Cognitive failures, generalized anxiety symptoms, and perception about the COVID-19 pandemic in university students

• Autor(a) principal: Holanda Júnior, Francisco Wilson Nogueira
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: Lopes, Fívia de Araújo, Silva "In Memorian", Lillian Karla Felix da, Fernández-Calvo , Bernardino
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Debates em Psiquiatria (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://revistardp.org.br/revista/article/view/742
• topic: ansiedade; COVID-19; pandemia; falhas cognitivas; estudantes; anxiety; COVID- 19; pandemics; cognitive failures; students; ansiedad; COVID-19; pandemia; fallas cognitivas; estudiantes

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated anxious behavior in the general population, with particular effects on university students, a segment of the population that is known to be vulnerable to clinical changes in mental health. Complaints of cognitive difficulties are notable deleterious effects in this context, despite the need for more information on how the COVID-19 pandemic is related to anxiety and failures in cognitive functioning in university students. Objective: This study evaluated the relationship between cognitive failures, generalized anxiety symptoms, and the perception of the COVID-19 pandemic in university students. Method: The sample consisted of 111 participants, whose answers to the questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation, and non-parametric analysis of variance. Results: There was a strong positive association between the expression of cognitive failures and generalized anxiety. These variables were also associated with the perception of the pandemic: a more negative impact perception was associated with a higher level of cognitive failures and generalized anxiety. About 50% of the sample had severe symptoms of generalized anxiety. Conclusion: In general, these findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has had deleterious effects on university students regarding cognitive failures and generalized anxiety. These indicators may be important to implement interventions that mitigate academic difficulties and reduce the risk of academic dropout.