Association Between Self-Directed Learning Ability and Academic Performance of Korean Physical Therapy College Students Under Covid-19 Stress: A Cross-Sectional Study

This study investigates the correlation between depression, anxiety, and stress among college students engaged in online learning during the 2019 COVID-19 pandemic and self-directed learning (SDL) ability to provide a scientific basis for college students' mental health education.A cross-sectional study was conducted with 680 students from colleges and universities in South Korea.The Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) and the SDL ability scale were used to conduct an online questionnaire survey.COVID-19 stress was higher in male than in female students; students with high grades had the highest level of social distancing stress among the COVID-19 stress, and students with low and middle grades had the lowest level of social distancing stress among the COVID-19 stress.It was found that students with excellent grades decreased their grades by 0.761 times (OR=.761)if their SDL evaluation was poor, and students with poor grades increased their grades by 1.379 times (OR=1.379)if their SDL evaluation was good.Therefore, among SDL abilities, SDL evaluation appears to have the greatest influence on students' grades under COVID-19 conditions.COVID-19 Stress was affecting college students' grades.In addition, among the SDL abilities in the coronavirus situation, self-learning evaluation was found to have the greatest influence on student grades in the top and bottom ranks.