Mental Health and Time Management Behavior among Students During COVID-19 Pandemic: Towards Persuasive Technology Design

Abstract

The study explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ mental health in higher education while capturing their perceptions and attitudes towards time management. The aim was to examine relationships between stress, anxiety, and specific time management-related factors. Considering possible differences between genders and degree levels, we developed five structural equation models (SEMs) to delineate these relationships. Results of a large-scale study of 502 participants show that students suffered from stress and two types of COVID-19-related anxiety: disease and consequences. Students’ preference for organization was the only factor that significantly promoted their perceived control over time, which contributes to reducing stress, hence anxiety. However, female students reported higher stress and anxiety levels than male students. Graduate students reported higher anxiety levels related to the consequences of the pandemic compared to undergrads. To promote students’ preference for organization, we map the three categories of organization to corresponding persuasive strategies which could be used in the design of persuasive interventions. This creates an opportunity for developing technological interventions to improve students’ perceived control over time, thus reduce stress and anxiety.