University students and home lockdown. Sociopersonal factors that influence their levels of anxiety and empathy

Abstract

The closure of educational centers, including universities, and the order of a state of alarm, with the consequent lockdown of the population, has affected all children, adolescents and young people in Spanish territory. However, while the understandable concern for the emotional state of children has been evident by institutions and society in general, less attention has received the mental health of confined university students. In this article we explore the levels of anxiety and empathy in a sample of n = 124 university students, residents of Aragon, using the Beck-II Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and Baron-Cohen y Wheelwright's Empathy Quotient (EQ) scales), and the socio-personal factors that are influencing them during the state of alarm. To do this, after a preliminary descriptive analysis and through correlations, we apply a structural equation model (SEM). The results show, on the one hand, that the sex of the interviewee, the type of household (people with whom they live) and the increase in TV consumption influence anxiety levels. On the other hand, empathy levels are conditioned by the mother's work situation during confinement and having to help other people outside the home.