ANXIETY CLOUDS THE FUTURE: ANTICIPATORY ANXIETY AND FUTURE OUTLOOK AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS IN INDIA DURING COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic created uncertainty for college students worldwide, heightening anticipatory anxiety and adversely affecting their outlook on the future. This study examined the prevalence of anticipatory anxiety and its association with future outlook among Indian college students during COVID-19, comparing Indian domestic and African international students. Data were collected via an online survey (Google Forms) using snowball sampling in March 2021. A sample of 78 students (50 Indian domestic, 28 African international) completed three validated instruments: the Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), and the Dark Future Scale. Findings show a high prevalence of moderate-to-severe anxiety on the GAD-7 (89.7%), much higher than pre-pandemic levels. No participants met the clinical cutoff on the PSWQ, but 37.2% scored high on the Dark Future Scale, indicating elevated future anxiety. All measures correlated significantly (r = .29 to .55). Demographics (age, gender) explained little variance in future anxiety (R² = .01), but adding GAD-7 and PSWQ scores explained an additional 21% (full R² = .22, p < .001). Surprisingly, Indian domestic students scored higher on the GAD-7 than African international students (p = .013, d = 0.60), with no group differences on the other scales. The pandemic increased state anxiety but did not change trait worry. The Indian educational environment may be more anxiety-provoking than for international students. Targeting worry could improve future outlooks. Further research with larger, more diverse samples is needed.