Hopes and Fears of First-Year Freshman College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Andrade, Cláudia; Fernandes, Joana Lobo

doi:10.3390/educsci12010053

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Considering students, nowadays, two major issues they must handle: 1. the need to re-establishing a satisfactory interpersonal life (sense of belonging, face-to-face connections, balance in the use of ICTs) [ 64 , 65 ]; 2. the need to deal with the economic crisis and its consequences effectively [ 63 , 66 ]. However, these two goals are intimately linked as research has highlighted that perceived satisfaction in social/relational life and interpersonal trust were key factors that significantly preserve mental health even during economic crises [ 67 , 68 , 69 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived Past and Current COVID-19-Stressors, Coping Strategies and Psychological Health among University Students: A Mediated-Moderated Model

Zurlo

Vallone

Volta

2022

IJERPH

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The COVID-19-pandemic entailed abrupt/long-lasting changes in university students’ lives, resulting in growing stress and stress-related outcomes. Although nowadays the pre-pandemic-life is gradually re-establishing, past-COVID-19-stressful experiences and strategies adopted to adjust to this condition may significantly impact students’ current experiences. Therefore, the development of research exploring the complex interplay between perceived past/present COVID-19-related experiences, coping strategies, and psychological health currently reported by students is needed. This study simultaneously tests the associations between Past-COVID-19-stressors and Current-COVID-19-stressors as moderated by Coping Strategies and the associations between Past-COVID-19-stressors and Psychological Symptoms as mediated by Current-COVID-19-stressors. A mediated-moderated model was tested on 355 university students. COVID-19-Student-Stress-Questionnaire (CSSQ) was used to assess COVID-19-stressors. Two CSSQ-versions were used, one of which was adjusted to assess Past-COVID-19-stressors recalled from previous restrictive pandemic phases. Coping-Orientation-to-Problem-Experienced-New-Italian-Version and Symptom-Checklist-90-Revised were used to assess, respectively, Coping Strategies and Psychological Symptoms. Findings confirmed the hypothesized Mediated-Moderated Model. The effects of Past-COVID-19-stressors on Current-COVID-19-stressors were moderated by Coping Strategies, and the effects of Past-COVID-19-stressors on Psychological Symptoms were mediated by Current-COVID-19-stressors. Unique psychopathological risk profiles deriving from the interplay between specific past/present stressors and coping strategies were found. Researchers and clinicians can use these findings to develop updated research and timely evidence-based interventions fostering students’ adjustment in the current period. Future research should further explore the impact of the complex interplay between perceived past/present COVID-19-related experiences and individual characteristics on psychological health conditions reported by people in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived Past and Current COVID-19-Stressors, Coping Strategies and Psychological Health among University Students: A Mediated-Moderated Model

Zurlo

Vallone

Volta

2022

IJERPH

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“…Females and students of color demonstrated more stress and uncertainty about their academic future compared to white students [36]. Academic-related fears of first-year students proved even more significant than family members' health and health [37]. A significant decrease in the scores of various adaptations to university components in first-year students was revealed during the pandemic, i.e., physiological adaptation (p < 0.0001), socio-psychological adaptation (p < 0.05), and academic adaptation (p < 0.05) [38].…”

Section: Students' Academic Adaptation During the Pandemic Situationmentioning

confidence: 94%

Subjective Assessments of the Pandemic Situation and Academic Adaptation of University Students

