Investigating the impact of Covid-19 related stress and anxiety on distance learning perception

The purpose of this paper is to understand how high education students perceived distance learning during Covid-19 and whether stress and career-related anxiety impacted their perception. Data are collected from a survey of 1592 students from various Italian Universities and analysed using exploratory factor analysis and partial least squares-based structural equation modelling. The results show a concomitant relationship between student stress and future career anxiety. Besides, anxiety for future career and stress due to fear of contagion do not have a negative impact on distance learning perception of the students. In contrast, a negative relationship is found when considering the effect of stress in relationships and academic life.