Emotional support received moderates academic stress and mental well-being in a sample of Afghan university students amid COVID-19

Emotional support received moderates academic stress and mental well-being in a sample of Afghan university students amid COVID-19

Background: Academic stress experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered high levels of anxiety and depression and other severe mental health issues among university students around the globe. In Afghanistan, there is a paucity of research on the academic and mental health issues of Afghan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of social psychiatry Vol. 68; no. 8; pp. 1748 - 1755
Main Authors: Green, Zane Asher, Faizi, Farkhonda, Jalal, Rahmatullah, Zadran, Zarifa
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01-12-2022
Sage Publications Ltd
Subjects:
College students
Colleges & universities
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Emotional support
Humans
Mental Health
Moderation
Pandemics
Social support
Stress
Students - psychology
Universities
University students
Well being
COVID-19
social support
mental well-being
Academic stress
Afghan university students
emotional support received
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Summary:Background: Academic stress experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered high levels of anxiety and depression and other severe mental health issues among university students around the globe. In Afghanistan, there is a paucity of research on the academic and mental health issues of Afghan university students and none pertaining to their academic stress and mental well-being amid the pandemic. Aim: This research examines the potential stress-buffering role of emotional support received between academic stress and mental well-being in a sample of Afghan university students during the COVID-19 outbreak. Method: The study sample comprised 508 Afghan university students. An online survey was developed for data collection. Model 1 of the PROCESS macro was used to conduct the moderation analysis. Results: These indicate that moderate and high levels of emotional support received may protect against the negative effects of higher levels of academic stress on mental well-being. Conclusion: This research makes an important contribution to the literature on social support. It may be inferred from the results that Afghan university students who experience academic stress, but have strong emotional support are able to attain greater mental well-being during the COVID-19 outbreak as compared to those with weak emotional support. Results may encourage mental health practitioners, university counselors, education administrators, and faculty to jointly formulate strategies for offering emotional support to Afghan university students.
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ISSN:0020-7640
1741-2854
DOI:10.1177/00207640211057729