Stress and loneliness are mental health problems that have a serious impact on people’s mental and physical health and also longevity of life. Stress and loneliness cause a major effect on undergraduates’ self–esteem due to COVID – 19 which altered their learning process online. Self-esteem is quite simply one’s attitude toward oneself (Rosenberg,1965). He described it as a “favourable or unfavourable attitude toward the self”. Loneliness came into effect since their academic knowledge gain is made online which also demands their adaptation to it which creates stress. Loneliness is described as a sense of being alone despite the need a human interaction. Stress and loneliness due to online classes affect the strength of self-esteem in undergraduate pursuing students. This study solely concentrates on the influence of stress and loneliness on self–esteem. Therefore, this study is aimed to find out the effect of stress and loneliness on self-esteem mainly focusing on undergraduate students. This research is a Qualitative research and the research design used is by interview method. The sample size is 25 undergraduate students. This study helps us to gain a clear view of stress experienced by undergraduates in college which demands various resources for online learning like stable networks, good devices to attend classes, other E-Resources, etc., The study also aims in explaining self-esteem which is an important aspect in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs for an individual to be self – actualized. And also, the connection of stress with loneliness (loneliness, distressing experience that occurs when a person’s social relationships are perceived by that person to be less in quantity, and especially in quality, than desired, (Louise Hawkley,2018)) which started to emerge out due to online classes. Interventions are drawn that helps in giving suggestions to avoid stress, spend more time in the outside world which in turn avoid loneliness and manage one’s self-esteem. However, early detection helps them stay in reality, not fall out in various turmoil like depression, addiction problems, sleep problems, suicidal ideation and other invisible problems and improve their quality of life.
PAULINE CHRISTINA S, JESSICA E, SARANYA SG , MRS ALIMA ZEHRA
stress, loneliness, self-esteem, interview method, undergraduate students