A longitudinal investigation of COVID‐19 pandemic experiences and mental health among university students.
Objectives: Previous studies have established a link between the COVID‐19 pandemic and poor mental health. They further suggest that young adults may be especially vulnerable to worsened mental health during the pandemic, but few studies have investigated which specific aspects of the COVID‐19 exper...
| Published in: | British Journal of Clinical Psychology Vol. 61; no. 2; pp. 385 - 405 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
Jun2022
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=156361534&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ccm uiTerm: 156361534 longDbName: CINAHL Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: dissinfo: jinfo: jid: 01446657 99B jtl: British Journal of Clinical Psychology issn: 01446657 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Jun2022 vid: 61 iid: 2 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell place: Malden, Massachusetts artinfo: ui: 156361534 153861985 156361534 156361534 10.1111/bjc.12351 156361534 ppf: 385 ppct: 20 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: C – @attributes: type: P tig: atl: A longitudinal investigation of COVID‐19 pandemic experiences and mental health among university students. aug: au: Stamatis, Caitlin A. Broos, Hannah C. Hudiburgh, Stephanie E. Dale, Sannisha K. Timpano, Kiara R. affil: Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables Florida,, USA sug: subj: COVID-19 Pandemic United States Student Experiences Mental Health Students, College Depression Anxiety Stress, Psychological Alcohol Abuse Substance Abuse Student Attitudes Attitude to Illness Human United States Analytic Research Sociodemographic Factors Risk Assessment Confidence Descriptive Statistics ab: Objectives: Previous studies have established a link between the COVID‐19 pandemic and poor mental health. They further suggest that young adults may be especially vulnerable to worsened mental health during the pandemic, but few studies have investigated which specific aspects of the COVID‐19 experience affect psychological well‐being over time. To better understand concrete predictors of poor mental health outcomes in this population, we identified several pandemic‐related experiences and evaluated their effects on mental health symptoms (depression, anxiety, stress, alcohol, and substance use) in a sample of U.S. college students (N = 176). Methods: Both mental health symptoms and pandemic‐related experiences were evaluated at the start of quarantine (March/April 2020, Time 1) and the end of the Spring 2020 semester (May 2020, Time 2). Given the limited literature on specific predictors of mental health during a pandemic, we used elastic net regression, a novel analytic method that helps with variable selection when theoretical background is limited, to narrow our field of possible predictors. Results: While mental health symptoms were elevated at both timepoints, there were no clinically significant changes from Time 1 to Time 2 and few differences between sociodemographic groups. Both disruption due to the pandemic (β =.25, p =.021) and limited confidence in the federal government's response (β = −.14, p =.038) were significant predictors of depression symptoms at the end of the semester, even when controlling for baseline depression. Further, predictions that the pandemic would continue to impact daily life further into the future were linked with pandemic stress response symptoms (β =.15, p =.032) at Time 2, beyond the effects of baseline symptoms. Alcohol (β = −.22, p =.024) and substance use (β = −.26, p =.01) were associated with reduced adherence to COVID‐19 guidelines. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that specific aspects of the pandemic experience may be influencing internalizing symptoms and alcohol/substance use in college students, pointing to potential avenues for targeted support and intervention. Practitioner points: A range of factors may influence university student mental health during the COVID‐19 pandemic.Students who expect the pandemic will continue to impact daily life further into the future maybe more likely to report stress symptoms.Disruption due to the pandemic and limited confidence in the federal government's response may be associated with depression symptoms.Alcohol and substance use are associated with lower COVID‐19 guideline adherence in university students. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: pictorial research tables/charts Journal Article ougenre: Article language: English refInfo: holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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