Shamionov¹,

Grigoryeva²,

Grínina³

et al. 2023

OBM Neurobiol

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Students’ academic adaptation during the pandemic is the key problem for the educational system. Even though certain success has been achieved in the organization of education with distance learning technologies and additional learning tools, there are still plenty of other difficulties that affect students’ adaptation. The purpose of the study is to conduct a comparative analysis of academic adaptation’s structure during and before the pandemic and to study the role of subjective assessments of the pandemic situation in university students’ academic adaptation. Nine hundred nineteen university students took part in the study. М = 19.54; SD = 2.47 (17.5% male). The following methods were used within the framework of the study: the method for assessing academic adaptation components developed by the authors, the direct scaling method via a questionnaire used to analyze subjective assessments of the pandemic situation, social frustration [1] assessment method and a differential 1uestionnaire used to assess the experience of loneliness [2]. The study established certain differences in the level of manifestation for emotional, motivational, and psychophysiological components of students' academic adaptation before and during the pandemic. The hypotheses were tested regarding the role of subjective assessment of the pandemic situation, social frustration, and experience of loneliness under academic adaptation-related changes. Structural modeling allowed testing of the hypothesis concerning the direction of relations between variables. The pandemic situation is an important factor in reducing psycho-emotional and motivational components of academic adaptation. Interpersonal relations among students are the most important predictors of their academic adaptation. Assessment of the pandemic situation (29% variation), social frustration (49%), and loneliness (22%) are significant predictors of academic adaptation. The presence of diseases and attitudes regarding health risks, and satisfaction with relations with other educational process participants largely determines students' academic adaptation during the pandemic. At the same time, the direct effect of academic adaptation and the indirect one through the positive perception of distance learning is a more positive perception of Covid-19consequences.

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“…Our study is an exemplification of action research. It was initially motivated by instructors' informal concerns regarding learning during the pandemic, as well as by the extant literature suggesting that learners at the beginning of their educational endeavors (i.e., freshmen and sophomores) may be particularly susceptible to the changes in instruction brought about by the pandemic [5][6][7].…”

Section: Forward Actions Grounded In Enrollment and Performance Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the present study, learning in general education (GE) courses is examined for two key reasons. Namely, GE courses not only offer the foundations for major-related coursework but also enroll students at the beginning of their educational endeavors (i.e., freshmen and sophomores) who may be particularly susceptible to the changes in instruction [5][6][7] brought about by the pandemic. For these students, college adjustment usually entails coping with the changes to their everyday lives related to the demands of academic work and the socio-cultural environment of the institution they selected for their education [8,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring the Impact of the Pandemic on Female and Male Students’ Learning in a Society in Transition: A Must for Sustainable Education

2022

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A sustainable education amid a disruptive event (e.g., a pandemic) requires the objective assessment of learning before and during the event and, if necessary, evidence-driven solutions in response to deficiencies. The present action research study illustrates an evidence-based response of educators to the widespread concerns that learning in college students, accustomed to face-to-face courses, might have been damaged during the pandemic by the switch to the online mode. It focuses on general education (GE) courses as they usually enroll students at the beginning of their journey in higher education, and thus, a population that is likely to be particularly sensitive to unforeseen changes. Pass/fail grades in courses taught face-to-face and online synchronously by the same instructors were examined. It was hypothesized that if the switch from face-to-face to online instruction changed the students’ approaches to learning, course performance would differ between the instructional modes. Differences in female and male students’ adaptation responses were expected to be reflected in their course performance. The study found that female students performed better online than face-to-face in Arabic Culture, Natural Science, Math, and Wellness courses. Male students also performed better online in Math and Natural Science courses, whereas they exhibited better performance face-to-face in Arabic Culture, Wellness, and Professional Competency courses. It was concluded that basic indices of uneven performance can guide further analyses into the sources of female and male students’ approaches to instructional modes.

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Hopes and Fears of First-Year Freshman College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cited by 9 publications

References 34 publications

Perceived Past and Current COVID-19-Stressors, Coping Strategies and Psychological Health among University Students: A Mediated-Moderated Model

Perceived Past and Current COVID-19-Stressors, Coping Strategies and Psychological Health among University Students: A Mediated-Moderated Model

Subjective Assessments of the Pandemic Situation and Academic Adaptation of University Students

Measuring the Impact of the Pandemic on Female and Male Students’ Learning in a Society in Transition: A Must for Sustainable Education

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