Examining individuals' anxiety levels and levels of happiness during the COVID-19 process

The Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has had a significant impact World wide, deeply affecting people's lives. During this process, it is known that individuals' psychological well-being and, consequently, their levels of happiness are significantly affected. The aim of this thesis is to determine whether demographic variables such as gender, age, educational status, income level, weekly leisure time, weekly physical activity duration, and chronic health condition have an impact on the anxiety levels and happiness levels of individuals aged 18-65 whore side continuously in the Muratpaşa district of Antalya province during the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. This thesis is designed as a quantitative research studyusing a descriptive survey design, and the convenience sampling method was employed as the sampling technique. A total of 693 individuals, comprising 53.1% (368) females and 46.9% (325) males, who reside in the Muratpaşa district of Antalya province, participated in the study. The data collection instruments used in the thesis were the "Personal Information Form" created by the researcher, the "Short Form of the Oxford Happiness Scale," and the "Coronavirus Anxiety Scale." For data analysis, t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for parametric tests, and Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests for non-parametric tests were conducted. Additionally, a correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationship between individuals' Coronavirus anxiety levels and happiness levels. According to the analysis results, demographic factors such as gender, age, educational level, income level, and chronic health conditions are found to influence individuals' happiness levels. It was observed that females and individuals in the age group of 31-40 exhibit higher levels of Coronavirus-related anxiety, and a decrease in weekly leisure time is associated with an increase in anxiety levels. According to Pearson correlation analysis, there is a significant negative correlation at a low level (r=-.188, p<0.01) between individuals' happiness levels and Coronavirus anxiety levels. This finding indicates that Coronavirus anxiety can have a negative impact on individuals' overall level of happiness. It can be concluded that individuals with higher levels of anxiety have lower levels of happiness, and the psychological effects of the Coronavirus outbreak are significant. Keywords: Recreation, Coronavirus, Happiness, Anxiety