COVID-19 associated fear & anxiety among students: Findings from a large-scale online survey in Bangladesh

Abstract

Objective: The study aimed to assess anxiety and fear of COVID-19 among home-staying Bangladeshi students. Participants: A total of 3997 university students across Bangladesh participated in the study. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using the generalized anxiety disorder scale and the fear of COVID-19 scale to measure anxiety and fear, respectively. Results: 40.11% of participants had anxiety. Fear of death by COVID-19 (β1’=4.45; 95% CI: 3.99-4.90) and perceiving COVID-19-like symptoms as having COVID-19 (β1’=2.47; 95% CI: 1.76-3.18) were associated with higher fear. Exposure to COVID-19 news on social media was a predictor of fear and anxiety. Furthermore, the severe educational loss was associated with fear (β1’=2.88; 95% CI: 2.25-3.50) and anxiety (β2’=1.91; 95% CI: 1.41 to 2.41). Physical exercise and recreational activities were protective factors for fear and anxiety. Conclusion: The study reports a higher level of psychological difficulties among students during the COVID-19 pandemic which needs further longitudinal exploration to design appropriate interventions.

Keywords:

• Anxiety
• Bangladesh
• COVID-19
• fear
• students

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express the most profound gratitude to the respondents who participated in this study voluntarily and spontaneously. Furthermore, the authors highly appreciate the contribution of Md. Tanzirul Alam, Tauhidul Islam, Md. Shahjahan, Md. Arifur Rahman, Md. Sabbir Mia, Rakebul Hasan, Md. Fazle Rabby, Sadia Yasmin, Mahjabeen Siddique, Jannatul Ferdous Tora, Anik Dutta, A. K. M. Sadikur Rahman Siam, Mohuya Jannat Masuma, Md. Rahmatullah, Md. Kamruzzaman, Nasim Chowdhuri, Hazera Sultana, Md. Asifur Rahaman, Md. Rakibul Alam Sorkar Rabby, Bishakha Mutsuddy, Mst. Jemi Khatun, Rebeka Sultana, Maksuda Akter Tane, Md. Momshad Reza during data collection periods.

Authors’ contributions

Abid Hasan Khan contributed to conceptualization, methodology, investigation, formal analysis, data curation, writing – original draft, validation. Mst. Sadia Sultana contributed conceptualization, methodology, investigation, data curation, writing – original draft, writing – review & editing, validation. M. Tasdik Hasan contributed to writing – review & editing, validation. Sahadat Hossain contributed to conceptualization, supervision, writing – review & editing, validation. Adnan Ansar contributed writing – review & editing, validation. Zezhi Li contributed to writing – review & editing, and validation. Md Tajuddin Sikder contributed to Writing – review & editing, Validation.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of Bangladesh and received approval from the Institutional Review Board, Biosafety, Biosecurity & Ethical Committee of the Jahangirnagar University.

Consent to participate

All participants read, understood a consent form and agreed to participate in the study.

Consent for publication

All the authors of the manuscript knew and provided their consent for publication in this journal.

Ethics approval

Ethical standards were maintained to the highest possible extent whilst the study was conducted. Ethical clearance certificate (Ref No: BBEC, JU/M 2020/COVID-19/(8)1) for this study was obtained from the IRB, “Biosafety, Biosecurity & Ethical Committee” of the Jahangirnagar University.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.