AUTHOR=Yotsidi Vasiliki , Nikolatou Eirini-Konstantina , Kourkoutas Elias , Kougioumtzis Georgios A. 

TITLE=Mental distress and well-being of university students amid COVID-19 pandemic: findings from an online integrative intervention for psychology trainees

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1171225

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1171225

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>University students have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as significant changes supervened their academic and social life. To tackle these challenges, several adjustments in the educational methods may be warranted for cultivating a positive environment at higher education institutions. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk and protective factors of students’ mental health and well-being as well as their potential for flourishing in an undergraduate clinical psychology course that took place online due to the COVID-19 restrictive measures and incorporated positive psychology exercises as a means to empower young people amid the adverse conditions of the lockdown.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>In total, 124 students attended the course and completed mental health (i.e., DASS-9, HADS, ERQ) and well-being (i.e., MHC-SF, SWLS, PANAS, GQ-6, BRS) measures at two time points (pre-and-post-test), during the first restrictions in Greece (March–June 2020).</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>According to the results, students aged 18–20 years old reported higher levels of stress [<italic>χ</italic><sup>2</sup> = 14.72, <italic>p</italic> = 0.002], while students who felt that the quality of their studies had deteriorated [<italic>χ</italic><sup>2</sup> = 6.57, <italic>p</italic> = 0.038] reported increased levels of anxiety. High levels of depression were correlated with worse relationships with significant others (<italic>z</italic> = 7.02, <italic>p</italic> = 0.030 and <italic>χ</italic><sup>2</sup> = 11.39, <italic>p</italic> = 0.003 for family and friends, respectively), while gratitude and resilience were positively correlated with improved relationships with others, both during and after the lockdown. Factors associated with students’ well-being were satisfaction with life and gratitude.</p></sec><sec><title>Discussion</title><p>These results suggest that well-being enhancement factors may have added value to current educational practices for promoting students’ mental health and well-being in times of crisis.</p></sec>