Psychological Effects of Coronavirus Disease 2019 on Students

Background This qualitative study investigated the psychological effects on 21 U.S. high school students during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Aim The study aimed to identify and assess the pandemic’s effect on the mental health of these students. Method To determine the stress and anxiety students faced during the pandemic, an online survey used five open-ended questions that focused on awareness of the pandemic surrounding the major themes of insight, stress, anxiety, social support, and adapted coping strategies. NVivo software analyzed the raw data. Colaizzi’s descriptive phenomenological analysis method converted the quantitative results into a visual/verbal form. Based on the analysis, the researcher identified the pandemic’s effects on students’ mental health and well-being. Results All 21 participants responded to each of the five questions. Of the participants, 72% demonstrated a negative outlook on their future. Seventy percent (70%) of the participants felt that COVID-19 hurt their social life because of safety precautions, such as social distancing. Even though schools and their faculty tried to keep students engaged and active, 64% of the participants found it challenging to be physically distanced from friends and teachers while learning from home. Of the students, 62% worried about missing out on sports and activities canceled due to the pandemic. 63.14% of the students felt the pandemic stressed them to the point that fear and anxiety overwhelmed them with many questions about the future. Conclusion This study’s results may help create programs that better meet students’ mental and social needs.

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Students’ Perception of Teachers’ Humor Predicts Their Mental Health

Psychological Reports ◽

10.1177/0033294120972631 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 003329412097263

Author(s):

Ryota Tsukawaki ◽

Tomoya Imura

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

High School Students ◽

Stress Response ◽

Junior High School ◽

Well Being ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Self Report ◽

School Students ◽

Aggressive Humor ◽

Asking Questions

The aim of the present study was to determine whether two types of teacher humor (Aggressive Humor and Affinity Humor) are predictors of students’ mental health. A self-report scale was administered to 500 elementary and junior high school students in grades 4 to 9 (mean age 12.04, SD = 1.76) asking questions about perceived teacher humor, stress response, emotional well-being, and self-esteem. Aggressive humor was a significant positive predictor of stress response and a significant negative predictor of emotional well-being. Affinity humor was a significant positive predictor of emotional well-being and self-esteem. These results suggest that the teacher’s humor is related to students’ mental health. We conclude that teachers should refrain from using aggressive humor as much as possible in favor of affinity humor.

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Perceived efficacy of COVID-19 restrictions, reactions and their impact on mental health during the early phase of the outbreak in six countries

10.31234/osf.io/ce4n3 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Martin Jensen Mækelæ ◽

Niv Reggev ◽

Natalia Bezerra Dutra ◽

Ricardo M. Tamayo ◽

Reinaldo A. Silva-Sobrinho ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Social Life ◽

Early Phase ◽

Online Survey ◽

Daily Life ◽

Well Being ◽

Effective School ◽

Policy Makers ◽

School Closings ◽

Life Habits

The COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of people to drastically change their social life habits as governments employed harsh restrictions to reduce the spread of the virus. Although beneficial to physical health, the perception of physical distancing and related countermeasures could impact mental health. In a pre-registered online survey, we assessed how effective a range of countermeasures were perceived, how severely they affected daily life, general distress and paranoia during the early phase of the outbreak in Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Israel, Norway and US. Most of our over 2000 respondents rated the countermeasures as effective. School closings were perceived as having the strongest effect on daily life. Participants who believed their country reacted too mildly perceived the risk of contracting Sars-CoV-2 to be higher, were more worried and expressed reduced beliefs in the ability to control the outbreak. Relatedly, dissatisfaction with governmental actions corresponded with increased distress levels. Together, we found that satisfaction with one’s governmental actions and fear appraisal play an important role in assessing the efficacy of countermeasures during the pandemic and their related psychological outcomes. These findings inform policy-makers on the psychological factors that strengthen resilience and foster the well-being of citizens in times of global crisis.

