Randomized controlled trials assessing efficacy of brief web-based stress management interventions for college students during the COVID pandemic.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of brief, self-guided web-based interventions for decreasing distress among U.S. college students during the pandemic. Three randomized controlled trials were conducted during the spring (Study 1), summer (Study 2), and fall (Study 3) 2020 terms, and were combined into one sample to increase power (N = 775). We evaluated a web-based intervention that focused on increasing present control that had been shown to be effective in several studies prior to the pandemic (e.g., Nguyen-Feng et al., 2017). This intervention was compared to an active comparison condition (psychoeducation about and reminders to engage in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-recommended stress management techniques) in Study 1, to a waitlist comparison in Study 2, and to both comparison conditions in Study 3. Participants were undergraduate psychology students at two campuses of a midwestern state university system. Outcomes-perceived stress (primary); depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms (secondary); and boredom (tertiary)-were assessed at pretest and posttest (and 3-week follow-up in Study 3). Differences across conditions were significant for perceived stress, stress symptoms, and boredom (but not depression or anxiety). Contrary to hypotheses, the Present Control and CDC stress management interventions were equally effective. Both were more effective than no intervention (between-group ds = -0.27 and -0.42). Both interventions were more effective for students with higher baseline stress levels. Completion and adherence rates were high for both conditions. Results suggest that very brief, self-guided stress management interventions can be effective in reducing stress among college students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

US college student mental health and COVID-19: Comparing pre-pandemic and pandemic timepoints.

OBJECTIVE: To assess mental health in US undergraduates during COVID-19; to identify key pandemic-related stressors, perceived control, and coping and their associations with mental health. PARTICIPANTS: Data collected from a sample of undergraduates in April 2020 (N = 312) were compared to data collected in Spring 2017 (N = 362). METHODS: Online measures of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms and perceived control and coping (both samples); pandemic-related stressors and perceived benefits (April 2020). RESULTS: Depression and stress symptoms were higher in April 2020 than in 2017. Most students reported perceiving at least some pandemic-related benefits. Top-rated stressors involved missing seeing friends and school-related stressors. Perceived control and approach coping were lower during the pandemic but related to better mental health; avoidant coping was higher during the pandemic and related to poorer mental health. CONCLUSIONS: Findings can inform campuses regarding how to improve student mental health during COVID and beyond.