Well-being of Polish university students after the first year of the coronavirus pandemic: The role of core self-evaluations, social support and fear of COVID-19

Abstract

Background The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic represents an unprecedented situation in the most recent history. It has had a number of negative consequences for individuals and for whole societies. Individual effects of the pandemic include not only loss of life and of physical health, but also deteriorated quality of life. Objective This study examines the effect of core self-evaluations (CSE), social support and fear of COVID-19 on the well-being of university students in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We conducted an online survey on a nationwide group of 1,000 students of Polish universities. The survey was carried out between 1 and 15 March 2021. The respondents filled out the following set of tools: World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale, Core Self-Evaluations Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and The Fear of COVID-19 Scale. Results The findings showed that core self-evaluations (CSE) were significantly positively associated with well-being in each of the four domains studied: physical health (r = 0.519), psychological (r = 0.763), social relationships (r = 0.465) and environment (r = 0.496). Similarly, social support correlated positively with physical health (r = 0.277), psychological health (r = 0.306), social relationships (r = 0.552) and environment (r = 0.496). Fear of COVID-19 correlated negatively with well-being in the domain of physical health (r = 0.188), in social relationships (r = 0.042) and with regard to the environment (r = 0.071), the correlations were weak. However, the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and well-being in the psychological domain was not confirmed. Conclusion The findings point to the significant role of CSE and the role of social support in the perceived quality of life of young people during the pandemic. They provide valuable data concerning individuals who are particularly vulnerable to the adverse psychological effects at the time of the pandemic. They also prove that research conducted to explore other factors protecting individual well-being in difficult situations, including that of the pandemic, should be continued.

The Relationships between Psychological Well-Being, Emotions and Coping in COVID-19 Environment: The Gender Aspect for Postgraduate Students

“…The previous study confirmed a negative association between COVID-19 fears and levels of psychological well-being. Students perceived that social support for well-being is very important in combating the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic [ 20 ].…”

“…Students chose different coping strategies. These negative symptoms were often more pronounced in female students than in male students [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ].…”

The Psychological Well-Being and Civic Engagement of Polish, Croatian and Lithuanian Academic Students during COVID-19 Outbreak

“…The factors positively connected with mental health stability and well-being were, for example, social support or self-evaluation, and those that connected negatively included fear of COVID-19. [ 57 ]. Students also felt unprepared for the pandemic and lacked social skills and access to psychological support [ 58 ].…”

The Moderator Role of Spirituality on the Relationship between Fear of COVID-19 and Psychological Well-Being

“…There were four groups, but the first group (a high level of religious involvement and spirituality) and the second group (a low level of religious involvement with a high level of spirituality) got higher scores on well-being, which indicates that spirituality plays an important role in well-being, regardless of religious participation. Moreover, fear of the pandemic has been related to low levels of well-being (Turska & Stepien-Lampa, 2021). The negative relationship between a fear of the pandemic and psychological well-being was also found among pregnant women as well, when fear increases, well-being decreases (Mortazavi et al, 2021).…”