Is it Remote Learning that is Causing the Stress, or is it COVID-19?

The 2019 coronavirus disease outbreak, which I said to have begun in China, is a catastrophic pandemic spread across the globe at lightning speed. Almost every country globally has implemented numerous public health measures to keep the disease's spread under control. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) emphasizes that it is essential to recognize the stress symptoms that originate from the lockdowns and the coronavirus itself at the calamity time. When there is an outbreak of a transmittable disease like equine influenza or SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), studies have documented damaging psychological implications. There is a social and psychological impact. It is important to take intentional actions to cope with and build resilience with the detrimental effects of the coronavirus ( Qian-Hui & Ying, 2020 ). Therefore, research studies need to examine the covid-19 impact on the students' mental health and the need for a working intervention.

According to UNESCO, the covid-19 virus has interfered with learning more than one billion students in over 129 countries globally. The majority of the higher learning institutions have shifted to emergency remote learning online through the internet and digital device, which is an additional pointer to anxiety. Research studies investigating the effect of coronavirus and the subsequent lockdown on college students in Chinese schools revealed a severe significant impact on the learners' psychological wellbeing and increased stress and anxiety levels. Additionally, several other studies have been completed in the public domain regarding the effect of covid-19 calamity and lockdowns on the population's health. These studies have been primarily done in China and western countries amongst the healthcare workers, the general populace, and the medical students ( Chanishvili, 2020 ). Only a few studies have been conducted regarding the coronavirus's effect and lockdowns effects on the students' psychological wellbeing and stress.

Purpose of the Study 

This study's primary aim is to determine whether the remote learning forced by coronavirus lockdowns increases or decreases college students' stress levels in males and females. The research study looks explicitly to answer whether the coronavirus is causing stress amongst students of coronavirus.

Research Question 

Based on our research purpose, this study looks to answer the following research questions:

Does coronavirus increase or decrease stress levels for students learning online from home? 

Do small learning increase or decrease stress levels for students learning online from home? 

Between coronavirus and online learning, which one contributes more to the stress levels of the students? 

Research Hypothesis 

The research hypothesis for this study is as follows:

H0: Coronavirus contributes to higher stress levels for students learning at home more than the lockdowns 

H1: Lockdowns contributes to higher stress levels for students learning at home more than the coronavirus 

METHODOLOGY 

Introduction 

This chapter presents a discussion about the importance of taking this study, the research design, data collection methods, data analysis, and the limitations of the study. The objective of the chapter is to give a brief review of the methodology for the research. The study looks into earlier research papers, government agency papers, journals, and academic databases to determine the relationship between coronavirus stress, remote learning-related stress, and students' impact ( Liang et al., 2020 ).

Study Design 

The study uses Cronbach's analysis and excels tables to analyze the data. First, the raw data is prepared to excel for Cronbach analysis. The data is then imported to SPSS statistical software for Cronbach analysis, and results are presented in the results section. Respective tables are then generated for each survey question. Table results are interpreted in the discussion section.

Data Collection 

This research study collects the primary data using an interview guide that focuses on the participants' psychology and emotions during the pandemic period. This approach gives a unique and authentic perception of the investigated issues that will allow for valid generalizations and assumptions about stress during the pandemic.

Data Analysis 

The study adopted a content analysis approach to analyze the data, which is the systematic qualitative description of the research's objects or materials. Content analysis involves a detailed description and observation of the material, objects, items, or things that constitute the research sample. The content analysis method's primary objective is to examine the existing documents to determine the key factors that explain the phenomena under investigation. The researcher then used the collected secondary information about company performance to compare the views collected from different sources. The data analysis process involves several stages ( Ulfa, 2020 ). The responses collected from the interviews were processed through editing to ensure consistency and completeness. The data were then checked for any omission and errors and then compiled. The collected data was used to inform the literature and determine the relations between coronavirus stress and online learning related stress.

Limitations 

The primary study limitations include the fact that the research only involved a small sample of the population. The study as a model cannot be enough or effective in representing the right position or actual coronavirus effect. The research population was also retrieved from only a specific race data. The study would require to draw its samples from thousands of students worldwide, from different demographics, cultures, and physiologies to represent the global population. This study is also limited in terms of resources and time, implying that the researchers could not have adequate time and resources to collect the data or conduct the interviews. It would require lots of funds to communicate to universities and colleges to get the appropriate permissions, speak to all the student participants, send them surveys, collect the data, and analyze it. Therefore, this study recommends that future studies focus on more participants from different regions, and at least a sample size of 10,000 equally distributed over 120 schools around the globe.

