The Effect of Laughter Therapy on Students in the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study was designed as a randomized controlled, pre-test-post-test control group in order to determine the effect of laughter therapy on anxiety, life satisfaction and psychological well-being of nursing students. Laughter therapy was applied to the experimental group for at least 60 minutes, 10 sessions two days a week. For the evaluation, the state-continuity anxiety scale, life satisfaction scale, psychological well-being scale were applied at the pre-application stage (pre-test) and after the laughter therapy sessions (post-test). The following hypotheses were included in this study; H1: Laughter therapy given during the Covid19 pandemic reduces the anxiety level of intern students. H2: Laughter therapy given during the Covid19 pandemic affects the life satisfaction of intern students. H3: During the Covid19 pandemic process, the laughter therapy given to interns affects the relationship between anxiety levels and life satisfaction. H4: Laughter therapy given to intern students during the Covid19 pandemic process affects psychological well-being.

Today, all countries are struggling with COVID-19, which typically presents with mild symptoms but causes serious mortality in the world population. In addition to the routine changes due to the pandemic, face-to-face education has been switched to online education. The integration of online education and more technology into the curriculum than ever before has increased students' anxiety towards learning. It was also found to cause high levels of anxiety and stress, characterized by feelings of risk, insecurity, and unhappiness. Studies show that high levels of anxiety negatively affect students' adaptation to daily life and their life satisfaction levels. In recent years, non-pharmacological techniques have been widely used in reducing anxiety and stress. One of them is laughter therapy. Laughter therapy reduces feelings of negative stress, anxiety, and depression by increasing the body's readiness to deal with different types of problems. The aim of this study is to examine the effects of online laughter therapy on anxiety, life satisfaction and psychological well-being levels of nursing students, who have switched to online education during the pandemic process.