Perceived severity of COVID-19, social support, and pandemic-related stress associated with lifestyle changes among undergraduate students in Indonesia

Abstract

Introduction: COVID-19 affects lifestyles, including those of undergraduate students who are one of the most vulnerable populations. This study aimed to describe changes in lifestyle-related behaviors and assess the correlation between the perceived risk of COVID-19, social support, perceived stress, and lifestyle changes among undergraduate students during the pandemic. Design and methods: A total of 547 students from 32 provinces in Indonesia completed online questionnaires comprising four measures: perceived risk of COVID-19, the Lifestyle-related Behavior Questionnaire, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and the Pandemic-related Perceived Stress Scale. Results: Undergraduate students who lived with their families had healthier lifestyles than students who lived alone ( p = 0.007). Furthermore, The Pearson’s correlation showed a significant correlation between lifestyle changes with perceived severity ( r = 0.107; p < 0.05), social support ( r = 0.237; p < 0.001and pandemic-related stress ( r = −0.304, p < 0.001). Higher perceived severity of COVID-19 and social support were associated with a healthier lifestyle, whereas increased stress correlated with a less healthy lifestyle. Conclusion: Psychological factors correlated with lifestyle changes of Indonesian undergraduate students during the pandemic. Therefore, psychological aspects should be more considered by relatives and institutions to ensure healthier lifestyles of students.

Mental health literacy and COVID-19 related stress: The mediating role of healthy lifestyle in Tabriz

“…They engage in behaviors that are effective in the short term to adapt to stress (like smoking and drinking), But they are not considered healthy at all [ 36 ]. The current result demonstrated that a healthy lifestyle predicts a lower level of covid-19 related stress, which is consistent with the result of previous research conducted with Indonesian participants [ 37 ].…”

Investigating seasonal changes in factors associated with COVID-19 concerns: Results from a serial cross-sectional survey study in Germany between 2020 and 2023

“…The results on overall patterns and seasonal changes in concerns (RQ1) indicated that the concerns in different domains of people’s lives were similar over the period under consideration, but with some variations. Social concerns took on a special position in comparison, which underlines the influence of the pandemic on personal relationships, as already demonstrated in other studies ( 4 , 43 ). Although the differences are within the range of less than one scale point, they are meaningful in view of the sample size and the observation over a period of 3 years.…”

“…Not only have people been physically affected by the disease itself caused by SARS-CoV-2, but there have also been problems with mental health as a result of measures taken by governments ( 1 , 2 ). Other affected areas relate to financial conditions, for example due to the loss of jobs ( 3 ), or social issues due to fewer and altered opportunities for interpersonal interaction ( 4 ). Individuals form their own opinions on these topics and such perceptions can have an impact on behavior with regard to compliance with measures ( 5 ).…”

“…Another important set of variables to explain concerns have been related perceptions, as these are assumed to provide the basis for the development of concerns. For instance, Solymosi et al ( 19 ) found lower perceived control in participants exhibiting higher levels of worry about COVID-19, while Khaira and Sari ( 4 ) showed perceived susceptibility to being infected to be positively associated with worry. Further studies provided evidence of negative associations of knowledge about COVID-19 ( 20 ) and perceived appropriateness of government measures ( 21 ) with concerns.…”

Psychometric Properties of the Chinese Version of Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support

“…Favorable social support can make individuals feel higher self-efficacy, self-esteem, 12 subjective well-being, 13 psychological resilience, 14 life satisfaction, 15 level of hope, 16 and career adaptability, and can enable individuals to have a healthier lifestyle. 17 Social support is an important factor affecting individual prosocial behavior, and has a significant positive correlation with altruistic behavior, 18 thereby playing an important role in maintaining and promoting physical and mental health. Another researcher found that "The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of social support for everyone".…”