Comparing Mental Health, Wellbeing and Flourishing in Undergraduate Students Pre- and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Graham, Marien Alet; Eloff, Irma

doi:10.3390/ijerph19127438

Cited by 16 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Therefore, COVID-19 is considered as a potential confounding variable in the study and could have negatively impacted how the participants responded to the FS. Similarly, Graham and Eloff (2022) found that college students who responded to the FS indicated experiencing a decrease in well-being before and during the pandemic. These findings are further reinforced by Nyunt et al (2021) who used the FS to assess college students’ sense of well-being, of which they responded to experiencing a significant decrease in from before and after the onset of the pandemic during the school semester.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

The Indonesian Version of the Flourishing Scale: Is it Reliable and Valid for Indonesian People?

Nurcahyo,

Valentina

2023

Eval Health Prof

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The Flourishing Scale (FS) was developed to measure individual psychological well-being. The FS was developed based on psychological well-being theories that include meaning and purpose in life, involvement in activities, social relationships, and feelings of competence. The psychometric properties of the FS have been studied in several countries. However, research that provides reports on reliability and validity for the Indonesian version of the FS is limited. The aim of the study was, therefore, to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Indonesian version of FS which include reliability, internal structure, and convergent validity. 1129 respondents completed the FS, Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE), and Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9). The Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients indicate a good internal consistency of the FS. The result of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis confirmed that a single-factor structure of the FS fit to the data. The result of the Multi-Group Confirmatory Factor Analysis showed measurement invariance across two subsamples. The results of the correlation test show a significant correlation between the FS with the SPANE and PHQ-9. Taken together, the Indonesian version of the FS can be considered a reliable and valid instrument to measure psychological well-being for Indonesian people.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

The Indonesian Version of the Flourishing Scale: Is it Reliable and Valid for Indonesian People?

Nurcahyo,

Valentina

2023

Eval Health Prof

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“…A comparison of the mental functioning of the subjects before and during the COVID-19 pandemic confirms the hypothesis of a deterioration in the subjects' emotional functioning. The experiencing of elevated levels of stress and significant deterioration in sleep quality among students are indicated by Lukowski et al [47], whereas Graham and Eloff [48] point to reduced general well-being and a deterioration of subjectively perceived mental health. In a study conducted in Brazil by Demenech et al [49], attention was paid to a statistically significant increase in the risk of suicide attempts observed among students from 2019 to 2020.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Health of Students at Polish Universities after Two Years of the Outbreak of COVID-19

Talarowska

Rucka

Kowalczyk³

et al. 2023

IJERPH

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Background: Mental health deterioration in young adults in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic is being increasingly studied. It is clear that the psychological consequences of the pandemic will be evident for many years, especially among the younger generation, who did not have time to acquire adaptive coping strategies before the outbreak of COVID-19. The purpose of this study was to assess the condition of the mental health of students at Polish universities after two years of the pandemic. The types of coping strategies used by the respondents to deal with stress were also evaluated in order to establish which of them could have a beneficial effect on the psyche of young people. Methods: This study included 721 participants (age [years]: M = 25.7, SD = 5.3; 269 (37.2%) males) recruited using snowball sampling from students at two universities in Lodz, Poland, and full-time doctoral students from across Poland (phase I of the study was conducted in March 2019 (N = 352); phase II of the study was conducted in April 2022 (N = 369)). The following tools were used in this study: The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) by D. Goldberg, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and the Inventory for Measuring Coping with Stress (Mini-COPE) by Carver et al. Pearson’s chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression were used in the statistical analysis. Results: The results detailing the condition of the mental health of the subjects, as measured using GHQ-28, were significantly worse in the group surveyed after two years of the pandemic than the results of the survey conducted in March 2019 (adjusted odds ratio for GHQ-28 ≥ 5: 3.66, 95%CI 2.12–6.30, p < 0.001). Statistically significant differences were seen for each of the subscales of the GHQ-28 questionnaire. Most often, the subjects complained of anxiety symptoms and sleep disorders, in addition to somatic symptoms. The risk factors for worsening mental health included female (odds ratio 1.70, 95%CI 1.20–2.40, p = 0.003) and professional inactivity (odds ratio 1.55, 95%CI 1.04–2.31, p = 0.031). On the other hand, the ages of the people surveyed, their relationship status, whether they had children, or the type of university they attended all proved to be insignificant. The following coping strategies had a positive impact on the mental health of the respondents: positive reframing (Z = −2.951; p = 0.003) and seeking emotional support (Z = −2.351; p = 0.019). In contrast, strategies such as self-distraction (Z = 2.785; p = 0.005), denial (Z = 2.948; p = 0.003), venting (Z = 2.337; p = 0.019), self-blame (Z = 5.511; p < 0.001) and behavioral disengagement (Z = 4.004; p < 0.001) were associated with poorer mental health among the respondents. Conclusions: 1. Of the students surveyed, 33% reported elevated stress levels after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. 2. The overall mental health of students at Polish universities, as measured by GHQ-28, was significantly worse in the group evaluated after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly in respect of anxiety symptoms and sleep disorders. 3. Female gender and professional inactivity appeared to be risk factors for the students’ worsening mental health, which may be an indication of the need for further research and planning of psychotherapeutic interventions.

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“…In research with 573 students across five institutions, Diener et al (2009) found a mean FS score of 45.4 (SD = 6.2). In research with university students in South Africa, Graham and Eloff (2022) identified a significant post-pandemic decrease of 6.16 points in FS scores. However, these were comparable and not identical groups of students, and the pre-pandemic mean was 37.96, substantially lower than the scores reported in this research or by Diener et al in 2009. Unfortunately, because of absent pre-COVID comparison scores for this sample, it is impossible to draw conclusions about COVIDassociated changes to these participants in either mental health scale.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Association Between Coping Strategies, Resilience, and Flourishing Among Students at Large U.S. University During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Research Study

Chatfield

Bista

DeBois

et al. 2022

BHAC

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Background: Mental illness indicators increased among U.S. university students in recent years; COVID-19 associated disruptions presented additional mental health challenges for students. Aim: This research aimed to assess the relationship between coping strategies identified by university students and scores on resilience and flourishing scales and to identify additional themes that described student experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: An online survey was administered to students at a large public Midwestern University. Quantitative data were assessed using nonparametric tests for association and qualitative data were analyzed using cycles of open coding. Results: Most of the 3,473 respondents were female (76.5%) and white (83.6%), with a mean age of 24.67 years (SD = 8.08). The most frequent coping strategy was physical activity participation (n = 712), followed by socializing (n = 507). The highest resilience and flourishing scores were associated with compliance to COVID-19 associated recommendations or spiritual activities. Qualitative themes included the value of focusing on controllable aspects, the need to be strong for others, and the experience of academic overload during transition to online learning. Conclusions: Universities should endeavor to provide ongoing availability of counseling during university disruptions. Universities might also consider proactive efforts to guide students toward proficiency in strategies that improve coping skills, including some that do not center around technology.

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Comparing Mental Health, Wellbeing and Flourishing in Undergraduate Students Pre- and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cited by 16 publications

References 43 publications

The Indonesian Version of the Flourishing Scale: Is it Reliable and Valid for Indonesian People?

The Indonesian Version of the Flourishing Scale: Is it Reliable and Valid for Indonesian People?

Mental Health of Students at Polish Universities after Two Years of the Outbreak of COVID-19

The Association Between Coping Strategies, Resilience, and Flourishing Among Students at Large U.S. University During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Research Study

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