Remote Learning Experience and Adolescents’ Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic: What Does the Future Hold?

Abstract

Background. Major shifts within the education system have taken place during the COVID-19 pandemic; frontal teaching was often replaced with remote learning, which has affected students in many ways. We investigated the associations and predictors of perceptions of the remote learning experience on well-being (life satisfaction, self-rated health, psychosomatic, and psychological symptoms). Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional research study consisting of 1019 school students in Israel aged 11–18 (53.5% girls, 46.7% boys). Questionnaires were distributed from May–July 2021 during school time. The percentages of participants with various levels of well-being (WB) and remote learning experience were compared. Multiple regression procedures were used to analyze factors predicting wellbeing. Results. All of the remote learning items had statistically significant positive correlations with life satisfaction and self-rated health (i.e., better overall WB was associated with a more positive perception of the remote learning experience). Male gender, high socioeconomic status, greater involvement in lessons in the past year, and connection to the pedagogical team/school and peers predicted better overall WB (F-ratio = 14.03; p < 0.01; adjusted R2 = 0.08). Conclusions. Our results highlight the need for schools to target youths’ coping skills, which may lead to better remote learning experiences. These findings also provide several implications for the need to support children and adolescents through positive activities, relaxation/mindfulness, and cognitive coping to deal with the psychosomatic symptoms during remote learning periods.

The Effects of a Physical Activity Online Intervention Program on Resilience, Perceived Social Support, Psychological Distress and Concerns among At-Risk Youth during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The control group did not show any difference in the reported level of crisis concerns before and after the intervention; however, their initial crisis levels at pre-test were significantly lower than those of the intervention group. Recent studies have shown that youth have experienced high rates of anxiety and depression symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 39 , 40 ]. The resulting social isolation and economic uncertainty have led to a significant increase in mental health concerns [ 41 , 42 ].…”