Graduating into a Pandemic: Exploring the Factors Influencing the Anxiety Level of the University Finalists

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic is a public health emergency of international agony and poses a significant mental health threat among university students in Bangladesh. This study aims to explore the factors influencing the anxiety level of the students graduating into this pandemic. An online study was conducted and we sampled final year university students from Hamdard University Bangladesh by using convenience sampling. They responded to a questionnaire packet that included the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and those inquiring about the respondents’ demographic and other relevant information. Results indicated that 13.46% of the students were experiencing severe anxiety. Furthermore, living in urban areas (OR = 3.12, 95% CI = 0.95 – 10. 16), being poor (OR = 34. 11, 95% CI = 2.52 – 461.67) and having relatives or acquaintances infected with COVID-19 (OR = 3.21, 95% CI = 0.06 – 0.69) were risk factors for anxiety. Conversely, living with parents (OR = 0.12, 95% CI = 0.02 – 0.63) was a protective factor against the anxiety of university finalists. Also, results of correlation analysis indicated that academic delays worry about finding a job, financial condition and influence on daily life were positively related to the level of anxiety symptoms (P < 0.05), whereas social support, was negatively correlated with their anxiety (P > 0.05). It is recommended that the mental health of students graduating amid this pandemic should be monitored to provide crisisoriented mental services to alleviate the anxiousness of the university finalists.