RESULTS 

Here are the research results from the Cronbach analysis:

Table 1: Case Processing Summary 

Case Processing Summary
		N	%
Cases	Valid	55	35.5
	Excluded a	100	64.5
	Total	155	100.0
a. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure.

Table 2: Reliability Statistics 

Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's Alpha	Cronbach's Alpha Based on Standardized Items	N of Items
.727	.705	10

Table 3: Statistics 

Item Statistics
	Mean	Std. Deviation	N
upset	2.327	.9633	55
takecontrol	2.455	1.1518	55
nervousstressed	2.945	.8907	55
confidenttohandleownproblems	2.364	.8247	55
feltthingsgoingyourway	2.018	.8049	55
cannotcope	2.109	1.0483	55
controlirritation	2.109	.7619	55
feltyouontopofthings	2.164	.8336	55
angeredwhenthingsareoutofcontrol	2.255	1.0579	55
feltdifficultiespilingupcanotovercome	2.382	1.1784	55

Table 4: Correlation Matrix 

Inter-Item Correlation Matrix
	upset	take control	nervous stressed	Confident to handleownproblems	feltthingsgoingyourway	can not cope	control irritation	feltyouontopofthings	angeredwhenthingsareoutofcontrol	feltdifficultiespilingupcanotovercome
upset	1.000	.448	.582	-.176	.040	.404	-.125	.093	.571	.394
takecontrol	.448	1.000	.458	.154	.350	.449	.111	.172	.420	.347
nervousstressed	.582	.458	1.000	-.073	.105	.641	.009	.037	.369	.497
confidenttohandleownproblems	-.176	.154	-.073	1.000	.492	.082	.319	.100	-.257	-.355
feltthingsgoingyourway	.040	.350	.105	.492	1.000	.305	.359	.189	-.158	.051
cannotcope	.404	.449	.641	.082	.305	1.000	.101	.000	.442	.550
Control irritation	-.125	.111	.009	.319	.359	.101	1.000	.059	-.196	-.212
feltyouontopofthings	.093	.172	.037	.100	.189	.000	.059	1.000	.078	-.008
angeredwhenthingsareoutofcontrol	.571	.420	.369	-.257	-.158	.442	-.196	.078	1.000	.470
feltdifficultiespilingupcanotovercome	.394	.347	.497	-.355	.051	.550	-.212	-.008	.470	1.000

Table 5: Total Statistics 

Item-Total Statistics
	Scale Mean if Item Deleted	Scale Variance if Item Deleted	Corrected Item-Total Correlation	Squared Multiple Correlation	Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted
upset	20.800	21.237	.520	.519	.684
take control	20.673	19.002	.642	.450	.655
nervous stressed	20.182	21.003	.610	.584	.672
confidenttohandleownproblems	20.764	25.999	.012	.444	.754
feltthingsgoingyourway	21.109	23.580	.326	.482	.714
can not cope	21.018	19.426	.677	.617	.652
control irritation	21.018	25.796	.052	.225	.747
feltyouontopofthings	20.964	24.962	.135	.078	.739
angeredwhenthingsareoutofcontrol	20.873	21.521	.422	.547	.700
feltdifficultiespilingupcanotovercome	20.745	20.971	.410	.541	.703

Table 6: Scale Statistics 

Scale Statistics
Mean	Variance	Std. Deviation	N of Items
23.127	26.780	5.1749	10

Discussion  

As a result of the covid-19 pandemic, several universities and colleges in the united states and worldwide suspended the traditional face to face classes and changed to remote learning. The pandemic has affected student learning and their respective faculties and several fronts. From a study sample of 55 participants, most of the respondents were made (43) with only ten females. There were one transgender and one non-binary participant.

Upset, emotional status 

In the 1 st question, participants were asked how often they were not annoyed because an issue went against their expectations. The majority (26) felt that sometimes it happened; seven said it happens very often. The majority of the participants (35 out of 55) got upset during the covid-19 period. Cronbach reveals 0.684, confirming that participants were indeed affected emotionally during the COVID-19 period.

