ABSTRACT
The prevalence of reported mental health problems among university students has increased at alarming rates in recent years. While various negative life events (from personal events such as relationship breakdowns to more global events such as COVID-19 [SARS-CoV-2] pandemic) have been found to be important predictors of poor mental health in this population, some individuals have been found robustly to fare better than others in confronting such events. Identifying factors that predict these individuals' mental health, along with the specific coping strategies they utilize may have significant practical implications when confronted by adverse events such as COVID-19. This study investigated relationships between the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on 828 (453 females, 374 males, and one "Other") Chinese university students' mental health, and their internal strengths, personality characteristics, and demographic profiles. We also investigated whether students' use of specific coping strategies mediated these relationships. Stepwise multiple regression analyses (MRAs) and a path analysis revealed that students who resided in their home country, had higher levels of internal strengths, a lower level of neuroticism and a higher level of agreeableness and reported fewer negative mental health changes than did other respondents during COVID-19 in the second half of 2020. Self-regulation and withdrawal coping strategies were both important mediators of these relationships. These findings have important implications for universities in identifying and assisting students in the face of adverse events such as COVID-19.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Mental Health , Female , Male , Humans , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2 , COVID-19/epidemiology , East Asian People , UniversitiesABSTRACT
The Mental Health Changes Indicators Scale (MHCIS) is a brief instrument designed to assess changes in an individual's mental health that occur in response to a specific life event. Although adequate psychometric properties have been demonstrated for this instrument based on classical test theory, the MHCIS has not yet been validated against Rasch measurement theory (RMT). We applied RMT to examine the psychometric properties of the MHCIS using data from 807 Chinese university students. The nominated life event in this study was the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite modest violations of unidimensionality and misfit to the Rasch model, in general, the results supported the validity of the 10-item MHCIS. We recommend further exploration of the generalizability of these results in other populations and across a range of potentially adverse life events.
ABSTRACT
This paper explores existing evidence on indicators of risk to the mental health status of Chinese students studying in Australian universities prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies published from January 1999 to January 2020 were considered. Findings indicated that Chinese students routinely report increased levels of fear, stress, anxiety, depression and social problems, as well as decreased levels of general well-being, while studying in Australia. Numerous factors may exacerbate the issues confronted by Chinese university students studying in Australia, including language barriers;social, academic and financial difficulties;challenges associated with the different education systems of the two countries;and their own underuse of available mental health services. Recommendations for further practice and research are presented based on these findings.
ABSTRACT
Individuals' coping strategies have a profound effect on how well they respond to negative life events. Despite this, most coping strategies instruments that are available currently have been developed exclusively in Western contexts. In the present study, a Coping Strategies Scale (CSS) for use with Chinese participants was developed and validated based on responses from 734 Chinese university students (334 male, 399 female, 1 other). Results supported a seven-factor structure for the CSS, which included the dimensions of Withdrawal, Positive Adaptation, Problem-solving, Disengagement, Prosocial Focus, Seeking Emotional Support, and Self-regulation. The results supported the validity of the seven-factor CSS in terms of its content, associated response processes, internal structure, and relationships with other variables. Based on these results, the CSS provides a psychometrically sound instrument for assessing the coping strategies used by Chinese adults in confronting potentially adverse psychological events.