The Relationship Between Stress, Adaptation to College Life, and Quality of Life for Preschool Teachers During the COVID-19 CRISIS

Purpose: This study is a descriptive research study intended to identify and understand the relationship be-tween interpersonal sensitivity, daily stress, adaptation to college life, and quality of life for the candidates for preschool teacher during the COVID-19 CRISIS. Through which, it is sought to improve the overall quality of life by reducing the interpersonal sensitivity of the candidates for preschool teachers amidst the spread of the COVID-19, and furthermore, provide assistance for the growth of the candidates for preschool teachers’ professionalism. Method: To achieve the purpose of this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted with 279 preschool teacher candidates who are the first and second year students in colleges and universities which train preschool teachers in Busan and Gyeongnam, who enrolled after the outbreak of the COVID-19, and the SPSS statistics pro-gram was utilized to perform the descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and the multi-parameter regression analysis. Results: First, interpersonal sensitivity had a significantly positive correlation with daily stress and adaptation to college life, and a negative correlation with quality of life. Furthermore, daily stress had a positive correlation with interpersonal sensitivity, a negative correlation with quality of life, while quality of life and interpersonal sensitivity had a negative correlation. Second, the extent of interpersonal sensitivity and daily stress explaining the quality of life was significantly positively correlated for 44.5%. Third, in the relationship of effect of the inter-personal sensitivity on the quality of life, daily stress had a partially mediating effect. Conclusion: Preschool teacher candidates perceived interpersonal sensitivity resulting form negative self con-ceptions, daily stress, and adaptation to college life as average or below during the COVID-19 crisis, and consider-ing the fact that interpersonal sensitivity influences daily stress, quality of life, and adaptation to college life over-all, it is necessary amidst the COVID-19 crisis to expand various counseling and education programs to reduce the interpersonal sensitivity and daily stress for preschool teacher candidates and enhance their adaptation to college life and the overall quality of life.