The Impact of COVID-19 on the Mental Well-Being of College Students

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an overall increase in stress and depression in society. The aim of the present research was to evaluate the psychological condition of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic and explore factors influencing their daily functioning. The study focused on four main aspects such as mental well-being, sexuality, concern about financial status, and trust in medical authorities. The study was based on a specially designed survey. The questionnaire was created using Google Forms and shared on social media sites. A total of 630 students participated in the survey, 17 surveys were excluded due to incomplete data and 613 surveys (97.30%) were considered for the final analysis. During isolation, 68.0% of students experienced fear of missing out (FOMO). A total of 73.4% were frustrated due to spending a lot of time in front of a computer. A significant decrease in motivation to study was reported by 78.1% of the respondents. Students showed significantly different attitudes towards sexuality. Concern about the financial situation was reported by 48.7% of respondents. The state of the Polish economy was of concern to 86.4% of respondents. A total of 74.5% of students declared concern about their career development. During the pandemic, 59.0% of respondents became concerned about their health. The attitude towards vaccination was described as positive by 82.5% of the respondents. The percentage of respondents experiencing negative psychological effects relative to the overall epidemiological situation of COVID-19 is troubling. Given the unexpected length and severity of the pandemic, we suggest that students’ concerns be more thoroughly understood and addressed.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Well-Being, Social Relationships and Academic Performance in a Sample of University Freshmen: A Propensity Score Match Evaluation Pre- and Post-Pandemic

“…The findings of this study suggest a noteworthy relationship between the perception of high levels of stress, as measured by the USS, and increased perceptions of the pandemic's impact on social relationships among freshmen. The transition to university life is inherently stressful, and the added stressors brought on by the pandemic, such as remote learning, reduced social interactions, and uncertainty, may have compounded these stress levels [52,57]. Consequently, freshmen who have a higher perception of stress may be more inclined to perceive the pandemic as having a detrimental effect on their social relationships.…”

Academic self-efficacy as a protective factor for the mental health of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Academic self-efficacy is significantly related to psychological well-being and mental health, since several authors have found that a higher confidence to address academic tasks has a negative relationship with mental health disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and stress (e.g., Tak et al, 2017;Tahmassian & Jalali Moghadam, 2011; Sabouripour et In correspondence to several studies on the prevalence of mental health problems on university students during the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., Chen & Lucock, 2022;Li et al, 2021;Chang et al, 2021), we found that approximately one third of the sample experienced severe to extremely severe symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. In most cases, students faced a disruption on their lives during the pandemic such as the feelings of loneliness due to the social isolation practices, lack of financial resources which increased stress and implied poor nutrition and housing, as well as the need to keep adapting to academic demands (Sauer et al, 2022). As such evidence persists, researchers conclude that there is a strong need for providing mental health care resources to university students, not only by their educational institution (Copeland et al, 2021), but also as a government policy (Chen et al, 2020).…”

“…This study focused on one protective factor within the academic context, academic self-efficacy, as a potentially protective factor against the three aforementioned mental health conditions during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. As shown in the literature, the pandemic itself brought several stressors, and for university students, most of them are related to changes in their academic efforts and well-being (e.g., Oliveira Carvalho et al, 2021;Sauer et al, 2022;Werner et al, 2021). For this reason, we hypothesize that higher academic self-efficacy in university students will be associated with less severe symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.…”

Hidden Costs of the COVID-19 Pandemic Response

“…As early as February 2020, psychiatrists and researchers were warning of the impact of lockdowns and other responses on depression, anxiety, fear, panic attacks, suicidality, and other severe mental health problems, among both patients and health workers [ 43 , 44 ]. Studies around the world have found alarming rates of depression and stress on particular groups, such as caregivers of persons with dementia in Hong Kong (nearly two-thirds suffered from probable depression) [ 45 ], college students in Poland (over one-third reported poor mental health requiring treatment) [ 46 ], college students in China (nearly one-quarter reported mild-to-severe anxiety) [ 47 ], and young adults in Saudi Arabia (over 90% reported mild-to-severe symptoms of mental health disease) [ 48 ].…”