Financial and Other Life Stressors, Psychological Distress, and Food and Beverage Consumption among Students Attending a Large California State University during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Paulina Lin; Kathryn Hillstrom; Kimberly Gottesman; Yuane Jia; Tony Kuo; Brenda Robles

doi:10.3390/ijerph20043668

Financial and Other Life Stressors, Psychological Distress, and Food and Beverage Consumption among Students Attending a Large California State University during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Feb 18;20(4):3668. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20043668.

Authors

Paulina Lin¹, Kathryn Hillstrom², Kimberly Gottesman², Yuane Jia³, Tony Kuo^{1

4

5}, Brenda Robles⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, P.O. Box 951722, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
² Department of Nutrition and Food Science, California State University, Los Angeles, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA.
³ School of Health Professions, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, 65 Bergen St., Newark, NJ 07101, USA.
⁴ Department of Family Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 10880 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 1800, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA.
⁵ Population Health Program, UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute, 10833 Le Conte Ave., BE-144 CHS, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
⁶ Research Group on Statistics, Econometrics, and Health (GRECS), University of Girona, Carrer de la Universitat de Girona 10, Campus de Montilivi, 17003 Girona, Spain.

Abstract

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic abruptly disrupted the daily lives and health of college students across the United States. This study investigated several stressors (e.g., financial strain/uncertainty), psychological distress, and dietary behaviors among college students attending a large state university during the pandemic. A cross-sectional online survey was administered to students from the California State University, Los Angeles between April and May 2021 (final analytic sample n = 736). Differences in gender and race/ethnicity were examined using chi-square, t-test, and one-way ANOVA tests. Paired t-tests were performed to compare variables before and during the pandemic. Negative binomial regression models examined the associations between various stressors, psychological distress, and three key dietary outcomes. Descriptive results showed that the consumption of fruits and vegetables, fast food, and sugary beverages, along with psychological distress, all increased during the pandemic. Significant differences in fruit and vegetable and fast food consumption by gender and race/ethnicity were also observed. In the regression models, several stressors, including financial strain and psychological distress, were associated with unfavorable food and beverage consumption, thereby suggesting that college students may need more support in mitigating these stressors so they do not manifest as poor dietary behaviors. Poor diet quality is associated with poor physical health outcomes such as premature development of type 2 diabetes or hypertension.

Keywords: COVID-19; college students; dietary behaviors; financial and other life stressors; mental health; psychological distress.

MeSH terms

Beverages
COVID-19*
Cross-Sectional Studies
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2*
Humans
Los Angeles
Pandemics
Psychological Distress*
Stress, Psychological
Students / psychology
United States
Universities
Vegetables

Grants and funding

While this research received no external funding directly from any agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors, its content and data collection were based, in part, on previous findings, lessons learned, and the work of the Los Angeles County Sodium Reduction Initiative.