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IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON STUDENTS' SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING: A STUDY ON HIGHER EDUCATION LEVEL STUDENTS AND WAY FORWARD FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected students' subjective wellbeing and daily routines. Students experience a variety of challenges during pandemics, including fear, distress, loneliness, and feelings of hopelessness. The researcher focused on the impact of Covid-19 of higher education students in relation to their subjective wellbeing in Uttar Dinajpur district. The researcher used the descriptive survey method to complete this study. The researcher also used a random sampling technique based on a Likert Seven-point scale to collect data from 103 higher education students. For measuring subjective wellbeing in pandemic outbreak, the researcher used a subjective wellbeing questionnaire (16 items) created by Renshaw in 2020. For data analysis, the researcher also used SPSS-23 to compute the Mean, S.D., t-Test, F-Test, and Pearson coefficient of correlation. Results of the study reported that the overall subjective wellbeing of higher education students in pandemics is average. Additionally, it was discovered that there is no significant mean difference in the subjective wellbeing of higher education students based on some demographics such as male-female, UG and PG, nuclear and joint family, and stream (arts, science, and commerce). However, the results indicate that students in urban areas have higher subjective well-being than students in rural areas. The findings also revealed that there was a very weak negative correlation between age and subjective wellbeing, which indicates that as age increased, their subjective wellbeing slightly decreased.
... The pandemic of COVID-19 has strongly influenced how we teach and learn [5] . Due to social distancing, students must gradually get used to e-learning through digital platforms [2,6] . ...
In today’s information and communication technology
age, e-learning is critical to an individual’s growth and, by extension,
a nation’s future. The prime objective of this paper is to study the
emerging e-learning trends in education. The data used in this study
are secondary data which are qualitative in nature. Traditional
education is teacher-centered, and teaching the same topic in the best
possible way every time is challenging. Moreover, a skilled instructor
cannot simultaneously teach in numerous places in traditional
learning. However, e-learning overcomes this disadvantage of
conventional education, becomes a powerful weapon for individual
intellectual progress, and contributes to the development of an
educated society. Apart from repetition, traditional learning has
several disadvantages, including high costs, confinement to the
classroom, set-time learning, fixed idea learning, and so on, all of
which may be avoided by the current e-learning trends. In every
country, e-learning is essential for developing intellectual think tanks.
E-learning will highlight artificial intelligence (AI), mobile learning,
gamification, blended learning, cloud-based e-learning, Internet of
Things (IoT), and other emerging e-learning trends. In this chapter,
more focus has been given to presenting new e-learning trends, the
goals of each technique for simple e-learning, and the subsequent
technological advancements in e-learning.
... Only 200 students from the secondary level institutions in the Uttar Dinajpur District were selected as the sample for the current study by the researcher. The current research was conducted on a few particular student demographic characteristics, such as education levels, gender, Age (Das and Sarkar, 2022). Conclusion: ...
The social media has very much popular and impacted students' psychological wellbeing, daily routines. Students uses social media sites like Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp for academic, enjoyment, communication, information exchange, and friendship-building purposes. The researcher focused on the pattern of using social media and its impact on psychological well-being of school going adolescents. The researcher used the descriptive survey method to complete this study. The researcher also used a random sampling technique based on a Likert Five-point scale to collect data from 200 school going adolescents. For measuring the pattern of using social media and its impact on psychological well-being, the researcher used two self-made questionnaires, a questionnaire (10 items) on pattern of using social media and also used another questionnaire (16 items) on impact of social media on psychological wellbeing. For data analysis, the researcher developed a flow chart, graphical representation to represent the pattern of using social media and also used SPSS-23 to compute the Mean, S.D., t-test, ANOVA. Results of the study reported that the use of social media had a positive impact on psychological well-being of the school going adolescents. Additionally, it was discovered that 100% of school-going adolescents use various forms of social media in their daily lives. Besides, the study revealed that there is no significant mean difference in the impact of psychological wellbeing of school going adolescents based on some demographics such as gender, academic grade, age. The findings also revealed that there is no significant mean difference in the impact of psychological wellbeing of school going adolescents based on social media use in a week, social media use in a day. However, the results indicate that 93.5% adolescents use social media for academic purposes, and also enjoyment, communication, information exchange, and friendship-building purposes.
Aims
Increased mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic have become a major concern among young adults. Our aim was to understand which COVID-19-related questions predicted mental well-being during the outbreak.
Methods
Two cross-sectional datasets were used. The primary dataset was collected in May 2020 ( n = 1001), during the initial COVID-19 outbreak, and the secondary in April 2019 ( n = 10866), before the pandemic. Mental well-being was assessed with the Short Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale. Relationships between mental well-being and COVID-19-related questions were investigated with lasso regression. As an exploratory analysis, two-way ANOVAs were used to compare mental well-being before and during the outbreak.
