Examining Mental Health, Academic, and Economic Stressors During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Community College and 4-Year University Students.

Objective: The COVID-19 global pandemic has created severe, long-lasting challenges to college students in the United States (US). In the present study, we assessed mental health symptomatology (depression, anxiety, life stress), academic challenges, and economic stress during the first wave of the Coronavirus pandemic. Method: A total sample of 361 college students (Mage = 22.26, SD = 5.56) was gathered from a community college (N = 134) and mid-size public university (N = 227) in Southwest US, both designated as Hispanic Serving Institutions. Results: Pearson and point biserial correlations indicated associations between mental health symptomatology, academic challenges, and economic stress, including expected delays in graduation. Multivariate analysis revealed that community college students had statistically significantly higher scores on anxiety F(1, 312) = 5.27, p = .02, ηp2 = .01 than 4-year university students, as well as key differences with respect to academic challenges. Chi Square analyses revealed that Latinx families experienced greater economic hardships, including job loss or reduced work hours (χ2 (1, N = 361) = 28.56, p = .00) than other ethnic/racial groups. Conclusions/Contributions: Findings revealed that community college students faced disparately negative mental health symptomatology, academic challenges, and economic stress during the first wave of the Coronavirus pandemic. Further, Latinx students' families experienced significant economic hardship that may have impacted students' academic progress and future planning.

Investigation of the Association Between the Acute Ankle Injury Caused by Fall From Own Height and Body Mass Index.

In the emergency settings, increased body mass index (BMI) is a risk factor for traumatic orthopedic injuries. The aim of this study was to assess the association between the acute ankle injuries (sprain or fracture) and BMI. This prospective cohort study included patients ≥18 years of age with acute traumatic ankle injuries (either sprain or fracture) caused by fall from own height when walking at ground level and who received primary treatment at the emergency room of a university hospital between May and October 2017. Of the 107 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 58 (54%) patients experienced acute ankle sprains and 49 (46%) experienced acute ankle fractures. No significant association was detected between fracture severity (as assessed by the Danis-Weber classification) and BMI (p = .860). The most frequent ankle injury in patients with normal BMI was ankle sprain. In our cohort, obesity was not the primary determinant of the severity of ankle injury. However, age was a key determinant of the type of injury; patients >30 years of age were 20% more likely to suffer an ankle fracture.