Optimism and fear of COVID-19 in higher education students: the mediating role of general anxiety.

Higher education students have faced several changes in their lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to explore the effect of dispositional optimism in students' fear of COVID-19 and to test the mediating role of general anxiety in the relationship between optimism and fear. Using an online survey, data were collected during the second wave of the pandemic in Portugal. The sample included 312 higher education students (76% females) aged 18-25 years old, who completed measures of dispositional optimism, general anxiety and fear of COVID-19. The results showed that higher optimism and lower general anxiety reduce fear of COVID-19. Moreover, the link between optimism and fear is fully mediated by general anxiety, showing that optimism reduces fear of COVID-19 indirectly through the reduction of students' anxiety. The role of optimism, anxiety and fear in higher education students is discussed and topics for further research are presented.