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

Authors: Khaled Ahmed Abdel-Al Ibrahim; Zaheeh Saleh Mohammad Zaitoun; Bemnet Ajanil
Journal: Education Research International
 (2022)

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## 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.


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## Body

## 1. Preliminaries

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 is by far the fatal health catastrophe that has occurred in modern times. COVID-19 has had excessive repercussions on a global scale, in terms of both the economy and society, as well as health [1]. Concerns regarding the general population’s mental and physical health have increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic [2]. Correspondingly, there has been a dramatic expansion in the number of studies conducted to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 on psychological well-being. Because the consequences are complicated, ever-changing, and continuing, a consistent study is essential to investigate the scope of the issue and locate possible protective variables. In light of the considerations mentioned above, the current research investigated two questions: (1) did a person’s level of psychological toughness accurately predict their mental health during the epidemic? And (2) did higher levels of mental toughness moderate (reduce) the risk of experiencing negative psychological effects due to COVID-19? This includes the examination of the repercussions of job instability (i.e., job insecurity and loss), which study has recognized as the key sources of both societal and individual concerns. This problem stems from occupational inconsistency affecting individuals and society[3].One of the most critical concerns for health officials is how the epidemic affects people’s mental health worldwide. The prevalence of anxiousness, depression, and other forms of psychological discomfort has increased in many places [4]. One important psychological factor, which is influenced considerably by COVID-19, is anxiety. Anxiety was once thought of as a psychological aspect; however, it is now realized that anxiety relates to “the subjective emotions of tensions, apprehensions, uneasiness, and fears connected with an activation of the autonomic nervous systems.” Anxiety has been generally recognized as one of the most significant psychological factors. Anxiety may be felt in various social or learning situations and is connected to feelings of dread and worry. According to Zhang [5], language anxiety is the psychological tension that the learners go through in conducting the learning tasks. In fact, a relation between language learning anxiety and their attainment has been confirmed. Anxiety that was produced by unemployment as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic was high among people, and this unemployment damaged many families.According to Paul and Moser [6], a growing incidence of unemployment contributes to a rise in the prevalence of mental health problems, leading to increased cases of suffering and fatalities [7]. Those without work have a greater risk of taking their own lives [8, 9]. Individuals who have problems with their mental health almost usually suffer more than other people during times of emergency [10]. People who lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 epidemic had behavioral health disorder rates at least 50% higher than the national average [11]. Additionally, compared to persons who do not have mental health disorders, those with one have a higher risk of contracting the COVID-19 infections, increasing their likelihood of passing away [12].Unemployment can generate humiliation and hopelessness, while it may foster a sense of community and a dedication to serving the greater good [13]. In addition, having a job may provide a person with a feeling of self-esteem, dignity, a purpose in life, a positive identity, and social ties [14]. According to the findings presented by Banerjee and Duflo [15], “work is not always what comes after all the other issues have been overcome and individuals are “ready” but is part of the healing process itself.” To put it another way, folks whose lives have been negatively affected by the financial difficulties caused by a disaster require work, not ongoing handouts.An extended period of unemployment may negatively impact individuals’ physical and emotional health [16, 17]. Furthermore, macroeconomic crises intensify the relationship between unemployment and worse health, such as the cumulative impact of population health. This includes measurements of the population’s health as a whole [18]. Because of this, persistently high unemployment rates, such as the one we see now, constitute a significant threat to public health. This investigation discovered the influences of COVID-19 on the unemployment anxiety level of graduate students at Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University.


