A multivariate comparative analysis of work-related symptoms of distance and campus undergraduates

A representative sample of 379 Open University (OU) students completed a set of 8 scales measuring work-related symptoms of anxiety, depression, obsessionality, somaticism, disorganization, low motivation, work satisfaction, and sylbism. Similar data were available for 146 University College London (UCL) campus undergraduates. Comparison between and with university groups are made. Averaged over sex and fields of study, patterns in the two sets of data show a fairly close match: study difficulties separate into psychoneurotic and motivational components, sylbism correlates with psychoneurotic symptoms, and disorganization with low motivation. An exception is the strength of relation between work satisfaction and sylbism. Differences in performance assessment relate modestly to differences in symptoms, with somaticism confirmed as a sharp predictor of achievers and failures. Anxiety, sylbism, and work satisfaction are significantly higher in the distance learners as a whole.