Effects of Testing Positive for COVID-19 or Being in Close Contact with Someone Positive for COVID-19 on Anxiety Levels in University Students

Abstract

With the rise of anxiety levels in college students because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is becoming increasingly more important to study this phenomenon. This study investigates average anxiety scores between students in close contact with a positive COVID-19 case and students who are positive cases for COVID-19. It is hypothesized that there will be a significant difference between the two groups due to each’s different experiences. Anxiety scores were collected from students using the HADS survey. Then, a two-sample t-test assuming unequal variances (n=99) was performed to determine if a significant difference exists between the groups. Results revealed that there was no statistically significant difference (p=0.368). Despite this, a slightly higher mean anxiety score for close contacts (5.8) was analyzed from the test compared to positive cases (5.128). Future studies in this topic are encouraged due to its importance and the limited research involving it.