Results
Higher levels of mental well-being were associated with lower levels of academic stress and COVID-19-related worry, along with a higher satisfaction with the procedures and information provided by the higher education institutions and the government. COVID-19-related symptoms and infections did not have an impact on students’ mental well-being during the outbreak. Small to moderate effect sizes across the time points were detected, indicating an overall decrease in mental well-being across age and gender during the outbreak.
Conclusions
COVID-19 had an impact on higher education students’ mental well-being. Higher education institutes may play a crucial role in protecting their students’ well-being during uncertain times.
The COVID-19 lockdowns represent a major life event with an immense impact on university students' lives. Findings prior to the pandemic suggest that changes in personality and subjective well-being (SWB) can occur after critical life events or psychological interventions. The present study examined how university students' extraversion, neuroticism, and SWB changed during two COVID-19 lockdowns in Germany. To this end, we conducted a partly preregistered, two-cohort study with four measurement points each from October 2019 to May 2021 (N Study 1 = 81–148, N Study 2 = 82–97). We used both multilevel contrast analyses and multi-group random-intercept cross-lagged panel models to examine within-person changes over time. Levels of life satisfaction, extraversion, and, unexpectedly, neuroticism were lower during both lockdowns. Students' affect improved during the first but deteriorated during the second lockdown, suggesting that similar experiences with the deceleration of daily life were associated with different affective outcomes during the two lockdown periods. Following the introduction or termination of a lockdown, changes in extraversion (neuroticism) were consistently positively (negatively) associated with changes in SWB. Our results stress the importance of disentangling between- and within-person processes and using pre-COVID baseline levels to examine changes in personality and SWB.
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the family dynamics of most people worldwide as well as the mode in which students take classes. The impact of such changes on students’ well-being, academic engagement, and general distress remains unknown. Therefore, this study aims to test the structural relations among positive family environment (a measure of Positive Home-Based Parent Involvement [HBI]), subjective well-being (SWB), general distress, and academic engagement, focusing on Mexican high school students. A longitudinal study was conducted covering two time points: before (T1) and during (T2) the COVID-19 outbreak. A sample of 502 students answered questionnaires in T1 whereas 111 did so in T2. Analyses were conducted using Mplus software. Principal results showed that the positive and significant association between positive family environment and SWB did not substantially change from T1 to T2, whereas the relation between positive family environment and academic engagement became stronger. Data revealed that a positive family environment can play an important role in promoting academic engagement among adolescent students despite the risks brought about by sanitary lockdowns and the increase of family interactions. Results are discussed highlighting the importance of positive family environments and HBI on academic outcomes for Mexican high school students.
Human Civilization has come a long way in terms of education. Starting from the ‘Pathsala’-‘Gurukul’ system to modern-day online teaching-learning, we made some massive strides. But, with arrival of Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19), an autopsy has happened to this millennium-old education system. This has pointed us to realize that, when we needed to shift the education paradigm from traditional chalk-talk method to online LMS-Blended learning technique all of a sudden within weeks, we are actually not ready. From premier institutions to the school/colleges/universities in rural area, everyone has struggled to some extent and huge amount of ground level remedial work need to be done to overcome the hurdles. Institutions need to be armed with proper infrastructure, teachers need to be trained, contents need to be developed, collaborations need to be built and the list goes on. In this paper we have discussed the challenges faced by the higher education learners and institutes in India in particular and also we have look beyond how this pandemic is going to change the educational path in future.
School closures prompted by the global outbreak of COVID-19 have impacted children’s subjective well-being. In this context, a growing number of studies has pointed out that the experience of learning at home is an essential factor influencing their subjective well-being, raising the importance of parental involvement in the educational process of their children. This article explores the formal and informal parental practices of home learning during school closures period in 19 countries and their explanatory factors, with the further aim of discussing their implications for children’s subjective well-being. The study uses the International COVID-19 Impact on Parental Engagement Study (ICIPES) database and develops a regression analysis of family, child, and school factors predicting parental involvement in homeschooling. The main findings show that parents’ socioeconomic status is a critical predictor of both formal and informal parental practices. In addition, the results denote the impact of other factors, such as the level of parental confidence with the use of technology and children’s age and gender (in the case of informal activities). Based on these findings, the article discusses policy implications to promote parental involvement and children’s subjective well-being.
Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation of quarantine policy led to an unprecedented home-quarantined living and online learning context for Chinese college students. This study aimed to investigate whether and how social support contributed to home-quarantined Chinese college students’ well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, this study examined the mediating role of online learning self-efficacy in explaining how social support contributed to home-quarantined Chinese college students’ well-being. The study also examined the moderating effect of anxiety, which may buffer the effectiveness of social support and online learning self-efficacy in home-quarantined online learning contexts. Data include 2481 responses to an online questionnaire survey from home-quarantined Chinese college undergraduates. Data were analyzed by performing Partial Least Squares regression. Results showed that social support associated positively with home-quarantined Chinese college students’ online learning self-efficacy and well-being. The results revealed a partial mediating effect of online-learning self-efficacy on the positive effect of social support on well-being. The moderating effect analysis found that the positive association of online learning self-efficacy with social support and well-being was stronger in home-quarantined Chinese college students who perceived no anxiety.
The study aimed to investigate the relationship between resilience and well-being of college students during the Covid-19 pandemic and to determine the moderating role of coping strategies in this relationship. Resilience was defined based on the concept of Connor and Davidson (2003), who defined it as an individual characteristic that allows an individual to thrive in the face of adversity, coping strategies were categorized into approach or avoidant coping strategies as measured by COPE Brief, and well-being was conceptualized based on Warwick-Edinburgh's concept of mental well-being. It included 243 college students enrolled in one of the 12 online social science courses in one college in Metro Manila who were administered through online platform the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, Brief COPE, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10), and Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Life of Higher Education Students Questionnaire. Results showed a significant relationship between resilience and well-being. Approach coping strategy also showed significant positive relationships with the three criterion variables: academic, social, and mental well-being, indicating that the more a student employs approach coping strategy, the better is his or her academic, social, and mental well-being. On the other hand, the Avoidant coping strategy was negatively associated with academic-related emotions, showing that the less the use of the Avoidant coping approach, the more positive are the academic-related emotions felt by students during online classes. However, both coping strategies failed to moderate the relationship between resilience and well-being. It is recommended that schools implement programs and services that will train students on how to cope during pandemic.
As the pandemic continues, many older adults are facing prolonged isolation and stress while having less access to traditional ways of coping. There is widespread concern that the situation is increasingly taking its toll on older adults’ psychological and social well-being. We use linear mixed models to examine psychosocial impacts and predictors thereof among older Norwegians in early and later stages of the pandemic. Longitudinal data were collected online in the Norwegian Counties Public Health Survey right before the pandemic and in June and November–December 2020 in two counties (baseline n = 4,104; age 65–92). Outcomes include loneliness (single item, UCLA3), psychological ill-being (worried, anxious, depressed), and psychological well-being (satisfied, engaged, happy). From before to three months into the pandemic men’s psychosocial well-being remained stable, whereas women’s slightly declined. Five months later we observe broad and substantial declines in psychosocial well-being. These impacts disproportionately affect women (all outcomes) and single and older individuals (loneliness only) and are not moderated by educational level, urbanicity, or whether self or partner are reported “at risk” due to health problems. Pre-pandemic low social support and high psychological distress predict relatively improved psychosocial well-being. Older Norwegians seemed to manage the pandemic’s early stage without clear psychosocial impacts. However, we observe notably compromised well-being during the second wave of COVID-19 in late 2020. Lessons learned about the nature and distribution of the psychosocial impacts of prolonged health-threats and social distancing provide valuable knowledge for intervention design during this and future pandemics.
Objectives
The Covid-19 pandemic is hitting societies hard, and people living in disadvantaged circumstances are among the most affected. We investigate the combined effects of the Covid-19 crisis and living in a deprived neighbourhood on two dimensions of subjective well-being: hedonic (i.e. mental health) and evaluative (i.e. life satisfaction) subjective well-being.
Methods
We use longitudinal data from the Understanding Society UK panel. We combine data gathered in the main survey between 2015 and 2019 with very recent data from the Covid-19 online survey between April and July 2020. Leveraging a sample of nearly 9,600 English individuals, we first run a set of cross-sectional OLS regressions to analyse changes over time in the relationship between neighbourhood deprivation and subjective well-being. Then, as our main model of interest, we use a fixed effect difference-in-differences model to provide more robust evidence.
Results
Since the beginning of the crisis, both levels of hedonic and evaluative well-being have decreased as a result of the pandemic and lockdown. However, for those living in more deprived neighbourhoods the level of hedonic well-being decreased more than for those living in better areas. We found no such difference for evaluative well-being.
Conclusion
Our results highlight the importance of reducing neighbourhood inequalities as the spatial clustering of disadvantages has increased by the pandemic.
This paper examines the association between the frequency of use of urban green spaces (UGS) and the subjective well-being (SWB) of Mexico City's residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted an online survey (N = 1954) regarding individuals' perceptions and use of UGS and their SWB, evaluated through the short version of the Warwick–Edinburgh mental well-being scale. Multilevel mixed-effects regression analyses were performed to investigate the association between the frequency of UGS use and SWB, including individual and municipal level characteristics as covariates. Our results suggest that respondents who used UGS once or more per week during the pandemic reported higher SWB scores (8.7%) than those with zero visits. These findings have public policy implications that could enhance the role of UGS in urban environments during times of crisis.
