O-14 Resilient Coping is More Important than Previous Experience with Virtual Learning: Predicting Stress Experienced by Pharmacy Students in Trinidad and Tobago During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Methods: Students completed an online cross-sectional survey during April-June, 2020. Measures included Likert items for experience and current comfort levels with online learning; the Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS); and the Perceived Stress Scale-10 Item Version (PSS-10). We summarized experience and comfort with online learning; reported scores and internal consistency for the BRCS and PSS-10; and estimated a regression model of perceived stress as a function of prior experience with online education, gender, and resilient coping.

Results: Of 113 respondents (response rate 41%, 78% female, mean age 22.3 years) >50% had only occasional prior experience with online learning, coursework, and examinations, but 63% expressed confidence with online learning. Mean PSS-10 and BRCS scores were 23.8 and 13.3 respectively, and both scales demonstrated good internal consistency (a > .80). BRCS score was the single predictor of PSS-10 score (r2 = 0.18, p < 0.001). Gender was not a significant predictor of perceived stress (p = 0.11). A simultaneous regression model explained a moderate amount of variation in perceived stress (adjusted R2 = 0.19).

Conclusion: Most students had limited previous online learning, coursework, and examination experience. Responses indicated moderate levels of stress and coping skills after introducing online teaching. Lower resiliency scores, but not lack of virtual learning experience, predicted higher perceived stress. Results underscore the importance of efforts to enhance coping and resilience of students.