Immigration Status and College Students’ Psychosocial Well-Being

2020 ◽  
pp. 0013189X2096247
Author(s):  
Germán A. Cadenas ◽  
H. Kenny Nienhusser

Differences in psychosocial well-being were examined between college students with abject immigration status (i.e., undocumented, other temporary documentation), students with permanent status (i.e., U.S. citizenship, permanent residency), and students with visas using a set of one-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs). The data were collected from 76 institutions participating in the Healthy Minds Study during the 2018–2019 academic year. Measures of psychosocial well-being included positive mental health, anxiety, depression, discrimination, campus inclusion, and ethnic identity. Results revealed that on all measures, except ethnic identity, students with abject immigration status experienced worse well-being than other students, and these differences were statistically significant. Findings have implications for strengthening campus supports for immigrant students in response to their psychosocial well-being needs.

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-105
Author(s):  
Naveen Pant ◽  
Om Kant Sharma

This study is designed to examine the impact of types of courses of study (professional/non-professional courses) on Mental Health (Anxiety, Depression, Loss of behavior or Emotional control, General positive affect, Emotional ties, or Life satisfaction) among postgraduate students. The sample is comprised of both professional and non-professional courses students of Gurukula Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar, India. The purposive non-probability sampling method is used to select the sample of the study. The Mental Health Inventory (MHI-38) and interviews have been conducted to find out the level of mental health and its subscales among college students. As a result of the study, mental health subscales of Depression, Loss of Behavior or Emotional control, General positive affect, Emotional ties turned out to be significant functions of mental health among students, wherein these four subscales non-professional courses students found to be significantly higher than the students of the professional course. Further anxiety and life satisfaction turned out a not significant function of mental health among professional and non-professional course students.


2021 ◽  
pp. 074171362110275
Author(s):  
Stephanie J. Babb ◽  
Katrina A. Rufino ◽  
Ruth M. Johnson

The current study sought to measure how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the mental health and well-being of college students, particularly nontraditional students. Participants ( n = 321) completed a series of surveys assessing their level of depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, insomnia, and well-being. Participants also indicated their nontraditional student characteristics, level of resilience, and additional life stressors due to the pandemic. Statistical analyses found that participants reported higher levels of depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, and insomnia, with corresponding lower levels of well-being across all students, compared with prepandemic levels. Results showed that while nontraditional students indicated an increased number of life stressors during the pandemic compared with their traditional peers, nontraditional students also demonstrated higher levels of resilience. Nontraditional students appear to be more successful at managing stressful life events due to the increased resilience that comes with age and experience, which can better prepare them to persevere and overcome challenges.


1969 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-40
Author(s):  
Murdo M. Dowds ◽  
James A. Kulik ◽  
Karl E. Scheibe

This study was designed to investigate the effect of participation in a mental hospital volunteer program on students' subsequent career plans and activities. Responses of the volunteers on follow-up questionnaires were compared with those of two control groups of college students not in the program. The number of volunteers planning careers in mental health professions increased significantly after participation in the program while the control groups showed little change in career plans. The volunteers also evaluated their summer's experience as highly important for their future vocational plans, and a high percentage planned to spend their next summer engaged in mental health activities. The program had only limited effects, however, on the academic-year behaviors of the volunteers.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rahul Suresh ◽  
Armaghan Alam ◽  
Zoe Karkossa

BACKGROUND The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on society’s overall mental health with a notable effect on healthcare providers. To manage this global crisis, governments have had to implement numerous measures such mandated lockdowns and physical distancing to minimize the risk of overloading healthcare systems. Altogether, these measures have contributed to higher levels of anxiety, depression, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other metrics indicating worsening mental health. Unfortunately, the availability of crucial mental health resources and support remains scarce during this time as services attempt to transition to an effective online delivery model. Peer support, which is peer-to-peer provided social and emotional support, is an underutilized and effective mental health resource that is easily delivered/accessed in-person by members within a social distancing bubble, or virtually across different bubbles. OBJECTIVE This review aims to summarize the toll that this pandemic has had on society’s mental health as found in peer-reviewed literature from October 2019 to March 2021, as well as suggest the utility of peer support to address these needs. Lastly, we provide strategies to effectively deliver peer support so that members of the community can better support one another during these unprecedented times. METHODS References for this review were chosen through searches of PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for articles published between October 2019 and March 2021 that used the terms: “coronavirus”, “COVID-19”, “mental health”, “anxiety”, “depression”, “isolation”, “mental health resources”, “peer support”, “online mental health resources”, and “healthcare workers”. Articles resulting from these searches and relevant references cited in those articles were reviewed. Articles published in English, French and Italian were included. RESULTS As stated in peer-reviewed literature, this pandemic has ubiquitously worsened the mental health of populations across the world, which is further exacerbated by extended periods of lockdown. Peer support has been demonstrated to yield positive effects on the mental health of a wide variety of recipients, and it can be provided through numerous accessible mediums such as web/mobile applications, video-conferencing software, workshops, telephone services, and student programs. CONCLUSIONS The provision of peer support can be very beneficial for improving mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and may be an effective tool should similar events arise in the future. CLINICALTRIAL N/A


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Porter ◽  
Annina Hittmeyer ◽  
Marta Favara ◽  
Douglas Scott ◽  
Alan Sánchez

Background Though COVID-19 presents less risk to young people of serious morbidity or mortality, the resulting economic crisis has impacted their livelihoods. There is relatively little evidence on young people's mental health in Low-and-Middle-Income-Countries (LMICs) as the pandemic has progressed. Methods Two consecutive phone-surveys (August/October and November/December 2020) in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam interviewed around 9,000 participants of a 20-year cohort study who grew up in poverty (now aged 19 and 26). We investigate how young people's mental health has evolved in the four countries during the pandemic. Rates of (at least mild) anxiety (depression) measured by GAD-7 (PHQ-8) were compared across countries; between males/females, and food secure/food insecure households. Results Overall, rates of at least mild anxiety (depression) significantly decreased in all countries but Ethiopia as infection rates fell. However, young people in food insecure households report high rates of anxiety and depression and have not shown consistent improvements. Food insecure households are poorer, and have significantly more children (p<0.05) except in Ethiopia. Conclusions Food insecurity has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and is negatively associated with young people's mental health. Urgent support is needed for the most vulnerable. Keywords COVID-19, mental health, anxiety, depression, food insecurity, youth


Author(s):  
Sonja Weilenmann ◽  
Jutta Ernst ◽  
Heidi Petry ◽  
Monique C. Pfaltz ◽  
Onur Sazpinar ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundThe current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic poses various challenges for health care workers (HCWs), which may impair their mental health. First evidence from China suggests that HCWs are at risk for anxiety and depression. However, generalizability to western countries is limited. The current study aimed at exploring HCWs’ mental health during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Switzerland. In addition, we conducted a network analysis to investigate the independent effect of risk and protective factors on HCWs’ mental health and their interplay.MethodsIn an exploratory, cross-sectional, nation-wide online survey, we assessed demographics, work characteristics, COVID-19 exposure, and anxiety, depression, and burnout in 857 physicians and 553 nurses during the pandemic in Switzerland. At the time of data collection, Switzerland had among the highest per capita rate of COVID-19 cases in the world.ResultsOverall symptom levels of anxiety, depression, and burnout were elevated. Women, nurses, frontline staff and HCWs exposed to COVID-19 patients reported more symptoms than their peers. However, these effects were all small and, in the network analysis, most of them did not remain significant after controlling for the other factors. Whereas COVID-19 exposure was only partially associated with mental health, perceived support by the employer independently predicted anxiety and burnout.ConclusionsOur finding that HCWs had elevated levels of anxiety, depression, and burnout underscores the importance to systematically monitor HCWs’ mental health during this ongoing pandemic. Because perceived support and mental health impairments were negatively related, we encourage the implementation of supportive measures for HCWs’ well-being during this crisis.


2021 ◽  
pp. 026540752110520
Author(s):  
Zeinab A. Hachem ◽  
Rosa I. Toro

Purpose: Considerable research has noted the association between ethnic identity commitment, which refers to a positive affirmation, sense of belonging and heightened level of engagement to one’s ethnic group, and indices of well-being, but less is known in terms of factors that can explain this link. Research Design: The current study explored the relationship between ethnic identity commitment and indices of well-being, the mediating role of social relationships, and the moderating roles of gender and immigrant generation status. Study Sample: A sample of 707 Latinx college students (79% female, 21% male,  M age = 19.08 years,  SD age = 1.17,  Range: 17.00–25.00) reported on ethnic identity commitment, maternal and peer relationship quality, self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and anxiety. Results: Results suggested that ethnic identity commitment was positively associated with socioemotional well-being. Although both types of relationships were significant mediators on their own, maternal relationship quality had a greater influence. Furthermore, gender and immigrant generation status were not significant moderators of these indirect effects. Conclusions: Findings indicate that committing to one’s ethnic identity enhances socioemotional well-being. They also demonstrate the complex interplay of social relationships and the enduring influence of maternal relationships during early adulthood. Results support the development of efforts geared toward facilitating ethnic identity commitment as well as leveraging the impact of social relationships in a manner that supports Latinx individuals.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-41
Author(s):  
Katherine Carver ◽  
Hajar Ismail ◽  
Christopher Reed ◽  
Justin Hayes ◽  
Haifa Alsaif ◽  
...  

Anxiety disorders are prevalent among college students and contribute to problems in social and academic functioning. The primary focus in the anxiety literature has been on symptoms and deficits in functioning rather than psychological well-being. The present study investigated the extent to which high levels of anxiety co-occurred with self-reported psychological well-being using a dual-factor model of mental health approach. Participants (n = 100) were categorized into two groups (high anxiety crossed with low and high life satisfaction), and groups were compared on several psychological well-being indicators. Supporting a dual-factor approach, students reporting high levels of anxiety and life satisfaction reported higher levels of hope, grit, gratitude, self-focused positive rumination, and savoring of positive emotions than students reporting high levels of anxiety and low levels of life satisfaction. Groups did not differ in emotion-focused positive rumination or in dampening of positive emotion. These results highlight well-being heterogeneity within individuals reporting high levels of anxiety, with implications for treatment and prevention efforts.


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