Background: Results of previous studies examining the impact of the SARS-CoV-1 epidemic in 2003 on university students' mental well-being indicated severe mental health consequences. It is unclear how the current COVID-19 pandemic and the changes in study conditions due to federal regulations affected mental well-being in the German student population. We examined university students' perceptions of study conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic and investigated associations between study conditions and depressive symptoms.
Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Germany in May 2020 at four universities ( N = 5,021, 69% female, mean age: 24 years, SD : 5.1). Perceived study conditions, as well as sociodemographic information, were assessed with self-generated items and the CES-D 8 scale was used to determine depressive symptoms. Associations between perceived study conditions (academic stress and academic satisfaction), in general, and confidence to complete the semester, in particular, and depressive symptoms were analyzed using generalized linear regressions.
Results: Fifty-four percent of survey participants felt that the university workload had significantly increased since the COVID-19 pandemic; 48% were worried that they would not be able to successfully complete the academic year; 47% agreed that the change in teaching methods caused significant stress. Regarding depressive symptoms, the mean score of the CES-D 8 scale was 9.25. Further, a positive association between perceived study conditions and depressive symptoms was found ( p < 0.001), indicating that better study conditions were associated with fewer depressive symptoms. Results of the generalized linear regression suggest that better student mental well-being was related to higher confidence in completing the semester.
Conclusions: This study provides first insights into perceived study conditions and associations with depressive symptoms among students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Findings underline the need for universities to provide intervention strategies targeting students' mental well-being during the course of the pandemic.
Purpose
This study explores adolescent well-being during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in two high-income countries from Europe and one middle-income country from South America. The aim is to investigate the correlates of different dimensions of subjective well-being in 10- to 16-year-olds from different cultural contexts.
Methods
An online, self-report questionnaire was completed by 1,613 adolescents in Luxembourg, Germany, and Brazil between May and July 2020. The outcome variables were measures of life satisfaction and emotional well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study included a range of sociodemographic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal covariates. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and latent variable structural equational modeling.
Results
A two-factor model of subjective well-being, consisting of life satisfaction and emotional well-being latent constructs, fitted well with this sample data for Luxembourg, Germany, and Brazil. Results showed that gender, socioeconomic status, intrapersonal factors, quantity and type of schoolwork, and relationships with adults were important common predictors of individual differences in subjective well-being during COVID-19. Fear of illness emerged as the strongest correlate of emotional well-being across the three countries.
Conclusions
This study indicates that girls and adolescents from low-income homes may be especially vulnerable to negative secondary impacts of COVID-19 that can affect mental health. It identified several common correlates of subjective well-being in adolescents from different cultural settings, including factors that may be changeable, such as the following: the way adults listen to adolescents, schoolwork during distant learning, and fear of illness. Findings can inform the development of quality interventions for promoting the well-being of adolescents during a global pandemic.
For children the consequences of the COVID-19 public health measures may have long-term effects into adulthood. By exploring children’s reactions more broadly, we are better placed to understanding the breadth of implications of home school and social isolation under COVID-19. The present study explored how COVID-19 related variables, namely, home school experience, child perceived family stress and instability, screen time use, missing friends and worry about virus infection are associated with children’s emotional, somatic/cognitive and worry reactions, respectively. A total of 442 children ( M = 11.43 years, SD = 2.59) from the longitudinal FamilieForSK-study participated and a series of hierarchical linear regression models were applied controlling for background variables including children’s psychological vulnerability. Results showed significant associations between all COVID-19 related predictors, except screen time use, and the three outcomes. Family stress and instability had the strongest effects with standardised betas ranging from .356 to .555 and collectively, predictors explained between 20.7 and 44.1% of variance in outcomes. Furthermore, several associations were moderated by age and older children were more negatively impacted (i.e., higher level of reported reactions). The present study provides more conclusive evidence of the effects of home school and social isolation under COVID-19 on children. It also exemplifies the importance of focusing on children’s reactions more broadly, as there was evidence that children on average had fewer emotional reactions compared to before the pandemic.
Purpose
Every day thousands of academic institutes suspend their classes and students are staying in their home maintaining social distancing due to the fear of COVID-19 pandemic and Nepal is no exception. Realizing these facts, this study aims to explore the factors for the effectiveness of online mode of classes to on-class course-based students and analyzes the perception of faculties and students toward online mode during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
It is based on exploratory research design, following mixed methods of qualitative and quantitative procedure. To build a rich understanding of the phenomenon, three-stage data collection procedure: preliminary interview, structural survey and validation were used.
