Mental health of Filipino university students during the COVID-19 pandemic: the distinct associations of fear of COVID-19 and financial difficulties

ABSTRACT

Objective

The study examined the role of fear of COVID-19 and of financial difficulties in the family on the positive (flourishing and satisfaction with life) and negative (depression, anxiety, and stress) dimensions of mental health among a Filipino university student sample during the COVID-19 crisis.

Method

Using a cross-sectional online survey, data were collected among university undergraduate students (N = 681) from September to October of 2020. The online questionnaire included demographic information, the Fear of COVID-19 scale and measures of positive (SWLS and Flourishing Scale) and negative mental health (DASS-21 Filipino).

Results

Results of structural equation modelling revealed that fear of COVID-19 infection predicted all three indicators of negative mental health (depression, anxiety, and stress) but not the positive mental health indicators (satisfaction with life and flourishing). Financial difficulties, in contrast, predicted all indicators of positive mental health and negative mental health, except stress.

Conclusions

While fear of COVID-19 is associated with students’ negative mental health, their financial concerns have a wider ranging association with positive and negative mental health. Mental health services must address the psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students, such as the more basic financial difficulties of some students and their families.

KEY POINTS

What is already known about this topic:

1. Fear of COVID-19 infection negatively predicts the mental health of university students in some countries.

2. Past studies typically use negative indicators of mental health such as depression, anxiety, and stress to determine the role of fear of COVID-19.

3. Financial difficulty is associated with development of mental health concerns among individuals and families even outside of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What this topic adds:

1. The mental health of Filipino university students is studied using the bidimensional model of mental health that assumes the presence of a negative (symptoms of psychopathology) and a positive (well-being and flourishing) dimension.

2. Fear of COVID-19 infection is associated only with the negative dimension of students’ mental health.

3. Perceived financial difficulties due to the pandemic are associated both with negative (more symptoms) and positive (lower well-being) mental health of students.

KEYWORDS:

• Positive mental health
• negative mental health
• fear of COVID-19
• financial difficulties
• Filipinos
• student
• pandemic

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a research fellowship from the National Academy of Science and Technology, Department of Science and Technology, Philippines given to the corresponding author.