School of Psychological Sciences, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Jun 22;18(13):6730. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18136730.
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed risks to public mental health worldwide. University students, who are already recognised as a vulnerable population, are at elevated risk of mental health issues given COVID-19-related disruptions to higher education. To assist universities in effectively allocating resources to the launch of targeted, population-level interventions, the current study aimed to uncover predictors of university students' psychological wellbeing during the pandemic via a data-driven approach.
Data were collected from 3973 Australian university students ((median age = 22, aged from 18 to 79); 70.6% female)) at five time points during 2020. Feature selection was conducted via least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) to identify predictors from a comprehensive set of variables. Selected variables were then entered into an ordinary least squares (OLS) model to compare coefficients and assess statistical significance.
Six negative predictors of university students' psychological wellbeing emerged: White/European ethnicity, restriction stress, perceived worry on mental health, dietary changes, perceived sufficiency of distancing communication, and social isolation. Physical health status, emotional support, and resilience were positively associated with students' psychological wellbeing. Social isolation has the largest effect on students' psychological wellbeing. Notably, age, gender, international status, and educational level did not emerge as predictors of wellbeing.
To cost-effectively support student wellbeing through 2021 and beyond, universities should consider investing in internet- and tele- based interventions explicitly targeting perceived social isolation among students. Course-based online forums as well as internet- and tele-based logotherapy may be promising candidates for improving students' psychological wellbeing.
COVID-19 大流行给全球公众心理健康带来了风险。大学生已经被认为是一个弱势群体，由于 COVID-19 对高等教育的干扰，他们面临更高的心理健康问题风险。为了帮助大学有效地将资源分配到有针对性的、针对人群的干预措施的启动，本研究旨在通过数据驱动的方法揭示大学生在大流行期间心理健康的预测因素。
本研究共收集了 2020 年五个时间点来自 3973 名澳大利亚大学生（（中位数年龄为 22 岁，年龄在 18 岁至 79 岁之间）；70.6%为女性）的数据。通过最小绝对收缩和选择算子（LASSO）进行特征选择，从一组综合变量中识别预测因素。然后将选定的变量输入普通最小二乘法（OLS）模型，以比较系数并评估统计显著性。
六个负面预测因素对大学生的心理健康产生影响：白种人/欧洲裔、限制压力、对心理健康的担忧、饮食变化、对隔离沟通的足够性感知、以及社会隔离。身体健康状况、情感支持和适应力与学生的心理健康呈正相关。社会隔离对学生的心理健康影响最大。值得注意的是，年龄、性别、国际地位和教育水平没有成为幸福感的预测因素。
为了在 2021 年及以后以具有成本效益的方式支持学生的幸福感，大学应考虑投资专门针对学生感知到的社会隔离的基于互联网和电话的干预措施。基于课程的在线论坛以及基于互联网和电话的日志疗法可能是改善学生心理健康的有前途的候选方案。
