Risk and protective factors for college students’ psychological health during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Objective: College students’ psychological health may be compromised due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we aimed to identify risk (eg, perceived risk of contracting COVID-19) and protective factors (ie, social support, mindfulness) for positive (ie, subjective happiness, satisfaction with life) and negative (ie, depression, anxiety, stress) aspects of psychological health. Participants: Participants were 251 college students at a mid-Atlantic university. Method: Self-report online survey data were collected between March and May 2020 using established measures of risk perception, mindfulness, social support, and psychological health. Results: Greater perceived risk of contracting COVID-19 was associated with greater depression, anxiety, and stress. Greater mindfulness was a protective factor for psychological health. Greater social support was associated with less depression, and greater happiness and life satisfaction. Conclusions: Programs that teach students how to cultivate mindfulness and supportive relationships and reduce their risk of contracting COVID-19 may help protect against depression, stress, and anxiety.

Keywords:

• COVID-19
• mental health
• mindfulness
• social support

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States of America and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of West Virginia University.

Data availability

The datasets generated during and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Notes

1 The only exception was that perceived personal impact of COVID-19 was not significantly correlated with stress.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.