## 2. Review of the Literature

The COVID-19 pandemic, the most intense general health problem in 2019, has extremely influenced the medical health service systems worldwide and caused numerous deaths in all countries [1]. This virus, SARS-CoV-2, was first found in Wuhan, the Hubei province’s capital city, China, and quickly spread to other places [19]. After adopting a set of strict protocols in China, such as mask-wearing and quarantine, there has been a remarkable improvement in controlling the COVID-19 outbreak [20–22]. It was estimated that the number of infected cases decreased from the 19th of November to the 21st of November 2020, as there were only 11 new infected cases [23]. Some psychologists stated that the recovered people from COVID-19 suffered from post-COVID-19 effects like posttraumatic depression, anxiety, and so on [24–27].The COVID-19 virus is the worst health disaster that has happened recently. Based on the recent information, at least 190 million cases and 4.2 million deaths were identified worldwide in 2021 [1]. COVID-19 has social, economical, and healthy consequences that can continue even after the COVID-19 end [28–30]. The measures taken to control the outbreak of the COVID-19 resulted in interrupting people’s daily life, increasing the rate of unemployment, and changing the norms of social communications [31, 33].The worldwide impact of the COVID-19 on mental health has one of the topmost significances for health authorities. Psychological distress, despair, and anxiety have got more widespread in numerous areas [4, 33]. In a worldwide sample of 1,612 individuals from China, Italy, Australia, Iran, Norway, Ecuador, and the United States, Passavanti et al. [34] discovered indications of depression in 68.7% of the respondents, among which 40.1% were in the moderate to severe ranges. In the same sample, 44.7% showed some anxiety levels, with 39.5% conforming to the moderate to severe ranges. In China, 52.8% of the participants showed the occurrence of depressing symptomatology, while the occurrence of anxiety was seen in 46.7% of the respondents [12, 35, 36].COVID-19 has increased the anxiety of the students. Anxiety is a psychological concept, generally explained by psychologists as an ambiguous fear, which can affect students’ academic performances [37–39]. The experimental studies examining the effects of anxiety on learners’ performances indicated that anxiety has terrible effects on language learning. Psychologists identified three main kinds of anxiety, situation-specific anxiety, trait anxiety, and state anxiety, which are among the most famous kinds of anxiety. First, trait anxiety refers to the global or general anxiety and students’ constant feelings of anxiety in different situations. Trait anxiety refers to a relatively fixed disposition based on which the individuals judge a wide range of situational events as naturally threatening [40, 41]. Another sort of anxiety is state anxiety, which refers to feelings of stress and fears that the students experience when they face threats. It is a temporary anxiety, a response to a stimulus that causes anxiety. State anxiety is felt concerning specific incidents or acts. In addition, situation-specific anxiety is a kind of anxiety in which the students are anxious in specific contexts. It is a constant feeling of anxiety when encountering a specific situation. The focus of this study is on unemployment anxiety.The Coronavirus 2019 pandemic has increased the unemployment rate in many countries worldwide [42–45]. Unemployment is a foremost cause of pressure, tension, and stress, mainly when the economy is in a bad situation, and there are few job opportunities. In the literature on tension and stress, unemployment is regarded as one of the top distinct and objective life happenings that necessitate some psychological or social modification and adjustment on the part of the individuals [46]. A public description of the association between unemployment and psychological healthiness that was accepted in the present research is the stress process model [47, 48]. This theoretical model focuses on the negative impacts of unemployment on stress and anxiety. Based on this model, unemployment can increase the possibility of experiencing stress-producing agents such as inadequate chances, low self-regard, limited access to security and privileges, and a lack of resources [49, 50]. That is, unemployment probably generates some losses, such as those of social relations and fiscal steadiness, and these losses can be worrying. Therefore, unemployment boosts the risks of psychological health impairments.The present study adopts the Extended Parallel Processing Model (EPPM), also known as Threat Management or Fear Management. The EPPM model considers the specific alterations in the active participation of people while reacting to health-threatening severe events. The EPPM model is based on a set of ideas and principles drawn from the fear-acquired drive model [51], the parallel process model [52], and the protection motivation theory. EPPM is defined as a synthesis of these three earlier models PMT [53, 54]. The fears-acquired drive model developed by Hovland et al. [51] considers both adaptive and maladaptive reactions. The primary premise of the EPPM model draws upon the theory entailing that human behaviors can be predicated through learning about one’s previous reactions and the incentives that are congruent with the behaviorist theory. When people face a particular danger, they feel scared. Such a feeling is natural and healthy since it motivates to take action to alleviate the distressing feeling of fear. The EPPM model states that when people face a lesser degree of fear, they are not motivated to take action to alleviate such a feeling of fear. EPPM model is related to self-efficacy, defined as the belief system people adopt as a self-defensive mechanism. The self-defensive mechanisms