Psychological Challenges Among Undergraduate University Students Post Covid-19 and Academic Resilience: Case of Daystar University, Athi River Campus, Kenya
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Date
2022-11
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Daystar University, School of Applied Human Sciences
Abstract
Numerous surveys conducted at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed that university students experienced considerable increase in depression, anxiety, and stress. However, some researchers believed the findings reflected a persistent trend rather than a single spike, as higher education students were more prone to higher rates of psychological distress due to adjustment, academic, unemployment, financial, family, intrapersonal, and interpersonal challenges, all of which may impair their concentration and academic outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to analyze the psychological challenges among undergraduate university students post COVID-19 and academic resilience. The study was guided by the social cognitive and biopsychosocial theories. Utilizing a descriptive cross-sectional survey design, the study used stratified random sampling to select a sample of 151 undergraduate students at Daystar University, Athi River Campus, and Kenya. The instruments included a socio-demographic questionnaire, Depression and Anxiety Stress Scale-DASS-21, and Academic Resilience Scale-ARS-30. Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 26. Statistical significance was set at p<.05. The The multiple linear regression indicated that one unit increase in the score of stress reduced academic resilience by 27%, one unit increase anxiety reduced academic resilience by 48% and finally one unit increase in depression reduced academic resilience by 72%. Therefore, depression had the highest impact on academic resilience and in addition it was the only independent predictor that was statistically significant. The study recommended that internal and external reliance building factors be promoted in higher learning institutions to build students’ academic resiliency levels. Regular mental health and academic resilience programs was concluded as effective.
Description
MASTER OF ARTS in Counselling Psychology
Keywords
COVID-19 pandemic, depression, anxiety, and stress.
Citation
Onyuka, L. (2022). Psychological Challenges Among Undergraduate University Students Post Covid-19 and Academic Resilience: Case of Daystar University, Athi River Campus, Kenya. Daystar University, School of Applied Human Sciences