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Perceived efficacy of COVID-19 restrictions, reactions and their impact on mental health during the early phase of the outbreak in six countries

Royal Society Open Science ◽

10.1098/rsos.200644 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (8) ◽

pp. 200644 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Martin Jensen Mækelæ ◽

Niv Reggev ◽

Natalia Dutra ◽

Ricardo M. Tamayo ◽

Reinaldo A. Silva-Sobrinho ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Social Life ◽

Early Phase ◽

Online Survey ◽

Daily Life ◽

Well Being ◽

Effective School ◽

Policy Makers ◽

School Closings ◽

Life Habits

The COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of people to drastically change their social life habits as governments employed harsh restrictions to reduce the spread of the virus. Although beneficial to physical health, the perception of physical distancing and related restrictions could impact mental health. In a pre-registered online survey, we assessed how effective a range of restrictions were perceived, how severely they affected daily life, general distress and paranoia during the early phase of the outbreak in Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Israel, Norway and USA. Most of our over 2000 respondents rated the restrictions as effective. School closings were perceived as having the strongest effect on daily life. Participants who believed their country reacted too mildly perceived the risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 to be higher, were more worried and expressed reduced beliefs in the ability to control the outbreak. Relatedly, dissatisfaction with governmental reactions corresponded with increased distress levels. Together, we found that satisfaction with one's governmental reactions and fear appraisal play an important role in assessing the efficacy of restrictions during the pandemic and their related psychological outcomes. These findings inform policy-makers on the psychological factors that strengthen resilience and foster the well-being of citizens in times of global crisis.

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Effects of a Positive Psychology-based Mental Health Promotion Program for High School Students

Child Health Nursing Research ◽

10.4094/chnr.2020.26.2.154 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 26 (2) ◽

pp. 154-163

Author(s):

Myung Sun Hyun ◽

Mi-kyung Yun ◽

Sun-Mi Chae ◽

Hee Young Oh ◽

Sun-Mi Jung

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

High School ◽

High School Students ◽

Positive Psychology ◽

Well Being ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Health Promotion Program ◽

Control Group ◽

School Students ◽

Psychological Well Being

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a positive psychology-based mental health promotion program for high school students. Methods: This study used a randomized control group pretest-posttest design. A total of 47 high school students participated from two high schools in Gyeonggi Province. They were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n=24), which participated in the 8-session program, or to a control group (n=23). Psychological well-being, depression, and self-esteem were measured. Results: A significant difference in psychological well-being was observed between the two groups after the program. However, there were no significant between-group differences in depression or self-esteem. Conclusion: The positive psychology-based mental program was effective at increasing psychological well-being in adolescents, especially high school students. This study suggests that a school curriculum could incorporate positive psychology-based mental programs for high school students to promote their mental health.

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The Adaptation of a Brief Adolescent Subjective Well-Being in School Scale (BASWBSS), the Student Subjective Well-Being Scale in the Indonesian Context [Adaptasi BASWBSS, Skala Kesejahteraan Subjektif Siswa dalam Konteks Indonesia]

ANIMA Indonesian Psychological Journal ◽

10.24123/aipj.v36i2.2277 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 36 (2) ◽

pp. 184-203

Author(s):

Wuri Prasetyawati ◽

Tjut Rifameutia ◽

Robyn Gillies ◽

Peter Newcombe

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

High School ◽

High School Students ◽

Well Being ◽

First Year ◽

Reliability Testing ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

School Students ◽

Validity Testing ◽

First Year University

Well-being is an indicator of students’ happiness in school. There is currently a need to identify students’ well-being in order to know the conditions of students’ mental health and their levels of contentment in school. The existing instruments of student well-being in Indonesia have numerous items, which can impact the participants’ behavior in filling out the questionnaires. Therefore, there was a need for a shorter version of the instruments. This research focused on the adaption of the Brief Adolescent Subjective Well-Being in School Scale (BASWBSS), an instrument for subjective well-being with only eight items and was previously developed by Tian, Wang, and Huebner (2015) among high school students in China. A total of 235 Indonesian students, both high school and first-year university students were the participants in this study. Reliability testing using internal consistency, while construct and criterion validity testing was implemented to test this scale's psychometric properties in the Indonesian context. The result of this study indicated that the adaptation of Brief Adolescent Subjective Well-Being in School Scale (BASWBSS) was valid and reliable for Indonesian students. Kesejahteraan merupakan indikator kebahagiaan siswa di sekolah. Saat ini, terdapat kebutuhan mengidentifikasi kesejahteraan siswa untuk mengetahui kondisi kesehatan mental dan tingkat kepuasan mereka di sekolah. Alat ukur kesejahteraan siswa yang ada di Indonesia memiliki banyak butir pertanyaan, yang dapat berdampak pada perilaku partisipan dalam mengisi kuesioner. Karenanya, dibutuhkan versi pendek dari alat ukur tersebut. Penelitian ini berfokus pada adaptasi Brief Adolescent Subjective Well-Being in School Scale (BASWBSS), sebuah alat ukur kesejahteraan subjektif dengan delapan butir yang dikembangkan oleh Tian, Wang, dan Huebner (2015) untuk siswa sekolah menengah atas di Tiongkok. Sebanyak 235 siswa Indonesia, yang merupakan siswa sekolah menengah atas dan mahasiswa tahun pertama, menjadi partisipan dalam penelitian ini. Uji reliabilitas dilakukan menggunakan konsistensi internal, sedangkan uji validitas konstruk dan validitas kriteria digunakan untuk menguji aspek psikometri dalam konteks Indonesia. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa hasil adaptasi dari Brief Adolescent Subjective Well-Being in School Scale (BASWBSS) valid dan reliabel untuk siswa di Indonesia.