include social isolation, social distance, donning protective masks, and frequently washing their hands with hand sanitizers. This mechanism can also be called “response effectiveness,” which describes the degree to which people believe adhering to the instructions would slow down or stop the spread of the infection. An effective campaign should balance the threat perception and the efficacy of the reaction; this means that high levels should signal that the risk is recognized but seen as being quickly and readily averted [55].Some empirical researches were performed to scrutinize the impacts of the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic on the health condition of people in different countries. Rajkumar [56] conducted a literature review on COVID-19 and mental and phycological health. This showed that signs of depression, anxiety, and self-reported stress were the prevalent psychological consequences of the COVID-19. The literature review also showed that anxiety and stress were regularly associated with disturbed sleep quality [57]. Rajkumar [56] indicated that structural features (e.g., support services) and individual (e.g., age and mental health) moderated and mediated risks. Pre-COVID literature identified more risk agents (e.g., preexisting depression and negative affective temperament) that could exacerbate the adverse psychiatric conditions experienced (e.g., feeling of desperation and high suicide risks) [58]. Illustratively, because of the stress related to the COVID-19 outbreak, sick people with preexisting mental and psychological illnesses were disposed to relapse or new episodes of their disorders [59].Irfan et al. [60] examined the influences of the COVID-19 on the anxiety levels among Malaysian university students. Also, they investigated the factors related to the anxiety levels in Malaysia country. Using an attitude questionnaire, the researchers gathered information from 959 students from 16 diverse universities. The Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale 7-statement (GAD-7) was applied to determine the anxiety level of the students. Later, the researchers used the ordered logit models to compute the odds ratios (OR) and agents connected to anxiety levels. The researchers discovered that 12.3% of participants were normal, while 30.5% had mild anxiety levels, 31.1% of the students had moderate anxiety levels, and 26.1% had high anxiety levels. Astonishingly, just 37.2% of the participants were conscious of the universities’ mental health supports. Nevertheless, the participants above 20 years (OR = 1.30), ethnicity Chinese (OR = 1.72), had any other diseases (OR = 2.0), reduced family income (OR = 1.71), and more time spent watching COVID-19 -related news (OR = 1.52), and infected relatives or friends (OR = 1.62) were risk agents for having anxiety among the participants.Posel et al. [61] evaluated the effects of losing a job and job abandonment on the psychological health of people in South Africa within the COVID-19 period. The information for the research came from the first and the second waves of the general survey, the National Income Dynamics-COVID-19 Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM), performed in May-June and July-August 2020, respectively. The data for NIDS-CRAM were drawn from a previous general survey performed in 2017 that had gathered information on psychological health. The questions on depressing signs within the COVID-19 disaster were asked in Wave 2 of NIDS-CRAM, applying a 2-question version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2). The PHQ-2 responses were reformed into four groups creating the ordered logit regression models that were the most suitable for measuring the effects of the employment condition on depressing indications. The investigation discovered that adults who retained paid employment in the COVID-19 lockdown had meaningfully lower anxiety scores than adults who lost their jobs. The advantages of employment are also amassed over time, underlining the impacts of unemployment duration on psychological health. The results indicated no psychological health benefits to being furloughed, but paid leave had a tangible and vital helpful impact on adult people’s mental and psychological health.Akin-Odanye et al. [62] carried out a mixed-method study to examine the issues related to the mental impacts of the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic on students’ fiscal steadiness, interpersonal relations, and worries connected to attaining instructional milestones. The information encompassed several closed and open-ended items gathered using Qualtrics from African and the United States students. The quantitative data were analyzed by applying percentages, frequency counts, and chi-square, whereas the qualitative information was analyzed by employing thematic content analyses. The majority of the participants resided in the US, 72.5% were females, and 78.4% were undergraduates. Economic hardships were experienced by 26.4% of the participants, 55.8% of them revealed that the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic harmfully influenced their relations with their families and friends, and over 40% of the participants were anxious about postponements in attaining academic milestones. The continent of living, employment conditions, and monetary difficulties were highly related to the undesirable effects of the COVID-19 on one or more of the participants’ relations and worries about attaining academic milestones. The qualitative information supported that fiscal difficulties helped the participants experience psychological distress. This study confirmed the positive and negative effects of COVID-19 on interpersonal relations.Obrenovic et al. [55] explored the extent to which fear control and danger control under the Extended Parallel Processing Models (EPPM) threat impact job insecurity, with ambiguity phenomenon