Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health of Undergraduate Students

Abstract

Previous studies conducted in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic have found that undergraduate students experienced considerable levels of anxiety, depression, stress, difficulties transitioning to online learning, worries about academic performance, and difficulties concentrating (Fruehwirth et al., 2021; Hathaway et al., 2021; Lee et al., 2021; Son et al., 2020; X. Wang et al., 2020). However, these studies were primarily conducted during the first wave of the pandemic. To assess ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on undergraduate students, students at a state university in the southeastern United States were surveyed to examine associations between mental health symptoms (anxiety, depression, and stress) and class modality (classes online versus at least one in-person class), along with various demographic and academic variables (perceived distractibility and perceived decrease in quality of coursework). The results showed that class modality was not a significant predictor of anxiety, depression, and stress. Perceived distractibility and perceived decrease in quality of coursework were significant predictors of all three outcomes and female gender was a positive predictor of anxiety and stress. Students within this study reported clinically significant levels of anxiety, depression, and stress, indicating the need for further research on the availability of mental health services for students.