Anxiety level among students of different college and universities in India during lock down in connection to the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVES: COVID-19 incidence became a pandemic immediately after its origin and spread. Apart from death because of coronavirus infection, the pandemic brought unbearable psychological pressure to all. We assessed the psychological pressure on college and university students in India through cluster sampling. METHODS: The students responded (n = 209) to an online questionnaire following the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) with some other basic information. RESULTS: According to GAD-7 scoring, we found the respondent students had severe anxiety (1.44%), moderately severe anxiety (14.35%), moderate anxiety (36.36%) and mild anxiety (47.85%). Following HAM-A scoring, anxiety level among the students could be scaled as severe (0.96%), high (4.31%), moderate (13.40%) and mild anxiety (34.93%) level. Age of the students was a confounding factor (p = 0.049, HAM-A) of experiencing anxiety, students <20 years of age were more anxious. We found female students to be more anxious than the males following the HAM-A scoring tool. Academic delays (R(2) = 0.996, p = 0.036) and impact on daily life (R(2) = 0.996, p = 0.117) were positively associated with anxiety symptoms, while social support was marginally correlated (R(2) = 0.726, p = 0.069) with the anxiety level. CONCLUSIONS: As the study found almost all the students are experiencing anxiety because of the current pandemic situation, continuous observation of psychological health for all is recommended as well as establishing psychological intervention during the preparedness phase.