producing afflicting impacts on the empirical nature of depression, increased by anxiety. To discover the job insecurity relationships with depression and anxiety and determine the effects of EPPM threat, AN experimental research was carried out in America on a sample of 346 white-collar employees. Demographic information, job insecurity, depression, EPPM threat, and anxiety data were gathered by a standardized questionnaire during the COVID-19 epidemic. The questionnaire consisted of multi-item scales given to the participants via online platforms. All the scale statements were assessed on a 5-point Likert scale. SEM software AMOS version 24 was applied to check the confirmatory factor analyses with maximum likelihood estimation. The structural models measured the relations between the threat of job insecurity, COVID-19, depression, and anxiety. The results of the research suggested that job insecurity had a remarkable effect on anxiety and depression, while the threat of the COVID-19 had a noticeable effect on depression. The research did not examine the mediating impacts of job insecurity and EPPM threat on anxiety. The research can contribute to the anxiety of the repercussions of major ecological interruptions on regular human work, and it investigated the impacts of self-reported protective manners on risk perceptions.Chinna et al. [63] examined the psychological effects of the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic on Asian university students. A cross-sectional online study was conducted between April and May 2020 in Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, and Saudi Arabia. Self-rating anxiety questionnaire of Zung and questions on maladaptive and adaptive coping techniques were applied in this research. To do this study, 3,678 participants from that country took part in this research. Generally, 21.9% and 13.7% of participants experienced mild to moderate and severe to extreme anxiety levels. More than 20% of the Chinese and Bangladeshi students had severe to extreme levels of anxiety in comparison to below 10% of Indonesians, Indians, and Malaysians. Among the female participants, 15.9% had severe to an extreme level of anxiety in comparison to 10.6% of male participants. Pakistani, Chinese, Bangladeshi, Saudi Arabian, and Malaysian females experienced remarkably higher anxiety levels than male participants. Seeking social support was the least utilized coping technique, while acceptance was the most applied by the students. There was a noticeable difference in applying the four strategies in the countries mentioned above.Radwan et al. [64] performed a cross-sectional research among Palestinian students to examine the occurrence of anxiety, depression, and stress during the COVID-19 epidemic. This research was conducted on 420 secondary and primary school children in the Gaza Strip in Palestine. The information was gathered via an online survey with a psychometric scale, informed consent, and socio-demographic items. The findings indicated that many participants had moderate to severe depression (72.1%) and anxiety (89.1%), while 35.7% had moderate to severe stress. Stress, anxiety, and depression scores highly differed regarding age, family size, gender, financial conditions, and age groups. The outcomes revealed that age, gender, and family financial conditions were undesirable stress-related agents. Family size had a favorable effect on reducing stress. It was revealed that family financial condition, gender, and age were negative variables associated with anxiety, while family size positively affected anxiety levels. Age, family income, and gender were hostile agents relevant to depression, while the family size was an effective predictor. Concerns about the COVID-19 effects on instruction, economy, and day-to-day activities were undoubtedly linked to stress, anxiety, and depression, whereas the accessibility of social supports was adversely connected. The health etiquette enhancement for affected pupils was immediately required to keep them strong within hazardous periods.Paz et al. [65] explored the emotional effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Galapagos Islands. An online questionnaire of 368 respondents, performed in October of 2020, was applied to measure the degree of stress, anxiety, depression, and specific emotional and behavioral reactions to the epidemic. The outcomes revealed that the occurrence of depression was 3.65%, and anxiety was 4%. The level of perceived stress was higher, with 52% of the sample reporting moderate degrees. Females experienced higher levels of perceived stress and depression. The monetary distress, feeling of isolation, interpersonal conflicts, and fear of contagion of COVID-19 were all connected to the higher level of stress, anxiety, and depression. It was concluded that the incidence of depression and anxiety was lower in the Galapagos Islands during the epidemic compared to other areas, whereas stress level was more important and may guarantee interventions. Notwithstanding, having depression and anxiety were related to possibly challenging emotional reactions and behaviors.The Coronavirus 2019 pandemic caused many problems in all countries; it killed many people, made many people lose their jobs, reduced families’ income, etc. Because of the mentioned problems, some studies were carried out to examine the effects of the COVID-19 on the health condition of different people in different places. Yet, no study has been performed to examine the negative effects of the COVID-19 on the unemployment anxiety level of graduate students at Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University. Therefore, the following question was formulated to remove this gap.RQ. Does the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic increase the unemployment anxiety level of graduate students at Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University?.


