The Psychological Impact of Online Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic. A Survey on a Sample of Italian Undergraduates

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic created a risk to all educational system levels, ranging from primary to university grades, due to social restriction measures of isolation worldwide. Switching from the traditional educational system to Online Learning (OL) was challenging for many undergraduates due to the lack of Internet connectivity or digital devices and a suitable home study environment. Therefore, a survey study on a sample of 1069 undergraduates (78.5% female; Mage = 21.72; SD = 4.05) investigated the interrelation among psychological skills for managing learning habits and strategies, academic achievement, social interaction, and mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic was performed. Results showed a significant effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on study variables related to online learning due to individual differences in self-efficacy, academic motivation, and anxiety. Moreover, university students reported higher physical and mental health problems since the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant psychological impact. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.