Fear of Covid-19 and Mindful Attention among Pakistani University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study
Shazia Sherani, Maimoona Kausar, Maria Liaquat
Pakistan Journal of Positive Psychology September 14, 2026 DOI: 10.67785/pjpp.5.261 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 120 |
| Population | Undergraduate students aged 18-25 from universities in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan |
| Measures | Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale |
| Key findings | Mindful attention was weakly inversely associated with fear of COVID-19, but the association was not statistically significant, with less than 1% of variance in mindful attention explained in regression (R2 = .008). The authors conclude the correlation is not meaningful and suggest broader contextual factors, not just personal and social factors, influence students' mindful attention. |
Abstract
The pandemic caused disruptions in university life and left health, study and family safety in an uncertain state. Evidence regarding the association of mindful attention with pandemic specific fear among Pakistani students is scarce. This is a cross-sectional study that explores the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and mindful attention among 120 undergraduate students (18-25 years) from the universities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan. The participants participated in a convenience sampling and filled out the seven-item Fear of COVID-19 Scale and 15-item Mindful Attention Awareness Scale in May 2022. This was acceptable for the internal consistency of the two measures, Cronbach's alpha = .824 and .791, respectively. Mindful attention was weakly inversely associated with fear of COVID-19, but this was not significant. This same conclusion was made in a simple linear regression model with less than 1% of the variance in mindful attention accounted for, R2 = .008, F (1, 118) = 0.96, p = .328. So, the correlation of the results of this sample is not meaningful in terms of a direct correlation between pandemic fear and attentive awareness. They suggest that it is not just a few personal and social factors that affect students' mindfulness attention, but a broad context. Future studies should utilize more balanced and larger samples and other factors such as anxiety, coping, social support, and exposure to pandemic related stressors.