The Role of Spirituality and Resilience in Predicting COVID-19-related Anxiety in College Students

Objective:

 The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic increased the anxiety and stress of many students, and affected their lives. The present study aims to investigate the role of spirituality and resilience in predicting COVID-19-related anxiety in college students

Methods:

 This is a descriptive and correlational study. The study population consists of all students of Tarbiat Modarres University in Tehran, Iran in the academic year 2020-2021. Of these, 260 students were selected by a convenience sampling method. The data were collected using Coronavirus Anxiety Scale, Spirituality Questionnaire, and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Data analysis was performed in SPSS v.24 software using Pearson correlation test and multiple regression analysis. 

Results:

 The spirituality components of self-awareness (r=-0.256), the importance of spiritual beliefs in life (r=-0.229), spiritual practices (r=-0.373), and spiritual needs (r=-0.280) and the total score of spirituality (r=-0.286) and resilience (r= -0.522) had a significant negative correlation with COVID-19-related anxiety. They predicted 45% of the changes in COVID-19-related anxiety (P<0.01).

Conclusion:

 The college students with higher levels of spirituality and resilience can experience less anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is recommended that medical staff and psychologists provide resilience training and various spiritual programs during the pandemic for students, even for those who are recovering from the COVID-19.