The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted our daily lives. Public health officials are encouraging restrictions on social gatherings, limiting the amount of time and number of people individuals can interact with in-person. However, people have an innate need for belonging, and social isolation can exacerbate psychological distress. Due to school closings, students have shifted to online learning, which may foster feelings of detachment from their respective schools and impact students' motivation to continue learning in an online context. In the present study, we surveyed N = 238 undergraduate students to assess the relationships between academic motivation, sense of belonging to their university, and COVID-19-related distress. Correlational analyses revealed positive relationships between academic motivation and sense of belonging, and negative relationships between these two variables and COVID-19-related distress. A multiple linear regression demonstrated that sense of belonging and socioeconomic status negatively associated with COVID-19-related distress. Believing that online learning is as effective as in-person learning did not moderate the relationship between the sense of belonging and academic motivation. We discuss implications for colleges and universities to improve students' psychological well-being.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted daily life and altered the way people interact with others and the environment. University students in particular report higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress compared to nonstudents. Due to the closure of schools, students have shifted to online distance learning, which may foster feelings of detachment or isolation from their respective schools, ultimately impacting students' motivation to continue learning in an online context. First-generation college students (FGCS) are less likely to persist from their first to second year in college and tend to have lower first-year grade point averages compared to continuing generation students. Identification with groups and increased sense of belonging may increase student success (e.g., student retention). The present study examined how FGCS differ from continuing generation college students on academic motivation, sense of belonging to their university, self-efficacy, and responses to a wide array of COVID-19 questionnaires in the context of the pandemic. Although we found that demographic variables as well as academic and pandemic-related factors predicted academic motivation, self-efficacy, and academic belonging, there were no significant differences for these variables between FGCS and continuing generation college students. These findings suggest that COVID-19 has impacted both groups similarly; however, this could be due to the novelty of the circumstances that COVID-19 placed on all students in higher education (e.g., transitions to remote learning).

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