Real-time Mental Health Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on College Students: Ecological Momentary Assessment Study

• Published in: JMIR mental health 2020-12, Vol.7 (12), p.e24815-e24815
• Main Authors: Kleiman, Evan M, Yeager, April L, Grove, Jeremy L, Kellerman, John K, Kim, Joanne S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anxiety; College students; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Mental health; Optimism; Original Paper; Smartphones
• ISSN: 2368-7959; 2368-7959
• DOI: 10.2196/24815

College students' mental health may be disproportionally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic because of the abrupt shift off campus and subsequent loss of a social network and potential long-term impact on job prospects. We sought to assess the nature of COVID-19's mental health impact among a sample of undergraduates who were experiencing the pandemic as it occurred in real time. In total, 140 college students completed smartphone-based ecological momentary assessments of anxiety and optimism related to COVID-19 and other generic mental health variables 6 times daily. Participants completed >23,750 surveys. Overall, >75% of these surveys indicated at least some level of anxiety about COVID-19. On average, the proportion of responses each day at the highest levels of anxiety about COVID-19 was 7 times greater than the proportion of responses at the highest levels of non-COVID-19-specific anxiety. Structural change analyses indicated a significant downward trend in COVID-19 anxiety after the first week of June, but even at the lowest point, >15% of the participants in the sample still reported high levels of COVID-19 anxiety each day. Participants felt more anxious about COVID-19 on days when the number of new cases and deaths due to COVID-19 were higher. When participants felt anxious about COVID-19, they also felt sad, anxious (in general), and had a greater desire to drink and use drugs. Participants felt more optimistic about COVID-19 when they received more support from others and from their university. This study demonstrated the widespread mental health impact that COVID-19 has had on college students.