A longitudinal study of the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on students’ health behavior, mental health and emotional well-being

BACKGROUND: COVID-related restrictions impacted the lives of students on and off campus during Academic Year 2020/2021. METHODS: Our study collected data on student health behavior and habits as well as their mental and emotional health using anonymous surveys. We compared these data with data collected prior to COVID in the longitudinal part of our study (n = 721) and analyzed them for the cross-sectional part of the study (n = 506). RESULTS: The longitudinal data show a significant difference for some student behaviors and habits, such as sleeping habits, physical activity, breakfast consumption, time spent online or playing video games, vaping, and marijuana use, during the COVID pandemic compared with pre-COVID data. Respondents also reported a significant increase in difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions, as well as being impacted by feelings of sadness or hopelessness. Yet, there was no increase in the proportion of respondents considering, planning or attempting suicide during COVID. The cross-sectional data illuminate the negative effect of the overall situation and the restrictions on students’ mental and emotional well-being. Three-quarters of respondents reported having craved human interaction during the past six months, more than half felt that their mental/emotional health had been impacted by the lack of social events or the switch to virtual (online) teaching. Two-thirds or more of respondents also expressed that they felt less connected to their peers and less motivated in their studies than in previous semesters. Fifty percent or more of respondents selected anxious, stressed, overwhelmed, disconnected, tired, and fatigued as words that best described their emotional state during the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: The impact of COVID-related restrictions on students’ behaviors and habits as well as their mental and emotional health was less severe than one would have expected based on studies during the early stage of the pandemic. While some behaviors and habits changed during the COVID pandemic compared with the pre-COVID period, the changes were not substantial overall. Our study did not find an increase in the proportion of respondents considering, planning or attempting suicide during COVID, although the cross-sectional data from our survey make the negative effect of the overall situation and the restrictions on students’ mental and emotional well-being evident. The impact of the pandemic will unquestionably be long-lasting and will necessitate further and future investigations.