Stress, coping strategies and academic experience in university students in the COVID-19 pandemic times. The experiences of Nicaragua and Chile.

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this study is to analyze the stress, coping strategies and the academic experience of students from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua (UNAN-Managua) and students from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (UC) during the first semester of 2020 in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method: The qualitative approach was used to carry out the study, which allowed to describe the personal experience of the participants; a phenomenological design was used, with a cross-sectional and descriptive scope. The sample consisted of 16 students between the ages of 18 and 27, of whom 8 belong to UNAN-Managua and 8 to UC. A semi-structured interview was applied, which was prepared based on the objectives of the study and the analysis categories.

Results: UC students exhibited more severe stress manifestations than UNAN-Managua students, like anxiety, depression, and ideas of death. The main pandemic coping strategies adopted by both groups of participants, at the individual and family level, were to follow the health measures recommended by the health authorities. In the case of Chile, a mandatory quarantine regime was established while no internal mobility restrictions were established in Nicaragua.

Finally, the health contingencies of each country were reflected in the development of the first semester in the academic institutions to which the participants belonged, the UNAN-Managua students received classes under the modality by meeting, instead, UC students studied online.