International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Article Psychological Impact of COVID-19 and Lockdown among University Students in Malaysia: Implications and Policy Recommendations Sheela Sundarasen 1, Karuthan Chinna 2,*, Kamilah Kamaludin 1 , Mohammad Nurunnabi 1 , Gul Mohammad Baloch 2, Heba Bakr Khoshaim 3 , Syed Far Abid Hossain 4 and Areej Sukayt 1 1 Department of Accounting, Prince Sultan University, P.O. Box 66833, Riyadh 11586, Saudi Arabia;
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[email protected] (A.S.) 2 School of Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Taylor’s University, No. 1, Jalan Taylors, Subang Jaya 47500, Selangor, Malaysia;
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[email protected] Received: 14 July 2020; Accepted: 16 August 2020; Published: 27 August 2020 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown has taken the world by storm. This study examines its impact on the anxiety level of university students in Malaysia during the peak of the crisis and the pertinent characteristics affecting their anxiety. A cross-sectional online survey, using Zung’s self-rating anxiety questionnaire was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. Out of the 983 respondents, 20.4%, 6.6%, and 2.8% experienced minimal to moderate, marked to severe, and most extreme levels of anxiety.