The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly influenced the area of education, in terms of both teaching and learning effectiveness. The aim of the study was to compare groups of high school graduates and graduate students. The Coping Inventory in Stressful Situations (CISS), State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Hope for Success Questionnaire (KNS), and our own questionnaire were used in the study. The results of the research show that the group of high school graduates, compared to the graduate students, was characterized by a higher level of anxiety, a style focused on emotions and a lower level of hope for success. People who passed the exam in the online form were characterized by a higher level of anxiety compared to the respondents who passed the exam in the stationary form. According to the results of this study, it can be concluded that the styles of coping and the level of hope for success may be both protective and risk factors related to the level of anxiety during distance learning.
Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; distance learning; mental health.