The Impact Analysis of Psychological Issues and Pandemic-Related Variables on Ecuadorian University Students during COVID-19

Abstract

The study aims to find the impact of some life circumstances on psychological and pan-demic-related problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the European student’s union survey of 2020, the research has negative emotions as the primary variable of interest. Other analyzed variables are pandemic-related behaviors and home infrastructure. A total of 1100 Ecuadorian university students let us conclude that those with moderate levels of emotional issues and high family income profiles suffered less during the lockdown. Negative emotions and home infrastructure sometimes depend on demographic factors like gender or family income. The multiple regression analysis shows that pandemic-related behaviors are positively correlated with negative feelings, which is the opposite of home infrastructure, which is negatively related to negative emotions—the CFA and SEM help to confirm the validity and reliability test of the questionnaire. The results let us understand the current university students’ situation and the public-related policies to enhance by filling the research gap and facing the scarce related literature in Ecuador.