## 3. Method

### 3.1. Participants and Instruments

To perform the current research, the researchers selected 120 participants among graduate students at Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University. Sixty lost their jobs because of the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic, but 60 had their jobs. They were female and male graduate students and were chosen according to the convenience sampling method. The subjects were between the ages of 24 and 39 and had BA and MA degrees. They were selected from different fields, including English teaching, applied sciences, engineering, law, and business administration. It should be noted that the participants were considered as two groups (employed group and unemployed group).The main instrument that was applied to determine the participants’ anxiety degree was the classic Zung [66] Self-rating Anxiety Scale. It included 20 self-reported items about sleep, mood, happiness, sadness, and sense of pain. This questionnaire had 20 statements, each with four options: Strongly Disagree (no anxiety), Disagree (mild anxiety), Agree (moderate anxiety), and Strongly Agree (high anxiety). Four English and four psychology professors confirmed the validity of the questionnaire, and its reliability was computed by utilizing Cronbach Alpha (r = .83).


### 3.2. Data Collection Procedures and Analyses

To carry out the current study, the researchers attended the mentioned university and collected many graduate students’ telephone numbers and e-mail addresses. Then, they started calling and mailing them. Finally, they could select 60 employed and 60 unemployed (those who lost their jobs because of the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic) students as the research subjects. After ensuring the subjects’ job status, the researchers distributed the Zung’s anxiety questionnaire among the students via e-mail, Telegram, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, WeChat, Google Meetings, and other social media platforms. The students had to complete the questionnaire and send it back in at least one week. It was found that 107 students (56 employed and 51 unemployed) completed the questionnaire and sent it back to the researchers. After receiving and collecting the questionnaires, the information was analyzed by an independent samplest-test to see which group had more anxiety.


## 3.1. Participants and Instruments

To perform the current research, the researchers selected 120 participants among graduate students at Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University. Sixty lost their jobs because of the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic, but 60 had their jobs. They were female and male graduate students and were chosen according to the convenience sampling method. The subjects were between the ages of 24 and 39 and had BA and MA degrees. They were selected from different fields, including English teaching, applied sciences, engineering, law, and business administration. It should be noted that the participants were considered as two groups (employed group and unemployed group).The main instrument that was applied to determine the participants’ anxiety degree was the classic Zung [66] Self-rating Anxiety Scale. It included 20 self-reported items about sleep, mood, happiness, sadness, and sense of pain. This questionnaire had 20 statements, each with four options: Strongly Disagree (no anxiety), Disagree (mild anxiety), Agree (moderate anxiety), and Strongly Agree (high anxiety). Four English and four psychology professors confirmed the validity of the questionnaire, and its reliability was computed by utilizing Cronbach Alpha (r = .83).


## 3.2. Data Collection Procedures and Analyses

To carry out the current study, the researchers attended the mentioned university and collected many graduate students’ telephone numbers and e-mail addresses. Then, they started calling and mailing them. Finally, they could select 60 employed and 60 unemployed (those who lost their jobs because of the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic) students as the research subjects. After ensuring the subjects’ job status, the researchers distributed the Zung’s anxiety questionnaire among the students via e-mail, Telegram, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, WeChat, Google Meetings, and other social media platforms. The students had to complete the questionnaire and send it back in at least one week. It was found that 107 students (56 employed and 51 unemployed) completed the questionnaire and sent it back to the researchers. After receiving and collecting the questionnaires, the information was analyzed by an independent samplest-test to see which group had more anxiety.


