Investigating the mediating effect of anxiety and fear of a third wave of COVID-19 among students in South India

The COVID-19 pandemic, which is a global health emergency, has potentiality had a serious impact on students’ mental health. An online cross-sectional survey design that included 534 senior year college students from South India revealed a significant and direct positive effect of the fear of a third wave of COVID-19 on academic anxiety which in turn showed a significant and direct positive effect on COVID-19 burnout. Academic anxiety was also found to mediate the relationship between the fear of a third wave of COVID-19 and subsequent cases of burnout. The study suggested measures to be taken by policy makers for the broader interest and wellbeing of student communities. Managerial implications, limitations and future studies were also examined in the paper.