A 2-year mental health follow-up study subsequent to COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the mental health and education of college students. This study examined the interrelationships among loneliness, resilience, and COVID-19 fear among college students in Northern Michigan, a region of the United States severely affected by the pandemic. Data were collected from two student cohorts (n = 258), with half surveyed in early 2022 and the other half in mid-2022, two years after pandemic's onset. The Omicron wave peaked in Michigan in January 2022, but by June 2022, cases, hospitalizations, and deaths had significantly declined. Students completed measures of loneliness, resilience, learning difficulty, and psychological symptoms. Key findings are: 1) Participants' fear, loneliness, and academic difficulty decreased over time, reflecting fluctuations in acute situational and emotional states; 2) Unexpectedly, resilience declined from early to mid-2022, suggesting its diminishing protective role under prolonged, pandemic-induced stress; 3) Despite improvements, students continued reporting high academic difficulties. Loneliness, heightened fear, and dampened happiness together contributed to greater academic difficulties; 4) Pre-existing sex differences equalized two years after the pandemic's onset. While modest improvements were noted, enduring academic and mental health impacts signal a need for continued support.

Keywords: Academic difficulty; College students; Covid-19 fear; Loneliness; Resilience.