The Psychological, Academic, and Economic Impact of COVID-19 on College Students in the Epicenter of the Pandemic

Jazmin A Reyes-Portillo; Carrie Masia Warner; Emily A Kline; Michael T Bixter; Brian C Chu; Regina Miranda; Erum Nadeem; Amanda Nickerson; Ana Ortin Peralta; Laura Reigada; Shireen L Rizvi; Amy K Roy; Jess Shatkin; Emily Kalver; Danielle Rette; Ellen-Ge Denton; Elizabeth L Jeglic

doi:10.1177/21676968211066657

The Psychological, Academic, and Economic Impact of COVID-19 on College Students in the Epicenter of the Pandemic

Emerg Adulthood. 2022 Apr;10(2):473-490. doi: 10.1177/21676968211066657.

Authors

Jazmin A Reyes-Portillo¹, Carrie Masia Warner^{1

2}, Emily A Kline¹, Michael T Bixter¹, Brian C Chu³, Regina Miranda⁴, Erum Nadeem³, Amanda Nickerson⁵, Ana Ortin Peralta⁶, Laura Reigada⁷, Shireen L Rizvi³, Amy K Roy⁸, Jess Shatkin⁹, Emily Kalver¹, Danielle Rette¹, Ellen-Ge Denton¹⁰, Elizabeth L Jeglic¹¹

Affiliations

¹ Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, USA.
² Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY, USA.
³ Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
⁴ Hunter College, New York, NY, USA.
⁵ University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA.
⁶ Yeshiva University, New York, NY, USA.
⁷ Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
⁸ Fordham University, New York, NY, USA.
⁹ New York University, New York, NY, USA.
¹⁰ College of Staten Island, Staten Island, NY, USA.
¹¹ John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, NY, USA.

Abstract

Initial research has indicated that college students have experienced numerous stressors as a result of the pandemic. The current investigation enrolled the largest and most diverse sample of college students to date (N = 4714) from universities in New York (NY) and New Jersey (NJ), the epicenter of the North American pandemic in Spring 2020. We described the impact on the psychological, academic, and financial health of college students who were initially most affected and examined racial/ethnic group differences. Results indicated that students' mental health was severely affected and that students of color were disproportionately affected by academic, financial, and COVID-related stressors. Worry about COVID-19 infection, stressful living conditions, lower grades, and loneliness emerged as correlates of deteriorating mental health. COVID-19's mental health impact on college students is alarming and highlights the need for public health interventions at the university level.

Keywords: COVID-19; college students; ethnicity; mental health; minorities; race.