Factors associated with psychosocial symptoms experienced by students in response to COVID-19 pandemic: a multivariate analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted many sectors, including the education sector. After in-person school activities were suspended due to the pandemic, a number of educational institutions in Indonesia reported concerns in implementing online learning due to the institutions’ unpreparedness. This issue may potentially induce mental health disorders among students and triggers long-term stress. This study aimed to examine factors linked to the psychosocial symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression in response to the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. An online cross-sectional study in Indonesia was conducted with 433 undergraduate and senior high school students aged 15 to 26 years old, both female and male. The self-reported symptoms were analyzed using both bivariate and multivariate linear regression methods. It was found that the percentage of participants with depression symptoms was 66%, while 61% and 43% participants experienced stress and anxiety respectively. The bivariate analysis presented strong correlations between anxiety and gender, learning duration and use of gadgets, internet expenses, and highly-interrupted learning. Furthermore, the multivariate regression revealed that only anxiety was significantly linked to internet expenses. This study indicates that many students are affected by COVID-19, the impacts of which manifest in psychosocial issues in the form of anxiety. We suggest that creating a supportive and positive family environment would help to alleviate some of these issues