and well-being (Deasy et al., 2014) and needs prevention and early intervention measures.Young people, particularly university students, are at greater risk for psychological distress in health emergencies (Bert et al., 2020) and traumatic events (Villani et al., 2021). Previous studies have reported that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, university students experienced mental health challenges (Mudenda, 2021;Cao et al., 2020) and high levels of psychological distress (Hughes et al., 2022;Akbar & Aisyawati, 2021). Psychological distress was identified as the most prevalent mental health problem for university students (Gibbons et al., 2019). Anxiety, depression, and stress are among the psychological issues university students experience (Waseem et al., 2020;Khan et al., 2020;Aruta et al., 2022). Restrictions could have caused these psychological problems during pandemic-related lockdown (Alzueta et al., 2021).Psychological distress poses a threat to the safety and well-being of university students. It is linked with risk behaviors and physical illness (Deasy et al., 2014), reduced students' academic performance (Mudenda, 2021), andThe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) brought about a pandemic that negatively impacted individuals' mental health (Sameer et al., 2020). It led to the experience of psychological stress, fear (Arvidsdotter et al., 2016), accumulated anxiety, and worries about health. The pandemic has led to significant psychological distress for everyone. Psychological distress (PD) is a state of poor psychological well-being, characterized by undifferentiated mixtures of symptoms extending from depression and anxiety symptoms (Drapeau et al., 2012). Its occurrence is detrimental to mental health