Findings
This study revealed triplet factors: infrastructure, student and teacher as antecedents of effectiveness of online classes during a pandemic. Technological support, infrastructure availability, faculty and students' perception have a significant relationship for the effectiveness of the online mode of the teaching-learning process. Students faced anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic, but a higher willingness to learn reduces the level of anxiety.
Originality/value
This study significantly contributes to the future management of higher education and digs the future path of online and on-class teaching-learning practices.
Background: The spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) has resulted in a drastic alteration to billions of individuals’ emotional, physical, mental, social, and financial status. As of July 21st, 2020, there had been 14.35 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 0.60 million deaths in 216 countries.
Design and Methods: The study explores health and well-being in universities within the G20 countries (19 member countries and the European Union) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample selection of these countries was considered since it serves around 80% of the world’s economic output, two-thirds of the global population (including more than half of the world's poor), and 75% of international trade. Specifically, due to this public health concern, schools' nationwide closures are impacting over 60% of the world’s student population to promote their quality of life and well-being.
Results: This study investigates the G20 policies and procedures within higher education regarding health and well-being measures during the COVID-19 epidemic. The findings reveal that the lockdown, social distancing, and self-isolation requirements are stressful and detrimental for many individuals and have caused students' health and well-being concerns.
Conclusions: Several countries within the G20 have taken significant steps to support health and well-being issues for university students; however, numerous countries are far behind in addressing this issue. Hence, government leaders of G20 countries, policymakers, and health providers should promptly take the necessary measures to regulate the outbreak, improve safety measures to decrease disease transmission, and administer those who demand medical attention.
Objective:
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a period of upheaval for college students. The objective of this study was to assess the factors associated with the increased levels of mental health burden among a sample of undergraduate college students in Northern New Jersey, the region of the U.S. severely impacted by the outbreak of COVID-19.
Methods:
College students (N = 162) enrolled in an introductory core curriculum course completed a cross-sectional survey. The survey collected information on demographics, knowledge levels and sources of COVID-19 information, behavior changes, academic and everyday difficulties, and mental health measurements (depression, anxiety, somatization, and stress). Multivariable regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with mental health outcomes.
Results:
Descriptive findings indicate that students have a fundamental knowledge of COVID-19 transmission and common symptoms. Students tend to use and trust the official sources and have changed their behaviors in accordance with public health recommendations (i.e., increased hand washing, wearing mask). However, students reported a number of academic and everyday difficulties and high levels of mental health distress. High levels of depression were associated with difficulties in focusing on academic work and with employment losses, while higher levels of anxiety were more likely to be reported by students other than freshmen and those who spend more than one hour per day looking for information on COVID-19. Inability to focus on academic work and an elevated concern with COVID-19 were more likely to be associated with higher levels of somatization, while trusting news sources was associated with lower levels of somatization. Those with higher levels of perceived stress were more likely to be females, unable to focus on academic work, and report difficulties in obtaining medications and cleaning supplies.
Conclusions:
The COVID-19 pandemic is making a significant negative impact on mental health of college students. Proactive efforts to support the mental health and well-being of students are needed.
Background
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is having a profound impact on the health and development of children worldwide. There is limited evidence on the impact of COVID-19 and its related school closures and disease-containment measures on the psychosocial wellbeing of children; little research has been done on the characteristics of vulnerable groups and factors that promote resilience.
Methods
We conducted a large-scale cross-sectional population study of Hong Kong families with children aged 2–12 years. Parents completed an online survey on family demographics, child psychosocial wellbeing, functioning and lifestyle habits, parent–child interactions, and parental stress during school closures due to COVID-19. We used simple and multiple linear regression analyses to explore factors associated with child psychosocial problems and parental stress during the pandemic.
Results
The study included 29,202 individual families; of which 12,163 had children aged 2–5 years and 17,029 had children aged 6–12 years. The risk of child psychosocial problems was higher in children with special educational needs, and/or acute or chronic disease, mothers with mental illness, single-parent families, and low-income families. Delayed bedtime and/or inadequate sleep or exercise duration, extended use of electronic devices were associated with significantly higher parental stress and more psychosocial problems among pre-schoolers.