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Protective elements of mental health status during the COVID-19 outbreak in the Portuguese population

10.1101/2020.04.28.20080671 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

PS Moreira ◽

S Ferreira ◽

B Couto ◽

M Machado-Sousa ◽

M Fernández ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Online Survey ◽

Mental Healthcare ◽

Well Being ◽

Psychological Effects ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Obsessive Compulsive ◽

Portuguese Population ◽

Psychological Indicators ◽

Anxiety Depression

AbstractThe outbreak of COVID-19 might produce dramatic psychological effects on the individuals’ life. In this study, we aimed to explore the elements that may reduce the negative effects on mental health of the quarantine period imposed by most governments during this worldwide crisis. We conducted an online survey to evaluate demographic, lifestyle and mental health variables in the Portuguese population. We observed that factors related with living conditions, maintaining the work either online or in the workplace, frequency of exercise and absence of a previous psychological or physic disorders are protective features of psychological well-being (anxiety, depression, stress and obsessive-compulsive symptoms). Finally, the individuals previously receiving psychotherapeutic support exhibited better psychological indicators if they did not interrupt the process as a consequence of the outbreak. Our results indicate that the practice of physical exercise, reduced consumption of COVID-19 information and the implementation of remote mental healthcare measures might prevent larger impacts on mental health during the COVID-19 outbreak.

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The Impact of Social Support on Students’ Behavior in the Context of Iraqi Medical Education

Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences ◽

10.3889/oamjms.2021.7688 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (E) ◽

pp. 1553-1559

Author(s):

I. D. Al-Hasani ◽

H. S. Salih ◽

A. T. Abdul Wahid ◽

Mohammed Jabarah

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Social Support ◽

Medical Students ◽

Social Life ◽

Online Survey ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Well Being ◽

Depression And Anxiety ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Impact

BACKGROUND: Mental health problems are reflected and linked to human behavior in many aspects. Medical students are susceptible to a wide variety of events that compromise their mental well-being, social life as well as their academic achievements. AIM: This study aimed to find the impact of social support on medical students’ behavior in Iraq via assessing their depression, anxiety, and stress status. METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey-based study targeted all medical students in Iraq. The employed questionnaires covered mental health status of participants by evaluating their perceptions of depression, anxiety, and stress using. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Analysis System. RESULTS: The study revealed a significant influence of social support on students’ perceptions of depression and anxiety, but not of their perception of stress. CONCLUSION: Lending social support to medical student is crucial to improve their depression and anxiety with all the positive results that the support brings to their behavior and social life. However, they need more than the social support to keep them safe from academic and daily life stressors.