## 4. Results

The gathered data were analyzed in this section, and the gained outcomes were depicted in Tables1 and 2. First, the descriptive statistics were reported; second, the inferential statistics were provided. Our data were normal based on One-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test; consequently, the parametric statistics like independent samples t-test were used to get the final results.Table 1
Descriptive statistics of anxiety questionnaire of both groups.
GroupsNMeanSdSEMEmployed5612.911.500.20Unemployed5117.311.700.23Table 2
Inferential statistics of anxiety questionnaire of both groups.
Levene’s test for equality of variancest-test for equality of meansFSigtdfP-valueMDSEDScoresEqual variances assumed0.800.37−14.19100.00−4.400.31Equal variances not assumed−14.11100.290.00−4.400.31Note. MD: Mean Difference; SED: Std. Error Difference.As shown in the above table (Table1), the mean score of the employed group is 12.91, and the mean score of the unemployed group is 17.31 in the anxiety questionnaire. It appears that the unemployed group participants had more anxiety than the employed group.According to the findings that the independent samplest-test presents in Table 2, one can conclude that the employed and unemployed groups had different anxiety degree during the period of the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic. This table shows that the p-value (.00) is less than 0.05; therefore, there is a meaningful and remarkable difference between the anxiety level of both groups. The unemployed group had much more anxiety than the employed group.


## 5. Discussion and Conclusion

In responding to the study question “Does Coronavirus 2019 pandemic increase the unemployment anxiety level of graduate students at Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University?,” the researchers compared the scores of both groups that were collected by an attitude questionnaire. After conducting the data analyses, the findings obtained from the independent samplest-test depicted noticeable differences between the unemployed and employed groups regarding anxiety levels. The results indicated that those students who lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 had much more anxiety levels than those who had their jobs.As we expected, the students who got unemployed during the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic had more anxiety. The reason is apparent; being jobless in this expensive world can cause anxiety. The other reasons can be that some students were married, and some had children, and meeting the needs of families and children was difficult for them. In fact, financial hardships can be the main reason for the unemployed students’ high anxiety. Students were expected to find a job after finishing their academic studies, but the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic removes the jog opportunities worldwide. The mentioned problems can be the reasons why the unemployed group manifested more anxiety.Unquestionably, the COVID-19 has negatively influenced economic activities, leading to lockdown and decreased personal income. This can have a severe effect on the welfare and their anxiety level of people. The income of many families has been reduced because of the low economic activities and lockdown resulting from the COVID-19. In addition, suffering from any other diseases can be the reason for increasing the level of anxiety among our participants.The outcomes of our investigation agree with Irfan et al. [60] who inspected the impacts of COVID-19 on Malaysian university students’ anxiety levels. Their findings demonstrated that most of their respondents had moderate and severe anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, our results are supported by Akin-Odanye et al. [62] who carried out a study to scrutinize the factors interrelated to the psychosocial effects of the COVID-19 on students and found that one worry of the students was financial problems and the other worries were that the COVID-19 adversely influenced their relations with friends and delays in reaching academic milestones.In addition, the consequences of this survey are in line with those gained by Obrenovic et al. [55], who investigated the link between the COVID-19, anxiety, job insecurity, and depression. According to the outcomes, correlations between the danger posed by the COVID-19, job instability, anxiety, and depression were investigated. Based on the outcomes of the investigation, employment instability was shown to generate a remarkable effect on both anxiety and depression, while the danger posed by the COVID-19 was found to have a significant impact on depression. In addition, the results of our research are the same as those of Chinna et al. [63] who inspected the mental influences of the COVID-19 on college students in Asia. According to the findings, most students exhibited a considerably high degree of worry during the duration of the COVID-19. The results of our research are consistent with those discovered by Kaparounaki et al. [67]; who investigated the influences of the COVID-19 on the mental health of university students in Greece. They performed the survey with one thousand college students and found that the majority of the whole sample group suffered from mental health issues such as sadness and depression. Similar researches were done in many other places such as Bangladesh [68], the United States [69, 70], India [71], Saudi Arabia [72], and Jordan [73]. Huckins et al. [69] stated that in the U.S., college students in the academic terms of 2020 were more depressed and anxious. Different behaviors such as reduced phone usage, decreased physical activities, high anxiety and stress, and fewer locations visited, were linked to the consequences of the COVID-19 [69].The findings are in agreement with those found in an international survey on the negative influences of uncertainty on mental health [74–78]. According to the findings of Blanua et al. [75]; the level of anxiety rose in direct correlation to the amount of employment insecurity and distress over the COVID-19. According to Nelson and Kaminsky’s [79] findings, a continuing recession in one’s health and social and financial stability is an essential contributor to severe depression and anxiety. Besides, the same as the previous findings gained by the research of LaMontagne et al. [80]; Godinic et al. [77]; and Rossi et al. [81]; our outcomes approve the harmful effects of job security on increasing anxiety levels.As we expected, the students who got unemployed during the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic had more anxiety. The reason is apparent; being jobless in this expensive world can cause anxiety. The other reasons can be that some students were married, and some had children, and meeting the needs of families and children was difficult for them. In fact, financial hardships can be the main reason for the unemployed students’ high anxiety. Students were expected to find a job after finishing their academic studies, but the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic removes the jog opportunities worldwide. The mentioned problems can be the reasons why the unemployed group manifested more anxiety.This research was an attempt to scrutinize the influences of the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic on increasing the unemployment anxiety level among graduate students at Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University. The outcomes of the study revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic caused a high anxiety level for those graduate students who lost their jobs amid the COVID-19 period. It can be concluded that unexpected events such as the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic can produce drastic problems, including depression, anxiety, unemployment, death, divorce, etc., for people worldwide.Since our study demonstrates a high level of anxiety among graduate students, here, we suggest some recommendations. The government should try to prepare jobs for all graduate students, and different treatments for anxiety should be carried out to reduce the stress and anxiety of the unemployed graduate students. The treatments may include medications, psychotherapy, and rehabilitation, with the combination of all of them often being more helpful than any of them alone. We also offer higher education institutions to open mental health support clinics every campus to help the students reduce their anxiety.