Conclusions
This study identifies vulnerable groups of children and highlights the importance of strengthening family coherence, adequate sleep and exercise, and responsible use of electronic devices in promoting psychosocial wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Considering the potential impact of COVID-19 on the civil society, a longitudinal study was conducted to identify levels of distress, resilience, and the subjective well-being of the population. The study is based on two repeated measurements conducted at the end of the pandemic's "first wave" and the beginning of the "second wave" on a sample (n = 906) of Jewish Israeli respondents, who completed an online questionnaire distributed by an Internet panel company. Three groups of indicators were assessed: signs of distress (sense of danger, distress symptoms, and perceived threats), resilience (individual, community, and national), and subjective well-being (well-being, hope, and morale). Results indicated the following: (a) a significant increase in distress indicators, with effect sizes of sense of danger, distress symptoms, and perceived threats (Cohen's d 0.614, 0.120, and 0.248, respectively); (b) a significant decrease in resilience indicators, with effect sizes of individual, community, and national resilience (Cohen's d 0.153, 0.428, and 0.793, respectively); and (c) a significant decrease in subjective well-being indicators with effect sizes of well-being, hope, and morale (Cohen's d 0.116, 0.336, and 0.199, respectively). To conclude, COVID-19 had a severe, large-scale impact on the civil society, leading to multidimensional damage and a marked decrease in the individual, community, and national resilience of the population.
The COVID-19 outbreak entailed radical shifts to individuals' daily habits that challenged their subjective well-being (SWB). Knowledge about the impact of COVID-19 on SWB is paramount for developing public policies to tackle mental health during health emergency periods. Decreases in life satisfaction are likely not only due to exposure to daily negative emotions but also due to hopelessness, fear, and avoidance of social interactions. We examined in a sample of 541 Spanish adults (1) reactions to the COVID-19 outbreak and (2) the mediating role of these reactions in the associations of hope and social phobia with life satisfaction through different levels of positive and negative affect. A moderated mediation analysis showed that the conditional indirect effect of hope and social anxiety on life satisfaction through information depended on the participants' having high positive affect and low negative affect. Affect seems to be a mechanism that modulates the influence of individuals' perception about COVID-19 on their life satisfaction. Those with high positive affect might see the "general picture" and search for adequate information as they avoid focusing on the problem and on specific information that precludes preventive behaviors. Having a positive affect might help individuals to adopt information-processing strategies during the COVID-19 outbreak that will improve their life satisfaction.
Background:
The world is experiencing an extraordinary, life-altering challenge due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. However, it is unclear whether the lifestyle will change under the situations of COVID-19 epidemic.
Objective:
To explore perceived lifestyle changes, after the outbreak of COVID-19, and their association with subjective wellbeing (SWB) among the general population in the Mainland China.
Methods:
An online survey was conducted through a media platform in May 2020. Lifestyle behaviors including leisure-time physical exercise, leisure-time screen time and dietary intake were self-reported. SWB was measured using the General Wellbeing Schedule (GWS). Other covariates including socio-demographic factors, self-rate physical health, perceived social support and loneliness were also assessed by a structured questionnaire. Multivariate ordinal regression method was used to analyze the association between SWB and lifestyle behaviors as well as perceived lifestyle changes.
Results:
A total of 1,033 participants aged between 18 and 60 years were included in this study. The mean GWS score was 71.7 points and more than half of participants reported no perceived lifestyle changes. About 70% of the respondents reported spending more time on screen, whereas about 30% reported an increased frequency of vegetable and fruits intake after the outbreak of COVID-19. Physical inactivity (odds ratio(OR) =1.16,95% confidence interval (CI):1.02-1.48), infrequent vegetable intake (OR=1.45,95%CI: 1.10-1.90), infrequent fruits intake (OR=1.31,95%CI: 1.01-1.70) and often skipping breakfast (OR=1.43, 95%CI: 1.08-1.91) were associated with lower SWB after adjusting for socio-demographic factors, self-rate physical health, perceived social support and loneliness. Moreover, participants who perceived a decrease in the frequency of vegetable, fruits and breakfast intake were more likely to report lower SWB.
Conclusions:
The COVID-19 pandemic may have positive or negative impact on some aspects of lifestyle behaviors. Both unhealthy lifestyle behaviors and negative lifestyle changes were associated with lower SWB. Therefore, these findings provide scientific information for the lifestyle guidelines in the management of COVID-19 as well as for the public mental health interventions.
Clinicaltrial:
IntroductionIn Italy, lockdown due to COVID-19 health emergency started on March 10 and partially ended on May 3rd, 2020. There was a significant increase of psychological distress and symptoms of mental illness, and worsening of quality of sleep in the general population.Methods
Participants completed an anonymous web-based survey that include questionnaires about sleep and anxiety and depression symptoms. Our sample included 400 subjects: 307 students (mean age 22.84 ± 2.68) and 93 university administration staff workers (mean age 37.02 ± 12.46).Resultswe found an increase in Bed Time hour, Sleep Latency, and Wake-Up time between before and during COVID-19 emergency and a worsening of sleep quality and of insomnia symptoms. In particular, during the lockdown, the impact of the delay in Bed Time and in Wake-Up was more pronounced in students. In workers, we observed a prevalence of maintenance insomnia before COVID-19 of 24% that significantly increase during COVID-19 reaching 40%, while workers with difficulties in sleep initiation were only 15% that increased to 42%. In our sample, 27.8% showed depressive symptoms, while 34.3% showed anxious symptoms, in particular in students.Conclusion
The impact of lockdown was greater in students than in workers, and in females than in males. Concerning the psycho-emotional aspects, about one-third of our sample showed depressive or anxious symptoms. The results of our study may provide support for the implementation of some interventions for well-being in pandemic condition.
