Measuring COVID-19-Related Stress Among 4th Through 12th Grade Students

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting stay-at-home orders created a need for assessing elementary, middle, and high school students’ experienced stressors associated with the coronavirus situation. In collaboration with a school district wanting information about their students’ well-being during the pandemic school shut-down, the current study investigated students’ reported types and levels of COVID-19 stressors. Data were collected from 2,738 students from fourth through 12th grade in a suburban Midwestern school district in the United States following school closure related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data on stress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic were gathered from students via an online survey using Qualtrics. The students rated 20 items (e.g., not motivated to do schoolwork, not going to my school) on stress level. Stressor categories found included Social Isolation, Schoolwork Stress, Fear of COVID-19 Illness, and Missing Events. Middle and high school students reported higher schoolwork stress than did elementary students, and overall, females had higher reported stress on several stressors. The current study has implications for school psychologists including utilizing a tool to assess pandemic-related stressors, using prepandemic normative data in schools with caution, promoting education about COVID-19 to reduce fear, supporting teachers regarding addressing schoolwork stress experienced by students, and teaching students anxiety-reducing strategies such as mindfulness or coping strategies.

Keywords:

• COVID-19
• pandemic
• stress
• social isolation
• schoolwork
• illness

Associate Editor:

• Pamela Fenning

DISCLOSURE

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kara M. Styck

Kara Styck, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Northern Illinois University. Her research interests include psychological measurement and the utility of assessments for making educational decisions in K–12 schools and higher-education classrooms.

Christine K. Malecki

Christine K. Malecki, PhD, is a Professor in the Psychology Department at Northern Illinois University and is the director of the School Psychology Program. Her research interests include how perceived social support is associated with positive psychological and social outcomes in youth. She is also interested in the social contexts of bullying behaviors and curriculum based measurement in written language and reading.

Julia Ogg

Julia Ogg, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Northern Illinois University. Her research interests include understanding how parent–child and teacher–child relationships relate to the early development of self-regulatory and externalizing behaviors.

Michelle K. Demaray

Michelle Demaray, PhD, is a Professor in the Psychology Department at Northern Illinois University. Her research interests include social support and bullying and victimization in schools.