Effect of the COVID 19 related stressors on university students´ mental health: A report of 4 cases

Introduction

The COVID 19-related stressors such as the death of a loved relative due to the COVID 19 infection, the closing down of enterprises and consequently losses of jobs and incomes; the closure of universities and the rapid shift to remote learning, among others, have impacted the personal and academic life of the university students.

Objective

The aim of the study was to understand the effect of the COVID 19-related stressors on university students´ mental health in 4 cases with severe stressors.

Methods:

This study is part of a bigger project about the effect of the COVID 19-related stressors on the mental health of university students. Of the 37 university students who were interviewed in the initial project, four cases were different from the rest because they were problematic cases; 2 females aged 19 and 21 years with severe network instability that caused online learning difficulties and with the loss of a loved relative by COVID 19 infection and 2 males aged 18 and 24 years with financial difficulties caused by the loss of job during the pandemic and with strong family conflicts that increased during the pandemic. The participants were first- and second-year students of a private peruvian university. The online interviews were done in December 2020 and consisted of 15 open-ended questions about the effect of the pandemic stressors on emotional health, sleep and eating patterns, academic achievement and the coping strategies to face those stressors.

Qualitative methods were used in data processing. From the textual data of the interviews and using the narrative analysis emerged five categories: negative emotions, sleep problems, eating problems, low academic achievement and coping mechanisms.

Results and discussion

According to the experiences shared by the four students, as a result of the pandemic stressors they have experienced negative emotions such as fear, depression, anxiety, stress; decreased quantity of sleep hours, increased amount of appetite or poor academic achievement. They also shared their coping strategies to cope with those stressors such as seeking for help, do relaxation activities, chat with family and friends to relieve stress and obtain support and try to be busy at home in activities that would keep the mind away from COVID-19.

Conclusions

The findings of this study affirm that pandemic stressors negatively impact the students´mental health. We suggest that universities should develop actions to improve mental health, especially for those students with COVID 19 stressors. Consequently, this study contributes with the reflection about the role of universities in the prevention and treatment of students who are facing pandemic stressors.

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