ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This study seeks to understand the experiences of college student as they completed their education during the COVID-19 lockdown. Participants: Students at a large 4-year college in Midwestern USA. Methods: We conducted a photo-survey of students' experiences during the lockdown. Student researchers and faculty collaborated to analyze images and texts in a way that privileged students' interpretation. Results: Students frequently reported worsening mental health during the lockdown. Nonacademic aspects of students' lives such as work and the home environment significantly contributed to perceived stress. Students, especially freshmen coped maladaptively with unmet psychosocial and educational needs. Faculty may underestimate the indirect impact of the pandemic on students' lives and academic outcomes. Conclusion: Perspectives presented herein add the crucial voice of students to ongoing conversations to meet pandemic-related mental health needs of college students.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To understand how students are coping one year after campuses were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants: Students at a large state university in Midwestern USA. Method: Sequential mixed method study. A photo-survey of students' experiences was conducted as part of an ethnographic study of "college life." Student researchers and faculty collaboratively analyzed photos and accompanying text for coping strategies. Association of coping strategies with respondents' characteristics was assessed with inferential statistics. Results: Most respondents alluded to the negative mental toll of the pandemic and predominantly utilized emotion-focused coping strategies. Non-binary students and students who lived off but close to campus appeared to have fewer coping strategies than their peers. Conclusion: The experiences of diverse student sub-populations differ. Photos give researchers a unique vista into students' experiences. Students - as co-researchers - can help campuses understand the stresses associated with their college experiences and how they are coping.