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Mental health burden of high school students 1.5 years after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria

10.31124/advance.17260130.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Rachel Dale ◽

MMag. Dr. Andrea Jesser ◽

Teresa O´Rourke ◽

Thomas Probst ◽

Elke Humer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

High School ◽

High School Students ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Suicidal Ideation ◽

Well Being ◽

Anxiety Symptoms ◽

School Type ◽

School Students ◽

Health Burden

The COVID-19 pandemic and containment efforts seem to be particularly challenging for adolescents. This study assessed mental health in 14- to 20-year-old high school students 1.5 years after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria. A cross-sectional survey was carried out from 14th September 2021 to 14th November 2021. Well-being (WHO-5), depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), anxiety symptoms (GAD-7) and sleep quality (ISI) were assessed. A total of 1505 adolescents participated (77.9% girls). The cut-off for clinically relevant depressive symptoms (i.e., PHQ-9 score, ≥11) was exceeded by 61.9% girls and 38.1% boys and 49.3% girls and 28.8% boys had clinically relevant anxiety symptoms (i.e., GAD-7 score, ≥11). Clinically relevant moderate insomnia (i.e., ISI score, ≥15) was reported by 27.5% girls and 16.7% boys. The prevalence of suicidal ideation (item 9 of the PHQ-9) within the last 2 weeks was 46.8% in girls and 32.0% in boys. These data collected in autumn 2021 (at the start of the second semester of reopened schools; t2) were compared to data collected in February 2021 (one semester after almost exclusively remote schooling; t1). A matched pairs analysis according to age, gender, region, school type and migration background resulted in a total sample size of N = 2514 adolescents (70.1% females). Results showed small reduction in mental health (i.e., well-being, depressive symptoms, insomnia, suicidal ideation) in girls at t2 compared to t1, and an increase in suicidal thoughts in boys (all p-values <0.05). Results suggest that mental health burden in adolescents remained high 1.5 years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight the need to implement timely psychological support.

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Prevalence of Internet Addiction during the COVID-19 Outbreak and Its Risk Factors among Junior High School Students in Taiwan

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17228547 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (22) ◽

pp. 8547 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Min-Pei Lin

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Risk Factors ◽

High School ◽

High School Students ◽

Junior High School ◽

Internet Addiction ◽

Junior High ◽

Well Being ◽

Junior High School Students ◽

School Students

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has significantly disrupted normal activities globally. During this epidemic, people around the world were expected to encounter several mental health challenges. In particular, Internet addiction may become a serious issue among teens. Consequently, this study aimed to examine the prevalence of Internet addiction and identify the psychosocial risk factors during the COVID-19 outbreak. This study was constructed using a cross-sectional design with 1060 participants recruited from among junior high school students around Taiwan using stratified and cluster sampling methods. Taiwan’s first COVID-19 case was diagnosed on 28 January 2020. New cases exploded rapidly in February, and as a result, participants were surveyed during March 2 through 27 March 2020. The prevalence of Internet addiction was found to be 24.4% during this period. High impulsivity, high virtual social support, older in age, low subjective well-being, low family function, and high alexithymia was all independently predictive in the forward logistic regression analyses. The prevalence rate of Internet addiction was high among junior high school students during the COVID-19 outbreak. Results from this study can be used to help mental health organizations and educational agencies design programs that will help prevent Internet addiction in adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Characteristics of school-based health services associated with students’ mental health

Journal of Health Services Research & Policy ◽

10.1177/1355819617716196 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

pp. 7-14 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Simon Denny ◽

Hamish Howie ◽

Sue Grant ◽

Ross Galbreath ◽

Jennifer Utter ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

High School Students ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Health Services ◽

School Health ◽

Cluster Randomized Trial ◽

Well Being ◽

School Students ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

School Based

Objective School-based health services (SBHS) have been shown to improve access to mental health services but the evidence of their effectiveness on students’ mental health is lacking. Our objective was to examine associations between variation in the provision of SBHS and students’ mental health. Methods A cross-sectional analysis of a nationally representative health and well-being survey of 8500 New Zealand high school students conducted in March–November 2012. Students’ mental health is related to data on school health services obtained from clinic leaders and clinicians from 90 participating high schools. Results After adjustment for socio-demographic differences in students between schools, increasing levels of services were associated with progressively lower levels of student-reported depressive symptoms (p = 0.002), emotional and behavioural difficulties (p = 0.004) and suicidality (p = 0.008). Services with greater levels of nursing hours (p = 0.02) and those that performed routine, comprehensive psychosocial assessments (p = 0.01) were both associated with lower levels of student-reported depressive symptoms. Greater levels of nursing hours and doctor hours were associated with lower self-reported suicidality among students. Conclusions Although a causal association between school-based health services and students’ mental health cannot be demonstrated, these findings support the benefit of such services and the need for a cluster randomized trial.

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