COVID-19 Outbreak on

College Students in China:

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DECLARATIONS

Author’s contribution

Both authors contributed equally to this work.

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lockdown. My Republica. Link

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing

interests.

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Validation of the fear of COVID-19 scale in a US college

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