Exploring Coping Strategies of Different Generations of Students Starting University

Abstract

Introduction: Coping strategies and adaptation skills are key features in successfully adjusting to university challenges. Coping skills are an essential part of the Psychological immune system, which leads to successful adaptation. Due to COVID-19 most universities have changed their face-to-face teaching for online education. Nevertheless, there is little concrete empirical evidence on how this generation of students with the ongoing impacts of disruptive changes can cope with it. Colleges and universities need to make changes in order to retain this new generation of students. Our aim was to explore the characteristics and changes in coping skills of university students from three different age groups.Method: Psychological coping skills were measured by the Psychological Immune Competence Inventory (PICI). Differences were detected between generations. Group comparisons (pre-2004, pre-Covid, and post-Covid) groups were compared) using PICI subscales using independent sample analysis of variance. The sample consisted of 4,731 university students, 2,768 (58.5%) were men and 1,730 (36.56%) were women.Results: Students from 2004 showed significantly higher scores in the Self-regulation subsystem scale compared to students in the pre-Covid and post-Covid groups. Self-regulation subsystem: F(2, 2,569.607) = 444.375, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.27: small effect, ω2 = 0.27; Resilience: F(2, 2,372.117) = 1171.855, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.14: small effect, ω2 = 0.14. Based on the results, the explained variance ratio was at least 10% based on self-regulation and resilience.Conclusions: Psychological immune capacity of students seems to decrease through the years. Nonetheless, interventions may have a further facilitating role in the maintenance and development of psychological immunity during college years.

Resilience and Experience of the COVID-19 Pandemic among Italian University Students: A Mixed-Method Study

“…Overall, the results of the present study confirm and extend previous research, by highlighting the interplay between resilience and adaptive coping strategies, as well as by identifying through participants’ direct narratives the intrapersonal and interpersonal protective factors mitigating the negative psychological consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak [ 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 ]. More specifically, highly resilient students seemed to adopt more adaptive coping strategies, such as identifying positive aspects in a negative condition, a reappraisal strategy defined as benefit finding [ 62 ].…”

Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Mathematics Achievement? A Case Study of University Students in Social Sciences

“…Similarly, in [18], recordings were reported as a useful resource for re-watching portions of a lecture, especially in mathematics courses, where lessons are often broken down by concepts using specific examples; • a positive attitude of students. We agree with Takács et al [11], who found that students were capable of effectively adapting to the virtual teaching modality. They recently explored the characteristics and changes in coping skills of university students in three age groups.…”

“…In addition, students entering tertiary education are expected to have much more experience and coping skills than students at lower education levels. Coping strategies and adaptation skills are key to successfully adjusting to university challenges [11]. One might therefore expect that there would be fewer effects on academic achievement at the university level compared to the primary and secondary education levels.…”

Occurrence and Factors Associated with HIV-Sero-Discordance in Couples at Iganga General Hospital-Iganga District, Eastern Uganda

“…It may originate from a situation where one sexual partner comes into the sexual relationship already infected, or becomes infected later in life [5][6][7][8][9][10]. HIV serodiscordant is recognized as a priority for HIV prevention due to the risk of transmitting the virus to the HIVnegative partner [9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Improvements in the effectiveness and availability of HIV treatment in recent years have enabled HIV-positive individuals to live longer and healthier [16][17][18][19][20].…”

“…Improvements in the effectiveness and availability of HIV treatment in recent years have enabled HIV-positive individuals to live longer and healthier [16][17][18][19][20]. However, this treatment has also contributed to an increasing number of HIV serodiscordant couples and an increased rate of HIV transmission [14].…”