Exploring the Psychosocial Experiences of Students Preparing for the University Entrance Exam while Home Quarantined for COVID-19

To explore the psychosocial experiences of students preparing for the university entrance exam while home quarantined during the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of 25 Sabzevari 12th graders who had been quarantined during the previous two months was selected through saturation method and interviewed individually over the phone or online. The qualitative analyses of the data yielded 27 concepts within two main categories of socio-cognitive skills development and psychological stress and six sub-categories of life skills, moral intelligence, academic and economic anxiety, fear of death of oneself/relatives, feelings of loneliness and missing friends, and obsession. These findings show that the home quarantine has had both positive and negative consequences for the 12th graders. Hence, both the parents and school counsellors need to give effective guidance to these students while emphasizing the positive aspects of their experiences.