Luísa Schubach da Costa BARRETO, Maria Cardoso de Castro BERRY, Flavia ARTESE, Cátia Cardoso Abdo QUINTÃO
Journal of Dental Sciences and Education - 2026;4(3):97-104
Aims: To investigate undergraduate and graduate dentistry students' perceptions of distance education (DE), learning preferences, and anxiety levels during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to compare these outcomes according to academic level. Methods: A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted between March and June 2020 using a 44-item questionnaire organized into five domains. Anxiety was assessed using the Brazilian Portuguese version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Short Form (STAI-S-6). Comparisons between undergraduate and graduate students were performed using Chi-square tests, independent samples t-tests, and one-way analysis of variance, adopting a significance level of 5%. Results: A total of 293 students participated (150 undergraduates and 143 graduate students). Undergraduate students were significantly younger and more frequently belonged to lower socioeconomic strata (p<0.001). Female students, undergraduates, and participants from intermediate-to-lower socioeconomic strata (particularly class C1 according to the Brazilian Economic Classification Criteria) exhibited higher anxiety levels (p<0.05). A weak negative correlation was observed between age and anxiety scores (r=-0.125; p=0.032). Significant differences between groups were observed regarding perceptions of DE, learning preferences, academic performance, and the perceived relationship between DE and anxiety (p<0.001). Students reporting extremely negative effects of DE on academic performance and those perceiving that DE greatly increased anxiety presented the highest STAI-S-6 scores (p<0.001). Conclusion: These findings suggest that dentistry students experienced considerable psychological burden during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Undergraduate students appeared to report greater difficulties adapting to DE and higher anxiety levels than graduate students. The results may indicate the importance of mental-health-centered educational strategies and equitable access to digital resources to support students during periods of educational disruption.
