Perceived changes in peer relationships and behavioral health among college students during covid-19

Abstract

Objective: Covid-19 has resulted in changes to college students’ daily lives due to recommendations to socially distance. Social distance is likely to affect youths’ peer relationships at a time when these relationships remain important for development. Participants and Methods: The current study utilized survey data to examine perceived changes in peer relationships and the association with behavioral health among 275 college students (Mage = 18.69, SD =.72) during the fall/spring of 2020–2021. Results: Quantitative results indicated that participants reported significant perceived decreases in peer support but did not report significantly worse quality of closest friendships. Qualitative responses from an open-ended survey question supported these quantitative results suggesting that although many participants perceived decreases in quality of relationships, there was also the perception that friendships became closer. Participants who perceived decreased peer relationship support and quality were more likely to report depressive symptoms and loneliness when compared to participants who perceived no changes.

Keywords:

• Behavioral health
• covid-19
• friendship quality
• late adolescence
• peer support

Acknowledgement

Special thanks to all the participants.

Conflict of interest disclosure

There are no conflicts of interest. 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 Rhode Island College.

Funding

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