LONG-LASTING BIOBEHAVIORAL HEALTH IMPACTS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON 4-YEAR COLLEGE STUDENTS

Open Access
- Author:
- Wiggins, Nina
- Area of Honors:
- Biobehavioral Health
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Laura Cousino Klein, Thesis Supervisor
Lori Anne Francis, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- COVID-19
depression
anxiety
binge alcohol drinking
resilience
self-comapssion
BMI
sleep latency
sleep duration
sleep quality
GPA
post-pandemic
academic priorities
cohort
aftereffects
stress - Abstract:
- Over three years ago on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak, COVID-19, as a global pandemic (Cucinotta & Vanelli, 2020). What was unknown at the start of the pandemic was the not only how many lives it would take but the lasting impact it would have on nearly all individuals mental and physical health. As we continue moving forward in this post-pandemic world, it is essential to understand the lasting aftereffects. The purpose of this thesis was to examine and further understand the aftermath of the novel COVID-19 pandemic on the health and well-being of college students to know how to best move forward in providing the proper support to this population. With gaps in the literature and a general lack of research on this topic of interest, this thesis also strived to further expand on the current literature and address the lingering effects of the pandemic on biobehavioral outcomes among college students. Data were collected in 190 undergraduate students aged 18-24 years attending a four-year university in the U.S. between October 2022 and December 2022. This cross-sectional study collected confidential online data in a survey designed to examine the long-term impact and lasting effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on current college students' overall physical and mental health and general well-being. Specifically, anxiety, depression, general stress, academic stress, mental health and well-being, academic career plans and goals, sleep, body mass index (BMI), grade point average (GPA), risky alcohol drinking, resilience, and self-compassion were measured. As predicted, perceived stress was positively correlated with anxiety, depression, BMI, and post-COVID academic stress (p’s<0.05). Unexpectedly, stress was positively correlated with resilience and sleep latency (p<0.05). Perceived academic stress post-COVID score were similar to those of perceived academic stress scores prior to COVID. Perceived academic stress post-COVID was positively correlated with perceived stress and negatively correlated with sleep quality (p’s<0.05). In contrast, there was a negative correlation between perceived impact of COVID on life and perceived stress (p’s<0.05). In other words, the more positive the impact of COVID on life, the less overall perceived stress reported by students. This reduced overall stress spilled over into sleep with decreased sleep latency associated with more positive impacts of COVID on life (p<0.05). Finally, obtaining a good education and going to graduate school were all ranked as less important today than before the pandemic, whereas, starting career and self-care significantly increased in priority following the pandemic (p’s<0.05). When compared to a fall 2017 cohort of undergraduate students, the current 2022 cohort were less resilient than their peers three years before the pandemic and binge drank twice as much alcohol in a single episode compared to their 2017 peers (p’s<0.05). These findings suggest unexpected and important biobehavioral health impacts of the COVID pandemic on college students’ overall well-being. Follow-up analyses indicate that more college students are languishing on campuses now than before the pandemic. Implications of the findings are addressed in this thesis along with recommendations for further research.