Purpose
Academia is experiencing massive reforms globally amid lockdown in COVID-19 outbreak. This study is aimed to apprehend the enabling and impeding factors of these reforms, with a focus on optometry education. It brings together how the Indian optometry educational system has responded to COVID-19 disruptions with findings of the 2020 survey, in light of similar survey done in 2018.
Methodology
A cross-sectional survey was designed to find changes in optometry training and adaptations of Indian optometry educators amid COVID 19 lockdown. In the last week of April 2020, on the observation that the majority of optometry institutions have switched their teaching-learning activities on e-learning mode, an online survey was conducted using a validated questionnaire containing a mix of open and close-ended questions.
Results
Seventy-three out of 78 optometry educators (93.58%) have switched to e-learning mode in a very short time span with good confidence. Most teaching-learning and assessment activities are carried out using multi-device supporting video conferencing tools, dedicated educational portals and social media apps.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic is proving to be constructive disruptor, giving an opportunity for restructuring the present conventional, classroom based educational system. The quick transitions to online mode assisted in keeping continuity of optometry education programs, effectively fitting in the purpose of completion of the current academic year. The rapid transition to online education has not only benefited optometry students but also has created a momentum of continued education for practicing optometrist in the country.
Domain-specific measures of subjective wellbeing are valuable tools for assessing the mental health of college students. In this study, we examined relations between Big Five personality traits and college students’ subjective wellbeing (SWB) using a college-specific measure: The College Student Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire (CSSWQ). Using a latent variable modeling approach called bifactor analysis, we found that the general college wellbeing factor was best predicted by agreeableness and extraversion whereas the specific dimensions of college SWB were differentially predicted by conscientiousness and neuroticism. Specifically, conscientiousness best predicted academic satisfaction and efficacy whereas neuroticism best predicted students’ connectedness to the university. The results suggest that the profile of a flourishing college student is extraverted and agreeable. This study illustrates the methodological advantage of using a domain-specific measure of SWB and bifactor modeling to shed light on the unique relations between personality and various aspects of college students’ mental health.
COVID-19 has caused psychological problems in all age groups since it emerged from the first day. One of the most important groups has been affected negatively during the COVID-19 pandemic process are university students. One of the negative situations caused by the pandemic process in university students is student stress caused by COVID-19. To assess stress situations in Italian culture, the COVID-19 student stress scale (CSS-S) has been developed. In this context, the aim of this study was to adapt the CSS-S into Turkish. Another aim of the study was to investigate the direct and indirect relationships of COVID-19 student stress with school burnout, depression and subjective well-being. The participants of the study were 485 Turkish university students. The values obtained with the confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the factor structure of CSS-S is satisfying (χ2/df = 2.99, AGFI = .95, TLI = .93, CFI = .96, IFI = .96, REMSEA = .06, SRMR = .04). Moreover, it was found that school burnout has a mediating role in the relationship between COVID-19 student stress and depression and subjective well-being (χstructure of CSS-S is satisfying/df = 2.41, AGFI = .87, TLI = .91, CFI = .91, IFI = .91, REMSEA = .05, SRMR = .05). These findings imply that psychosocial intervention studies to reduce COVID-19 student stress can reduce students' school burnout and depression. It also implies that these psychosocial intervention studies can have a positive impact on students' subjective well-being.
This study examined the relationship between perceived social support and subjective well-being among college students in the context of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. 515 college students in China that participated in an online questionnaire investigation were selected as the research sample. The results showed that perceived social support was significantly and positively associated with life satisfaction and positive affect and was significantly and negatively related to negative affect among college students learning online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological capital (PsyCap) significantly mediated the relationships between perceived social support and three subjective well-being variables. The present study provides some implications to protect college students’ subjective well-being in the context of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This study explored college student’s well-being priorities and capabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 2 213 South African undergraduate students answered an open-ended question to elicit interpretive, reflective, analytic, and evaluative written response types on the factors that support their well-being at university. Two thirds of the participants were female, almost half (48.94%) were black African, and most (67.46%) were between 18 and 21 years of age. Interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) of the data revealed COVID-19 mitigation that prioritised support from family, friends, and lecturers by spending time together and connecting online. The students also relied on a variety of spiritual coping strategies to manage feelings of despair and despondency, and to cope with high workloads, social distancing, and online learning. The study revealed high resourcefulness of undergraduate students in supporting their own well-being.
