Unemployment Anxiety in Light of the Coronavirus 2019 Pandemic and Its Relationship to Psychological Reassurance among Graduate Students at Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University

Abstract

This research explored the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on increasing the unemployment anxiety levels of graduate students at Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University. To fulfill the objective of this study, 120 graduate students at the mentioned university were selected based on the convenience sampling method as the participants of the study. Sixty participants lost their jobs during the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic, but the rest had jobs. After determining the participants’ job conditions, the researchers administered Zung’s (1971) anxiety questionnaire via e-mail, Telegram, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, WeChat, Google Meetings, and other social media platforms. One hundred and seven students (56 employed and 51 unemployed) completed the questionnaire and sent it back to the researchers. The parametric results divulged a notable difference between the anxiety level of the employed and unemployed groups, implying that the unemployed participants had much more anxiety during the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic. The implications of this research can be compelling for governments to take practical actions during fatal disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic.