How college students are coping with COVID-19: a qualitative study

Abstract

Objective

The purpose of this study was to measure college students’ coping strategies and change of lifestyle during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Participants

Students from the State University in California were recruited during July 2020.

Methods

A total of 11 focus group meetings were conducted.

Results

Students’ coping strategies were analyzed aligning with the Transactional model of stress and coping - primary appraisal, secondary appraisal and coping efforts, and meaning-based coping. Their physical activity patterns were dramatically changed. They used various ways of managing stress and tried to overcome the unexpected situation caused by COVID-19.

Conclusions

This study mainly analyzed the three constructs of the transactional model: primary appraisal, secondary appraisal and coping efforts, and meaning-based coping. It is expected that the future study will focus on the last construct, coping outcomes/adaptation after the COVID-19 pandemic to measure the association between coping strategies and their outcomes.

Keywords:

• College student
• coping strategies
• COVID-19
• focus group meeting
• transactional model of stress and coping

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all the participants who were willing to share their thoughts during the focus group discussions.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this manuscript has been granted exemption from requiring ethics approval by the University’s IRB.

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.