ABSTRACT
Few studies have actually explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in college students, although many studies have suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic poses a great threat to people's mental health in many cohorts. Furthermore, college students may be a particularly vulnerable cohort that needs more attention and access to psychological services due to the psychological changes involved in the transition to college and the characteristics of college students' study habits and lifestyle. Therefore, investigating the basic characteristics of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on college freshmen is of great practical importance and has theoretical implications for the identification and provisioning of services to vulnerable cohorts. A total of 5,818 college freshmen completed the College Student Adaptability Inventory. The results suggest that the mean detection rate of the seven dimensions of undergraduate maladjustment to university is 27.13%. Specifically, livelihood self-management adaptability has the highest detection rate (48.93%), while environmental general evaluation has the lowest detection rate (9.81%). Moreover, the school adaptation of college freshmen is impacted by gender, number of siblings, and family socioeconomic status (SES). Specifically, students who are female, an only child, and have a lower SES have lower levels of school adaptation. However, the school adaptation of college freshmen is not influenced by minority status or left-behind status. The findings of the present study suggest that the maladaptation of college freshmen has been a common phenomenon in China during the COVID-19 epidemic. Prevention programs may be most helpful if they pay more attention to effective intervention efforts for students who are female, an only child, and have a lower SES.
ABSTRACT
This study aimed to clarify the adaptation features of University students exposed to fully online education during the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and to identify accompanying mental health problems and predictors of school adaptation. The pandemic has forced many universities to transition rapidly to delivering online education. However, little is known about the impact of this drastic change on students' school adaptation. This cross-sectional study used an online questionnaire, including assessments of impressions of online education, study engagement, mental health, and lifestyle habits. In total, 1,259 students were assessed. The characteristics of school adaptation were analyzed by a two-step cluster analysis. The proportion of mental health problems was compared among different groups based on a cluster analysis. A logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors of cluster membership. P-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. The two-step cluster analysis determined three clusters: school adaptation group, school maladaptation group, and school over-adaptation group. The last group significantly exhibited the most mental health problems. Membership of this group was significantly associated with being female (OR = 1.42; 95% CI 1.06-1.91), being older (OR = 1.21; 95% CI 1.01-1.44), those who considered online education to be less beneficial (OR = 2.17; 95% CI 1.64-2.88), shorter sleep time on weekdays (OR = 0.826; 95% CI 0.683-.998), longer sleep time on holidays (OR = 1.21; 95% CI 1.03-1.43), and worse restorative sleep (OR = 2.27; 95% CI 1.81-2.86). The results suggest that academic staff should understand distinctive features of school adaptation owing to the rapid transition of the educational system and should develop support systems to improve students' mental health. They should consider ways to incorporate online classes with their lectures to improve students' perceived benefits of online education. Additionally, educational guidance on lifestyle, such as sleep hygiene, may be necessary.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Owing to the government's effective epidemic control measures, universities in some areas of China gradually resumed offline teaching six months after the COVID-19 outbreak. Although attention should now be paid to the experiences of students after they returned to campus, few studies have explored the factors and mechanisms that have influenced these students' school adaptation. The present study investigated the multiple roles of social support and resilience in mediating associations the relationship between Chinese university students' interpersonal relationships and their school adaptation during COVID-19 control period. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 4534 Chinese university students (Mage = 19.70, SD = 1.14) at two universities in Jiangxi provinces. The independent variable was interpersonal relationships; mediating variables were social support and resilience; and the dependent variable was school adaptation. Multiple mediation analysis was performed using the MPlus software. RESULTS: Controlling for demographic variables, the quality of students' interpersonal relationships was significantly and positively related to their school adaptation, with students' ratings of social support and resilience mediating these associations. More interestingly, social support and resilience played multiple mediating roles in the relationship between interpersonal relationships and school adaptation. LIMITATIONS: The age stage of the sample and the methods in which the data were collected may affect the generalizability of the results. CONCLUSIONS: During COVID-19 control period, interpersonal relationships can influence school adaptation either directly or indirectly by enhancing social support or resilience (parallel mediation) or by activating resilience via the experience of social support (serial mediation). This study's results emphasize the role of interpersonal relationships, as well as the contributions of positive external and internal factors on students' school adaptation during the epidemic control period. Accordingly, these findings may have implications for the mental health education of college students in the post-epidemic era.