Anxiety of Students During the Covid-19 Epidemic

Razglašena epidemija koronavirusa je močno posegla v življenja ljudi in skupaj z ukrepi za njeno zajezitev večini prinesla mnoge spremembe ter nove izzive. Ena od skupin, na katero je imela velik vpliv, smo tudi študentje in študentke. Diplomska naloga temelji na raziskovanju tesnobe te skupine v času izrednih razmer. V raziskavi me je zanimalo, kako študentje in študentke, ki se spopadajo s tesnobo, gledajo nanjo ter kako jo razumejo. Poizvedovala sem, kateri dejavniki so bili ključni za pojav tesnobe, h komu oz. kam so se obrnili po pomoč in kako uspešna se jim je zdela. Spraševala sem se o razlikah med spoloma pri doživljanju tesnobe oz. spopadanju z njo. V teoretičnem delu sem pisala o duševnem zdravju, tesnobi ter izzivih študentske populacije v času epidemije. V poglavju metodologija sem predstavila izvedeno kvalitativno raziskavo ter s pomočjo analize intervjujev in teoretskim povezovanjem prišla do odgovorov na raziskovalna vprašanja. Z raziskavo sem ugotovila dobro razumevanje tesnobe skozi oči študentov in študentk ter prišla do zaključka, da so bili najpogostejši dejavniki, ki so vzpodbudili tesnobo v času epidemije, študij na daljavo, omejevanje socialnih stikov ter napačen pristop poročanja medijev in politikov. Med spoloma so se pri doživljanju tesnobe pokazale nekatere razlike. V zadnjem delu diplomskega dela sem predstavila še predloge za ustrezno podporo socialnih delavcev in delavk v času izrednih razmer.The Coronavirus epidemic has affected our lives, and the containment measures changed and challenged dramatically many of us. One of the groups to experience the most the adversities of these difficult times were students. The degree thesis analyses anxiety in this population during the state of emergency. The research focuses on how students affected with anxiety look on and understand their state. The paper also includes the inquiry about the key factors which lead up to anxiety, whom or where did they ask for help and how successful they thought it was. Moreover, the differences among male and female students living and dealing with anxiety were also included in the research. The theoretical background illustrates mental health and anxiety, as well as describes the chal-lenges students faced during the pandemic. The qualitative research is described in the chapter on methodology, which also includes the analysis of the interviews and the theoretical integra-tion that answered the research questions. The study identified a good comprehension of anxi-ety among students and discovered that the most frequent anxiety triggers during the epidemic were distance learning, limited social contacts and the wrong reporting approach of media and politics. Certain discrepancies in experiencing anxiety were also found between male and fe-male students. The final part of the paper delivers suggestions on how social workers could provide adequate support in emergency situations