Psychosocial adjustment of U.S. college students in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Objective: Examine the psychosocial adjustment of U.S. college and university students during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants: Higher education students in the U.S. (N = 228), recruited between March 2020 and May 2020. Methods: Participants completed self-report measures regarding their psychosocial functioning online. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to explore participants’ psychosocial adjustment. Results: Participants reported increased concerns about such stressors as academics, job loss, health, and social isolation. They reported significantly elevated symptoms of depression, anxiety, perceived stress, and somatization, and prior history of psychological counseling was associated with greater levels of distress. Approximately one-third of participants reported inadequate perceived social support, which in turn was linked to psychosocial adjustment. Conclusions: College students reported experiencing a wide range of stressors related to the pandemic. Increasing access to mental health services and providing supportive services in such areas as social connection and employment are encouraged.

Keywords:

• College
• COVID-19
• mental health
• stress

Acknowledgments

We are very grateful to the study participants for sharing their experiences and providing invaluable data during such a challenging time. For methodology-related consultation, we thank Drs. Lucia Alcalá and William Marelich. For research assistance, we thank Chelsea Proctor, Ashley Park, Jackie Chang, Marlon Gamez, Amir Sherkat, and Angelica Aguirre.

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 United States of America and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of California State University, Fullerton.

Funding

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