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Depression and Anxiety in Times of COVID-19: How Coping Strategies and Loneliness Relate to Mental Health Outcomes and Academic Performance

ABSTRACT: The link between depression, anxiety, and loneliness has been well established in the literature. Yet, the performance consequences of these negative mental health outcomes and the role of coping behaviors, as well as behavioral consequences such as procrastination as mediators have received far less research attention. Due to the COVID-19 social isolation restrictions, people are at risk of falling into a negative mental health spiral that can also affect their performance over time. The purpose of this longitudinal study among 881 first-year bachelor students is to explore the mechanisms by which loneliness, coping strategies in the context of COVID-19, mental health outcomes and procrastination sequentially mediate the relationship depression and anxiety on the one hand, and academic performance on the other hand. We measured mental health variables several times during the COVID-19 crisis and assessed how this translates into academic performance at the end of the academic year. By performing exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, three high-order factors for the coping strategies in the context of the COVID-19 crisis were identified, namely maladaptive coping, adaptive coping, and supportive coping. Structural equation modeling was used to test the sequential mediational model. The results showed that maladaptive coping strategies employed at T2 during the lockdown, but not adaptive or supportive coping partially mediate the trajectories of depression (T1) and anxiety (T1). Loneliness (T2) partially mediated the trajectory of depression and anxiety (T1), and procrastination fully mediated the impact of depression (T3) on academic performance (T4). These results help understand the mechanisms that influence mental health and academic performance outcomes in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Based on the study outcomes, educational researchers can test strategies to reduce the adverse effects of stressful situations in learning environments by targeting maladaptive coping behaviors and procrastination.

SUBMITTER: Freyhofer S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8572913 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:The COVID-19 outbreak forced higher education students to study online-only. Previous research indicates that forced solitude or loneliness can cause a variety of problems for students, among which is reduced academic engagement. The Basic Psychological Needs Theory, a sub-theory of Self-Determination Theory, relates academic engagement to three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence and relatedness), whereas varying theories on loneliness highlight the complexities of engaging in a learning environment whilst feeling lonely. As university staff members have been struggling to keep students on task since the COVID-19 outbreak, the need arose for more knowledge about to what extent students have felt lonely, frustrated or satisfied in their need for relatedness and to what extent this affected their academic engagement. A convergent Mixed Methods research study was conducted among university students (N = 228) and an online questionnaire was administered to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. A series of multiple hierarchical regression analyses were performed, considering demographic characteristics, to analyze the quantitative data. Qualitative data was coded using a hybrid approach of deductive and inductive coding. Themes were generated that depicted in-depth issues of relatedness, loneliness, and academic engagement. Quantitative analysis demonstrated the importance for academic engagement of both (a) 'basic need satisfaction and frustration' of relatedness in life and in 'social study context', and (b) feeling (emotionally) lonely. The negative impact of frustration of relatedness seemed to be dominant but also overlapped with the effects of loneliness. The qualitative outcomes support and complement these quantitative results. The results showed that students' academic engagement suffered from the loss of a shared physical space and from uncertainty about university policies. For a minority of students, however, the relief from social obligations that came along with social distancing was a blessing in disguise.

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Depression and Anxiety in Times of COVID-19: How Coping Strategies and Loneliness Relate to Mental Health Outcomes and Academic Performance

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