To prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries around the world adopted varying degrees of lockdown. The lockdowns restricted the freedom of college students, which led to stress and mental health issues. This study constructed a mediating model to explore the relationship between COVID-19 lockdown stress and Chinese college students’ mental health; the mediating role of fear of missing out (FoMO) was also investigated. A 7-item COVID-19 student stress questionnaire (CSSQ), a 6-item mental health scale, and a 10-item FoMO scale were distributed among 695 college students who experienced lockdown in China. The results showed that COVID-19 lockdown stress was significantly and negatively correlated with mental health, significantly and positively correlated with FoMO, and FoMO was significantly and negatively correlated with mental health. COVID-19 lockdown stress significantly and negatively influenced Chinese college students’ mental health directly and indirectly via the complementary partial mediating effect of FoMO. The results intensify our comprehension of the influence of COVID-19 lockdown stress and mental health problems in Chinese college students and also provide practical suggestions for college educators to address such scenarios.

This study used the Social Cognitive Theory and Broaden-and-Build Theory to propose and validate a chain mediation model. In total, 417 Chinese college students were studied to explore the effects of parent–child relationships on their academic performance. In addition, we investigated the chain-mediating roles of gratitude and psychological capital. The results showed that (1) the parent–child relationship significantly and positively affected the academic performance of college students; (2) gratitude partially mediated the parent–child relationship and the academic performance of college students; (3) psychological capital partially mediated the parent-child relationship and the academic performance of college students; and (4) gratitude and psychological capital exerted a chain-mediating effect between parent–child relationships and the academic performance of college students. Based on the results of the study, we conclude that the parent–child relationship not only directly affects the academic performance of college students but also indirectly affects it through the chain mediation of gratitude and psychological capital. Moreover, we proposed reasonable suggestions on how colleges and universities can guide students to deal with parent-child relationships, strengthen gratitude education, and improve psychological capital.

This study focused on COVID-19 perceived risk and Internet addiction among Chinese college students during the lockdown. On the basis of the Social Cognitive Theory, this study proposed a mediating model to evaluate the mediating role of difficulties in regulating emotion between the COVID-19 perceived risk and Internet addiction. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 690 college students during the COVID-19 lockdown in China. The results showed that the COVID-19 perceived risk was significantly positively associated with Internet addiction (r = 0.236, p < 0.001) and difficulties in emotion regulation (r = 0.220, p < 0.001), difficulties in emotion regulation was significantly positively associated with Internet addiction (r = 0.368, p < 0.001). The COVID-19 perceived risk had a significant and positive predictive effect on Internet addiction (β = 0.233, p < 0.001) among Chinese college students. The analysis of the mediation model showed that difficulties in emotion regulation partially mediated the relationship between COVID-19 perceived risk and Internet addiction (indirect effect value was 0.051 with 95% Confidence Interval ranging from 0.027 to 0.085). The findings not only enhanced our understanding of the internal influence mechanism of COVID-19 perceived risk on Internet addiction but also provided a practical basis for college education works. Finally, discussions and suggestions were provided on the basis of the results.

This study explored the chain-mediating roles of optimism and mental health in the relation of self-directed learning with academic performance among college students in Wuhan during long-term online teaching. In total, 473 valid responses were obtained from students at three Wuhan universities. Self-directed learning, optimism, mental health, and academic performance scales were used as measurement instruments; a 5-point Likert scale was employed for all items. To examine the instruments’ reliability and validity, a measurement model was constructed; moreover, structural models were employed for assessing the chain mediation model. This study confirmed that self-directed learning was a positive predictor of academic performance in Wuhan college students. Optimism and mental health were two mediators and partially jointly mediated the relation of self-directed learning with academic performance. The results revealed that self-directed learning only partially positively predicted academic performance. The aforementioned relationship was partially mediated by optimism and mental health, highlighting the essential roles of optimism and mental health in the learning and learning outcomes of Wuhan college students.

During the COVID-19 epidemic, quarantine and financial disadvantages might exacerbate social anxiety among impoverished college students. Based on the hardiness model and the social support buffering model, the present study proposed and verified a dual moderation model to investigate the effects of hardiness on social anxiety and the moderating roles of gender and perceived social support. The hardiness scale, the perceived social support scale, and the social anxiety subscale of the self-consciousness scale were administered to 673 Chinese college students aged 18 to 23 years who were recognized as impoverished by the Chinese authorities and provided with funding. The results revealed that (1) hardiness had a significant negative effect on social anxiety, (2) perceived social support moderated the effect of hardiness on social anxiety, and (3) gender moderated the effect of hardiness on social anxiety. The dual moderated model proposed in the study provides practical implications for helping impoverished college students cope with social anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic.