Predictors of Students' Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Impact of Coping Strategies, Sense of Coherence, and Social Support.

Young people and women seem to suffer more from social restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic than do others. Findings from pre-pandemic surveys identified students as a specific risk group for developing anxiety and depressive symptoms. Recent studies have indicated that students especially denoted a decrease in mental health during the pandemic. In a sample of n = 1938 university students (67.6% female), we investigated protective factors that are associated with mental health (defined as the absence of any mental disorder) and more specifically, the absence of major depression during the pandemic despite social restrictions. Investigated protective factors were social support, sense of coherence and situational coping strategies. The results of the multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that male gender, high sense of coherence and specific coping strategies could be identified to be associated with mental health in general and the absence of major depression. Protective coping strategies that were related to mental health in general were lower substance use, lower behavioral disengagement, higher positive reframing and lower self-blame. Protective coping strategies that were associated with the absence of major depression specifically were higher use of instrumental support, lower substance use, lower behavioral disengagement, higher positive reframing, higher emotional support, lower self-blame and lower humor. Social support was related to the absence of major depression, but not to mental health in general. Higher age in university students was associated with better mental health, but not with the absence of major depression specifically. These findings indicate that sense of coherence and situational coping strategies can buffer the adverse effect of social restrictions on mental health and thus, can serve as important resilience factors. Moreover, they highlight the political relevance of promoting specific coping strategies to foster mental health in students encompassing adverse events and social restrictions.

Fear, depression, and well-being during COVID-19 in German and South African students: A cross-cultural comparison.

Various studies have shown a decrease in well-being and an increase in mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, only a few studies have explored fear, depression, and well-being cross-culturally during this time. Accordingly, we present the results of a cross-cultural study that (1) compares these mental health scores for German and South African students, (2) compares the correlations among them, and (3) identifies COVID-19 fear, well-being, and depression predictors. German and South African societies differ from each other socio-culturally, politically, and economically. Their university systems also differ to a large extent. University students in both countries completed the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, the World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Welch's t-test, correlation, and multiple regression analyses were performed. (1) German students were found to have statistically lower levels of COVID-19 fear and depression, but lower levels of general well-being than South African students. (2) In both samples, fear of COVID-19 was negatively correlated with well-being and positively associated with female gender and depression. (3) Additionally, female gender, depression, and lower well-being were identified as predictors of COVID-19 fear in both samples. The findings indicate that the fear of COVID-19 is associated with and varies according to gender, depression, and well-being across cultures, and that the difference in the intensity of fear between German and South African students may be partly explained by cultural and contextual differences. These findings can create a deeper understanding of the pandemic's impact on student communities and may be used by mental health practitioners and researchers to develop and apply culture-specific interventions.

Well-Being and Mental Health of Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, a decrease in well-being and an increase in mental health problems were registered in medical and psychotherapeutic practices, counseling centers, and clinics. According to previous studies, younger people and women seemed to be particularly affected. The aim of this study was to describe mental health problems of students and to draw consequences for the further handling of pandemics and other crises. METHOD: Students at the University of Heidelberg, a typical German "full university," were surveyed online using internationally comparable screening instruments like the Well-Being Index (WHO-5) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). In addition, the students had the opportunity to describe in a narrative form their well-being and to make suggestions how to improve their situation. RESULTS: Out of a population of 27,162 students who were contacted by email, 2,137 students completed the questionnaire. The salient finding is that according to the WHO-5 Well-Being Index, 72.2% of the respondents feel seriously impaired in their well-being. This corresponds to the finding that 75.8% of the respondents in the PHQ-D show indications of at least one syndrome diagnosis. Depression was found in 41.8% of the respondents in the PHQ-D. Indications of moderate to severe and severe depressive syndromes were present in 31.8%. Signs of somatoform syndromes are found in 25.4% and of anxiety syndromes in 20.0%. 1,089 students gave narrative reports on how they were feeling and made suggestions for improvement. About 75% reported severely reduced well-being. Their main complaints were loneliness and depression and lack of recognition for their specific academic and life situation during the pandemic. By far, the largest proportion of students supposed that their mental health issues were caused and/or intensified by the pandemic-related social contact restrictions. The vast majority of them made reasonable suggestions for controlled relaxation of contact restrictions. CONCLUSIONS: Students suffer severely from the pandemic-related social restriction. In respect to future pandemic outbreaks or other crises leading to social isolation, the dramatic consequences of social lockdowns should be taken into account. Under pandemic conditions, we especially should support persons lacking social networks.