Psychological Experience of University Students in COVID-19 Lockdown: A Qualitative Research

Authors

Dr. Shahnila Tariq

Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Psychology, School of Professional Psychology, University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

Muhammad Farooq

Lecturer, Department of Sociology, University of Central Punjab, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

Dr. Subha Malik

Assistant Professor/ Incharge, Department of Gender & Development Studies, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35484/pssr.2020(4-III)57

Keywords

COVID-19 Lockdown Psychological Experience University Students

Abstract

The rapid spread of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is causing stress and challenges for people from all fields of life. This pressure also affected the students due to lockdown in country and closing of educational institutes in Pakistan. The objective of the present study is to explore the psychological experience of university students during COVID-19 lockdown. Using a descriptive phenomenological approach, 20 students were selected from private and public universities, with equal distribution based on gender. Telephonic interviews were conducted and data were analyzed by using Colaizzi’s 7-step method. It can be concluded that during the lockdown, students experienced mixed emotions. In the initial stage, positive emotions were dominant but negative emotions appeared gradually. Use of coping strategies for adaptation and adjustment played a significant role in maintaining the students’ mental health.