Examining Family Communication and the Psychological Impact of COVID-19 on Undergraduate Students in Kosovo

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to examine the relationship between family communication and the psychological impact of COVID-19 on university students in Kosovo. A total of 765 university students across Kosovo responded to an online survey assessing anxiety, family communication, and mental health impact of COVID-19 through the GAD-7 questionnaire, FACES-IV, and self-rated mental health, respectively. Descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, and regression analyses were conducted. Anxiety was reported by 41.3% of the students, and every fourth student had a perception of poor mental health (25%). Students who reported the most severe levels of anxiety also reported the lowest levels of family communication; severity of anxiety increased with a decrease in family communication. The COVID-19 infection seem to have impacted family communication; however, more in-depth studies, including cultural context factors, are needed to thoroughly examine changes in family communication dynamics and the impact of relevant factors on student’s mental health.KEYWORDS: Anxietyfamily communicationKosovomental healthstudents Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThe authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, or publication of this article.