Categorical stress predictors in higher education students amidst remote learning in COVID-19 pandemic

The aim was to determine the factors that influence the development of stress in college students during nonface-to-face classes during the COVID-19 pandemic in 4 universities in southern Peru. To achieve the objectives, 570 students were sampled using Google Forms. The approach was quantitative, transactional design, and descriptive-correlational type. The instrument used to measure stress was the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) with 10 items (dependent variable) and 21 possible stress-causing factors (independent variables). Once the information was recovered, the data were cleaned, and the reliability test obtained omega coefficients (w) of 0.86 for the PSS questionnaire and 0.82 for the stress-causing factors. The analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and categorical regression. The results show that 54.7% of the students work and study at the same time, which means that the studies are self-financed; on the other hand, they show that "they are often stressed" (47.5%), "from time to time they are stressed" (48.1%) and low percentages in very often they are stressed (3%). The stress-causing variables were 7: connection to classes from a cell phone, insufficient Internet speed, difficulties in taking exams, choppy signal, teachers' regular knowledge of ICT(Information Communication Technology), and students' regular knowledge of ICT. It is concluded that poor management of information technologies and difficulties in accessing technologies cause stress in students.