(PS1-A22) Covid-related Anxiety Predicts Poor Physical Health Beyond Academic-related Stress

Research demonstrates that academic-related stress is ubiquitously experienced by university students and may directly contribute to poor health outcomes, including increased somatic complaints and greater risk for poorer physical health (Arthur, 1998; Torsheim & Wold, 2001; Klainin-Yobas et al., 2013). The impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has contributed globally to experienced stressors and mental health, placing university students at even greater risk for negative health outcomes (Rogowska et al., 2020; Zhang & Ma, 2020); however, few studies have examined the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical health. The present study therefore examined the effect of COVID-related cognitive distress and impairment on physical health beyond the role of academic-related stress among university students.

A total of 253 university students (M_age = 19.1 years; 76.7% female) completed measures of somatic physical health complaints (Cohen-Hoberman Inventory of Physical Symptoms; Cohen & Hoberman, 1983), symptoms of academic-related stress (Student Academic Stress Scale; Busari, 2011), and COVID-19-related cognitive distress and impairment (COVID-19 Adult Symptom & Psychological Experience Questionnaire; Ladouceur, 2020).

Academic-related stressors (β = .574, p < .001) were entered in the first step of a linear hierarchical regression model and significantly predicted somatic physical health complaints (R² = .33, F(1, 251) = 123.53, p < .001). In the second step, COVID-19-related cognitive distress and impairment  (β = .201, p = .003) significantly predicted somatic physical health complaints beyond academic-related stressors (ΔR² = .02, ΔF(1, 250) = 8.84, p = .003). The overall model significantly predicted somatic physical health complaints (total R² = .35, F(2, 250) = 68.11, p < .001).

Findings indicate that COVID-related cognitive distress and impairment may contribute to negative health outcomes beyond the effect of established psychological factors such as academic-related stress. Treatments targeting COVID-19-related stress and impairment may prove useful in reducing physical health symptoms. Future directions of research and limitations of current findings will be discussed.