COVID-19 and Lockdown: Anxiety Levels and Sleep Difficulties among School Students in Saudi Arabia
Keywords:
COVID-19, anxiety, sleep, mental health, school studentsAbstract
The researchers in this study aim to assess the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis on the anxiety level and sleep difficulties of the students at the International Indian School Jubail (IISJ), in Saudi Arabia. The study sample comprised of 400 students (200 boys and 200 girls) selected from the senior secondary sections of the school, studying in grades ninth to 12th. The Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and the Athens Insomnia Scale tests were administered to the students using Google Forms survey during the midst of the Coronavirus outbreak from June to September 2020. Results indicated that there was a significantly high level of anxiety and subsequently sleep difficulties among the students. Girls were more anxious than boys and consequently faced difficulty in sleep induction than boys. Moreover, staying awake during nights was substantially high during the lockdown among girls. Our study outcomes demonstrated the prevalence of varied sleep manifestations among our participants and noticeable side effects of lockdown period on the quality of sleep. Correlation established between sleep difficulties and anxiety levels in boys and girls displayed those students with more sleep difficulties are having higher anxiety levels than students with fewer sleep difficulties. The findings of this study showed that there was a greater prevalence of negative impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of the participants. Such disruptions can hamper the learning ability, motivation, and concentration of students, which are successful pointers in accomplishing educational goals.
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