Indian Journal of Health Social Work
Knowledge, Attitute, Perceived Stress and Psychological Problems of the UndergraduateUniversity Students in Relation to SARS-COV-2 Pandemic: A Descriptive Study from India
Vasudha Chakraborty1, Dipanjan Bhattacharjee2, Ranjan Biswas3
1Student, B.A.LLB (Hons.), School of Law, Manipal University Jaipur 2Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatric Social Work, Central Institute of Psychiatry, Ranchi. 3Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Bankura Medical College, Bankura, West Bengal
Correspondence: Vasudha Chakraborty, email id: vasudhachakraborty@gmail.comABSTRACT
Background: This study aimed to explore the knowledge, attitude, perceived stress and psychological problems associated with the SARS-CoV-2 of the undergraduate students of a private university located in the Jaipur city, India. This study also aimed to assess the implications of academic discipline and academic year of the undergraduate students on the knowledge, attitude, perceived stress and psychological problems associated with the SARS-CoV-2. Methods: An online survey of 93 undergraduate students was conducted by using the Google Forms. Mails were sent to a total of 244 students and 126 of them responded. Of which, 93 students had filled up the Google Form correctly and their responses were included in the study. The measures were ‘Socio-demographic Data Sheet’, ‘Questionnaire on Knowledge and Attitude Related to SARS-CoV-2 ’, ‘Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS)’ and ‘Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 Items (DASS-21). Results: Majority of the students was females, from engineering or science background, hailing from urban areas and majority of them had adequate knowledge and positive attitude about SARS- CoV-2. Academic discipline did not have significant implication on the knowledge and attitude, but academic year had. Students of commerce or management were significantly higher coronavirus anxiety than other two disciplines. However, they were not seen to have clinically significant psychological problems. Conclusion: Academic year and discipline of the undergraduate students can significantly influence the knowledge, attitude and level of anxiety associated with SARS-CoV-2.
