Resilience and Higher Education Support as Protective Factors for Student Academic Stress and Depression During Covid-19 in the Netherlands

Background: The corona pandemic has forced higher education (HE) institutes to transition to online learning, with subsequent implications for student wellbeing. Aims: This study explored influences on student wellbeing throughout the first wave of the corona crisis in the Netherlands by testing serial mediation models of the relationships between perceived academic stress, depression, resilience, and HE support. Methods: The Covid-19 International Student Wellbeing Study (C19 ISWS) was used, with a total sample of 2,480 higher education students studying at InHolland Universities of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. Student subgroups were created, so that students with low and high perceived academic stress could be assessed, in addition to depressed and non-depressed students. Predictive model fit was tested using Macro PROCESS. Results: A significant serial mediation model for the total student sample was revealed, including protective mediating effects of resilience and HE support on the positive direct effect of perceived academic stress on depression. At subgroup level, significant (partial) predictive effects of resilience on depression scores were noted. A partial serial effect between resilience and HE support was found for students with low perceived stress levels, whereas a parallel partial mediation model was present among highly academically stressed students. Regarding non-depressed students, a full parallel mediation model was found, whereas the model for depressed students inadequately explained the data. Conclusions: Overall, resilience and HE support mediate the predictive effect of academic stress on depressive symptoms among students. In addition, substantial differences in model fit arise when inspecting the students on a subgroup level. These findings contribute to the gap in knowledge regarding student wellbeing during the Covid-19 pandemic in the Netherlands, in addition to providing novel insights on student subgroup dynamics. While Covid-19 restrictions continue to demand online learning, student wellbeing may be enhanced overall by targeting resilience and increasing awareness and availability of HE support services. The current study also highlights the need for differential approaches when examining wellbeing for specific student groups.