Ability to control oneself during the pandemic 

In the 2 nd question, participants were asked how often they felt that they could not control the essential things in their lives. The majority (23) felt that sometimes it happened; seven said it happens very often. The majority of the participants (37 out of 55) got upset during the covid-19 period. Cronbach reveals 0.655, confirming that participants were indeed affected emotionally during the COVID-19 period.

Nervousness and Stress During Pandemic 

In the 3 rd question, participants were asked whether they were stressed or nervous during the pandemic period. The majority (17) felt that sometimes it happened, 18 said it happens very often. The majority of the participants (43 out of 55) got upset during the covid-19 period. Cronbach reveals 0.672, confirming that participants were indeed affected emotionally during the COVID-19 period.

Confidence in Solving Issues During Pandemic 

In the 4 th question, participants were asked whether they had the confidence to solve their problems whenever they emerged during the pandemic. The majority (18) felt that very-often it happened, 17 said it happens sometimes, and 18 it happens reasonably often. The majority of the participants (53 out of 55) confident during the covid-19 period. Cronbach reveals 0.754, confirming that participants were indeed affected emotionally during the COVID-19 period.

Feelings that Things Are Out of Control During Pandemic 

In the 5 th question, participants were asked whether they felt things were not going their way during the pandemic. The majority (35) felt that sometimes it happened. Seven said it happens very often. The majority of the participants (37 out of 55) were out of control during the covid-19 period. Cronbach reveals 0.714, confirming that participants were indeed affected emotionally during the COVID-19 period.

Inability to Cope During Pandemic 

In the 6 th question, participants were asked how often they could not cope during the pandemic. The majority (18) felt that it happened fairly often; 16 said it happened sometimes. The majority of the participants (38 out of 55) could not cope during the covid-19 period. Cronbach reveals 0.652, confirming that participants were indeed affected emotionally during the COVID-19 period.

Ability to Control Irritation During Pandemic 

In the 7 th question, participants were asked whether they could control irritation during the period. The majority (32) felt that sometimes they could prevent irritation; one said it often happens. The majority of the participants (47 out of 55) got upset during the covid-19 period. Cronbach reveals 0.747, confirming that participants were indeed affected emotionally during the COVID-19 period.

Participants on Top of Things During Pandemic 

In the 8 th question, participants were asked whether they felt they were under control when things went haywire during the pandemic. The majority (28) felt that sometimes it happened; 14 said it happens reasonably often. The majority of the participants (45 out of 55) got upset during the covid-19 period. Cronbach reveals 0.739, confirming that participants were indeed affected emotionally during the COVID-19 period.

Angered by Things Out of Control During Pandemic 

In the 9 th question, participants were asked whether they were outraged because their issues were getting out of hand. The majority (26) felt that sometimes it happened; seven said it happens very often. The majority of the participants (35 out of 55) got upset during the covid-19 period. Cronbach reveals 0.700, confirming that participants were indeed affected emotionally during the COVID-19 period.

Issues Piling Up and Cannot Take control 

In the 10 th question, participants were asked whether they felt their problems were piling up and that the problems were quickly falling out of their control. The majority (17) felt that sometimes it happened, 12 said it happens very often, and 13 said it happened fairly often. The majority of the participants (35 out of 55) got upset during the covid-19 period. Cronbach reveals 0.703s, confirming that participants were indeed affected emotionally during the COVID-19 period.

References

Chanishvili, K. (2020). Covid19 Pandemics, Distance Teaching and development of Critical 

Thinking through Moodle Platform.  INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION , 43. 

Liang, Y., Zheng, H., Cheng, J., Zhou, Y., & Liu, Z. (2020). Associations between 

posttraumatic stress symptoms, creative thinking, and trait resilience among Chinese adolescents exposed to the Lushan Earthquake.  The Journal of Creative Behavior . 

Ulfa, K. (2020). Study English From Home as The Physical Distancing Against of The 

Coronavirus Pandemic.  Journal of Linguistics, English Teaching, and Education ,  1 (2), 43-48. 

Qian-Hui, S. U. N., & Ying, S. U. (2020). Psychological crisis intervention for college students during the novel coronavirus infection epidemic.  Psychiatry Research , 113043.