Characteristics of the school adaptation of college freshmen during the COVID-19 epidemic

Abstract

Few studies have actually explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in college students, although many studies have suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic poses a great threat to people’s mental health in many cohorts. Furthermore, college students may be a particularly vulnerable cohort that needs more attention and access to psychological services due to the psychological changes involved in the transition to college and the characteristics of college students’ study habits and lifestyle. Therefore, investigating the basic characteristics of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on college freshmen is of great practical importance and has theoretical implications for the identification and provisioning of services to vulnerable cohorts. A total of 5,818 college freshmen completed the College Student Adaptability Inventory. The results suggest that the mean detection rate of the seven dimensions of undergraduate maladjustment to university is 27.13%. Specifically, livelihood self-management adaptability has the highest detection rate (48.93%), while environmental general evaluation has the lowest detection rate (9.81%). Moreover, the school adaptation of college freshmen is impacted by gender, number of siblings, and family socioeconomic status (SES). Specifically, students who are female, an only child, and have a lower SES have lower levels of school adaptation. However, the school adaptation of college freshmen is not influenced by minority status or left-behind status. The findings of the present study suggest that the maladaptation of college freshmen has been a common phenomenon in China during the COVID-19 epidemic. Prevention programs may be most helpful if they pay more attention to effective intervention efforts for students who are female, an only child, and have a lower SES.

Perceived COVID-19 stress and online aggression among Chinese first-year college students: a moderated mediation model

“…This study found that anxiety was an important mediator between perceived COVID-19 stress and individuals' online aggression, supporting research hypothesis 2. The results showed a significant positive relationship between perceived COVID-19 stress and anxiety, which is consistent with previous studies during epidemics (9,43). This study collected data during the recent new outbreak in China when some universities were again shifting from offline to online teaching requiring social distance.…”

“…During the COVID-19 epidemic, freshmen face not only the usual life changes but also interpersonal problems (the lock-down policies reduce peer interpersonal communication) and learning problems (difficulties with online learning and the transition from centralized to independent and intense learning) caused by the unstable epidemic (43). Thus, freshmen face multiple stressors due to life transitions and stressors related to the epidemic.…”

College and COVID-19: The Pandemic's reverberations on adolescents and emerging adults on campus

“…Much of the empirical work has centered on first-year college students, as these early experiences on campus are a pivotal foundation for academic, social, and psychological thriving [ 22 , 23 ]. First-year students generally struggled to access important information: formal and informal socialization about managing course loads, using resources, and connecting with peers and others [ 8 , 24 , 25 ]. Those who experienced greater stress and concern from the pandemic had lower emotional and academic adjustment [ 26∗ , 27 , 28 ].…”

“…Those who experienced greater stress and concern from the pandemic had lower emotional and academic adjustment [ 26∗ , 27 , 28 ]. The array of challenges for first year students seems to have fueled mental health challenges, as participants across studies cited lowered motivation, higher stress, greater feelings of insecurity, and more mental health disorders, especially when compared to previous cohorts [ 8 , 25 , 27 , 28 ]. In various national settings, research has demonstrated similar differences for first year students, while also finding these experiences were felt more strongly by students who identified as female, first-generation, or of color [ 8 , 25 , 28 ].…”