The role of personal identity as a resource for college students during COVID-19.

Objective: We examined the role of personal identity vis-à-vis COVID-related outcomes among college students from seven U.S. campuses during spring/summer 2021. Participants: The present sample consisted of 1,688 students (74.5% female, age range 18-29). The sample was ethnically diverse, and 57.3% were first-generation students. Procedures: Students completed an online survey assessing personal identity synthesis and confusion, COVID-related worries, general internalizing symptoms, positive adaptation, and general well-being. Results: Personal identity synthesis was negatively related to COVID-related worries and general internalizing symptoms, and positively related to positive adaptation, both directly and indirectly through life satisfaction and psychological well-being. Personal identity confusion evidenced an opposing set of direct and indirect associations with outcome variables. Conclusions: Personal identity may potentially be protective against pandemic-related distress among college students, in part through its association with well-being. Reducing identity confusion and promoting identity synthesis are essential among college students during this and future pandemics.

The family crisis migration stress framework: A framework to understand the mental health effects of crisis migration on children and families caused by disasters.

Crisis migration refers to displacement of large numbers of individuals and families from their home countries due to wars, dictatorial governments, and other critical hazards (e.g., hurricanes). Although crisis migration can adversely influence direct and indirect effects on the mental health of adults and their children collectively as families, there is a deficiency in theory that addresses family level processes in this crisis migration context. We propose the Family Crisis Migration Stress Framework, which consolidates what is known about the multiple factors affecting mental health outcomes of crisis migrants into one cohesive model. In our article, we synthesize relevant theories and models of disaster, migration, and family resilience in order to create a framework in which to organize the complex processes that occur within families as a result of migration and that affect the mental health of children. We include examples from various national settings to illustrate the tenets of our framework. Future policy and intervention for crisis migrant should focus on the family as a unit, instead of parents and children as individual entities.