Background
Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, social distancing practices were introduced to curb infection rates in many countries. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of these restrictions on behaviours and well-being and whether individual differences predict changes in well-being.
Methods
Australian adults participated in a cross-sectional, online survey during May 2020. The survey captured demographic information; health behaviours; personality traits; life satisfaction and COVID-19-related attitudes, financial concerns, perceived risks and impacts.
Results
In total, 3745 (86.8% of 4313) participants completed all items. Participants were mostly female (85.7%) and 56.4 years (standard deviation [SD] = 12.6) on average. Over 95.0% of the sample indicated they had been social distancing or isolating. Health behaviours and well-being had generally worsened, with social connections being the most negatively affected. Life satisfaction was significantly lower since restrictions. For changes in life satisfaction, extroversion was a risk factor and openness to experience was a protective factor.
Conclusions
Overall, well-being was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated social distancing particularly in this sample containing mainly older women. In future, it will be crucial to understand why and who may be differentially affected, to encourage behaviours that are protective of well-being.
The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has created a crisis with a severe effect on the masses, particularly the young students across the world. Framed by the transactional theory of stress and coping, this study investigates the factors influencing psychological well-being (PWB) of the students in higher education during the peri-traumatic phase of COVID-19. A cross-sectional survey using a questionnaire was employed. The study aimed at prediction and theory building and was carried out in India. Data were collected online from 173 higher education students. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the hypothesised relationships among the constructs. Results indicated resilience significantly predicts PWB both directly and indirectly. Further, the study revealed perceived distress and PWB are not on the same continuum. This study has a contribution to theory and health promotion. Furthermore, the findings have several practical implications for counselling psychologists, academicians, and mental health workers associated with the higher education sector. These findings will put them in a better position to design interventions to enhance resilience in students in the backdrop of the relevance of both positive and negative mental health during the outbreak of diseases. Based on the findings, future directions were discussed.
This study reports on the preliminary development and validation of the College Student Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire (CSSWQ) with two subsamples of undergraduates. The CSSWQ is a brief, multidimensional, domain-specific measure of college students' covitality—operationalized by a measurement model comprised of four first-order latent constructs (i.e., academic efficacy, college gratitude, school connectedness, and academic satisfaction) and one second-order latent construct (i.e., college student covitality). Results from exploratory factor analyses, conducted with the first subsample (n = 387), were used to refine a 15-item, four-subscale version of the CSSWQ, which demonstrated strong internal consistency and concurrent validity with several global indicators of subjective wellbeing. Results from confirmatory factor analyses, conducted with the second subsample (n = 584), corroborated the CSSWQ's four-factor structure and supported the second-order latent construct of college-student covitality. Further concurrent validity analyses conducted with the second subsample, using latent-variable path analysis, indicated that the college-stu-dent covitality variable was a strong predictor of both psychological distress and psychological wellness. Analysis of variance also indicated that, when compared with global covitality status (i.e., below average, low average, high average, or above average), college-student covitality status had a stronger effect and thus incremental validity in relation to academic achievement. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.
Elsevier Has Created a COVID-19 Resource Centre with Free Information in English and Mandarin on the Novel Coronavirus COVID-19
- Wenjun Cao
Cao, Wenjun, et al. Since January 2020 Elsevier Has Created a COVID-19 Resource Centre with Free
Information in English and Mandarin on the Novel Coronavirus COVID-19. The COVID-19
PERCEPTION, LEVEL OF SATISFACTION AND CHALLENGES FACED BY HIGHER EDUCATION LEARNERS OF WEST BENGAL: A STUDY IN COVID-19 PERSPECTIVE
- William E Copeland
Copeland, William E., et al. Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on College Student. no. January, 2020.
Das, Prasenjit, and RajuSingha. "PERCEPTION, LEVEL OF SATISFACTION AND CHALLENGES
FACED BY HIGHER EDUCATION LEARNERS OF WEST BENGAL: A STUDY IN
COVID-19 PERSPECTIVE." Towards Excellence 14.2 (2022).
Social and Emotional Loneliness among College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic : The Predictive Role of Coping Behaviours , Social Support , and Personal Resilience
- Leodoro J Labrague
- Janet Alexis
- A De Los
- Santos
Labrague, Leodoro J., and Janet Alexis A. De Los Santos. Social and Emotional Loneliness among
College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic : The Predictive Role of Coping Behaviours
, Social Support, and Personal Resilience. 2021, pp. 1-16.