Background: The education sector experienced substantial impacts during the COVID-19 pandemic resulting from worldwide restrictions.
Purpose: To examine differences in the sleep patterns, sexual activity, screen use, and food intake of students and non-students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: This was a global cross-sectional study conducted in the second half of 2020 using multiple social media platforms to recruit study participants globally. A close-ended questionnaire was administered anonymously in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic to adults ages 18 and older. The outcome variables considered in analyses were changes in sleep pattern, sexual activity, screen use, and food intake. The explanatory variable was student status categorized as students vs. non-student. T-test, chi-square, and Mann Whitney U tests were used to assess differences between student and non-student populations. One logistic regression model was built for each outcome variable. Country of residence and country income level were included in the adjusted models.
Results: There were 17,008 participants of which 3,793 (22.3%) were students. Of the total sample, 4,889 (28.7%) reported changes in sleep, 4,642 (31.8%) reported increases in sexual activity, 10,278 (70.7%) reported increases in screen use, and 5,662 (40.2%) reported increases in food intake during the pandemic. Compared to non-students, students had significantly higher odds of reporting changes in sleep (AOR = 1.52), increases in sexual activity (AOR = 1.79), and increases in screen use (AOR = 1.36) but lower odds of reporting increase in food intake (AOR = 0.87).
Conclusion: Students displayed higher risk of experiencing changes in sleep, sexual behavior, and screen use during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has the potential to lead to broader adverse effects on students' overall wellbeing. The findings and implications raise further obligations on the education sector to put extra-curricular support systems in place that address COVID-19 related behavior changes that have the potential to adversely impact students' wellbeing.