The student population has been highly vulnerable to the risk of mental health deterioration during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to reveal the prevalence and predictors of mental health among students in Poland, Slovenia, Czechia, Ukraine, Russia, Germany, Turkey, Israel, and Colombia in a socioeconomic context during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was conducted among 2349 students (69% women) from May–July 2020. Data were collected by means of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Gender Inequality Index (GII), Standard & Poor's Global Ratings, the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT), and a sociodemographic survey. Descriptive statistics and Bayesian multilevel skew-normal regression analyses were conducted. The prevalence of high stress, depression, and generalized anxiety symptoms in the total sample was 61.30%, 40.3%, and 30%, respectively. The multilevel Bayesian model showed that female sex was a credible predictor of PSS-10, GAD-7, and PHQ-8 scores. In addition, place of residence (town) and educational level (first-cycle studies) were risk factors for the PHQ-8. This study showed that mental health issues are alarming in the student population. Regular psychological support should be provided to students by universities.

The mental health of young adults, particularly students, is at high risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in mental health between university students in nine countries during the pandemic. The study encompassed 2349 university students (69% female) from Colombia, the Czech Republic (Czechia), Germany, Israel, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Participants underwent the following tests: Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), Exposure to COVID-19 (EC-19), Perceived Impact of Coronavirus (PIC) on students’ well-being, Physical Activity (PA), and General Self-Reported Health (GSRH). The one-way ANOVA showed significant differences between countries. The highest depression and anxiety risk occurred in Turkey, the lowest depression in the Czech Republic and the lowest anxiety in Germany. The χ2 independence test showed that EC-19, PIC, and GSRH were associated with anxiety and depression in most of the countries, whereas PA was associated in less than half of the countries. Logistic regression showed distinct risk factors for each country. Gender and EC-19 were the most frequent predictors of depression and anxiety across the countries. The role of gender and PA for depression and anxiety is not universal and depends on cross-cultural differences. Students’ mental health should be addressed from a cross-cultural perspective.

Background A cross-sectional study was performed to examine life satisfaction differences between university students from nine countries during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-national comparison of the association between life satisfaction and a set of variables was also conducted. Methods Participants in the study were 2349 university students with a mean age of 23 years (M = 23.15, SD = 4.66). There was a predominance of women (69.26%) and individuals studying at the bachelor level (78%). The research was conducted between May and July 2020 in nine countries: Slovenia (n=209), the Czech Republic (Czechia)(n=308), Germany (n=267), Poland (n=301), Ukraine (n=310), Russia (n=285), Turkey (n=310), Israel (n=199), and Colombia (n=153). Participants completed an online survey involving measures of satisfaction with life (SWLS), exposure to COVID-19, perceived negative impact of coronavirus (PNIC) on students' well-being, general self-reported health (GSRH), physical activity (PA), and some demographics (gender, place of residence, level of study). A one-way ANOVA was used to explore cross-national differences in life satisfaction. The χ2 independence test was performed separately in each country to examine associations between life satisfaction and other variables. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to identify life satisfaction predictors among a set of demographic and health-related variables in each of the nine countries. Results The level of life satisfaction varied between university students from the nine countries. The results for life satisfaction and the other variables differed between countries. Numerous associations were noted between satisfaction with life and several variables, and these showed cross-national differences. Distinct predictors of life satisfaction were observed for each country. However, poor self-rated physical health was a predictor of low life satisfaction independent of the country. Conclusions The association between life satisfaction and subjective assessment of physical health seems to be universal, while the other variables are related to cross-cultural differences. Special public health attention should be focused on psychologically supporting people who do not feel healthy.

Over the past 20 years, the construct of perceived value has been the subject of much research, most of it applied to the service sector. The intangible nature of this sector requires an in-depth analysis of customer perceptions of what they give and what they receive. In this research, perceived value is applied in the context of higher education, where perceived quality faces several challenges and has a tangible component that is related to their experience when receiving the educational service, and an intangible component that is related to the image and reputation of the university. One of these challenges is the increasingly competitive environment of universities, so it is important to understand what factors influence students’ perception of value. For this purpose, several scales of perceived value were reviewed and one was selected and its psychometric properties were evaluated. For this evaluation, cultural adaptation techniques, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used. The statistical results showed the validity and reliability of the scale applied to universities in the Colombian context.

This study seeks to understand how micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) can be innovative while developing their reputation. In doing so, this study focuses on companies classified as promoters of Colombia’s “orange economy,” which relates to the country’s cultural and creative diversity. Firms with a non-technological emphasis also require knowledge, innovation, and reputation to perform better. In this regard, the study is based on the work of Hormiga and Garcia-Almeida (2016) who proposed the relationship between accumulated knowledge and innovation as background of reputation. In this paper, the purpose is to understand the internal reputation-building process carried out by MSMEs and the variables that intervene. Therefore, this research accounts for how MSMEs can build their reputation through innovation and accumulated knowledge. For this, a survey was conducted in 320 orange economy MSMEs located in Bogotá, Colombia, and the relationship of these variables was statistically tested through a quantitative analysis of multivariate data. Innovation was found to not impact the performance of companies, but this can be associated to factors that were not considered in this research. However, it is proposed to refine the original model by considering the manager’s perspective. It is recommended that entrepreneurs invest resources in accumulating internal (tacit) knowledge to improve skills that enhance reputation.