## 6. Implications of the Study

This research can bring about some implications for the bosses and managers of educational institutions. The findings of this research can encourage the bosses and managers to employ knowledgeable counselors at their institutions to help the students in such critical situations. In addition, various preventative actions may be highlighted because our results support this. First, schools should ensure that kids afflicted with COVID-19, particularly those with close family or friends who have been infected, have access to expert psychiatric assistance. During COVID-19, schools should increase the financial support they provide to kids from low-income families. In addition, educational institutions should encourage students to adopt healthier lifestyles, such as engaging in regular physical activity and consuming less alcohol. In addition, educational institutions must emphasize the necessity of sleep, particularly during this specific period. In conclusion, stringent rules need to be implemented, such as the need to wear masks and conduct regular temperature checks.This research can be helpful for healthcare opponents attempting to manage fear-driven campaigns by ensuring that they are alert and use appropriate terminology. When trying to raise awareness, stimulate preventive motivation and healthy coping, and maintain delicate balance while expressing danger intensity and safety advice, they should be cautious not to provoke negative feelings such as anguish and fear. Additionally, this investigation’s outcomes can contribute to the theories that already exist regarding the association between dangers to psychological and financial well-being and psychological harm. These theories are typically discussed in the process of formulating intervention policies.


## 7. Limitations and Suggestions

This investigation has its limitations. One limitation is that the study included only 120 participants, and even 17 of them did not complete the questionnaire. Consequently, the results cannot be generalized to many EFL students. Future studies are advised to include more participants to raise the generalizability of their findings. In addition, only an attitude questionnaire was used to gather the data; future research studies are suggested to employ other tools including interviews and checklists, to gain more reliable data. This research investigated the impacts of the Coronavirus_2019 pandemic on the anxiety of graduate students; further investigations can examine the effects of the Coronavirus_2019] pandemic on other language phycological factors such as depression and motivation. This study was done on BA and MA graduate students at Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University; therefore, the study research model can be validated in other universities in other countries and on Ph.D. students.



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