Technostress, anxiety, and depression among university students: A report from Paraguay

Background: Although technologies (including information, e-learning, and communication) have been daily employed by University students in the last years, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a considerable increase in their use. Technostress is a modern term referring to levels of stress caused by the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of social psychiatry 2022-08, Vol.68 (5), p.1063-1070
Main Authors: Torales, Julio, Torres-Romero, Anthon Daniel, Di Giuseppe, Matías Franco, Rolón-Méndez, Elías René, Martínez-López, Patricia Lorena, Heinichen-Mansfeld, Katja Victoria, Barrios, Iván, O’Higgins, Marcelo, Almirón-Santacruz, José, Melgarejo, Osvaldo, Ruiz Díaz, Noelia, Castaldelli-Maia, João Mauricio, Ventriglio, Antonio
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Anxiety - epidemiology
Anxiety - etiology
Anxiety disorders
Anxiety Disorders - epidemiology
College students
Colleges & universities
Coping
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression - epidemiology
Depression - etiology
Distance learning
Female
Generalized anxiety disorder
Humans
Internet
Male
Mental depression
Pandemics
Paraguay - epidemiology
Questionnaires
Sociodemographics
Students
Technology
Universities
University students
Well being
Women
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Summary:Background: Although technologies (including information, e-learning, and communication) have been daily employed by University students in the last years, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a considerable increase in their use. Technostress is a modern term referring to levels of stress caused by the prolonged exposure to technology. Aim: The aim of this study is to assess the technostress and related anxiety and depression among Paraguayan University students, describing their sociodemographic characteristics and relevant associations. Methods: A cross-sectional and descriptive study has been conducted. Participants were recruited through an Internet-based survey. Technostress, anxiety, and depression have been assessed with the Technostress Questionnaire (TechQ), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) questionnaire, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2), respectively. Results: A total of 378 participants were included, 74.1% of whom were women. According to the TechQ scores, 47.4% of the participants reported a low/moderate level of technostress whereas 5.2% showed severe scores. About 58.5% of participants reported a GAD-7 score ⩾10, meeting diagnostic criteria for generalized anxiety. About 60.3% scored ⩾3 at the PHQ-2 reporting significant levels of depression. Technostress has been significantly associated with levels of anxiety (p 
ISSN:0020-7640
1741-2854
DOI:10.1177/00207640221099416