The long-term impact of COVID-19 on student mental health

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting restrictions placed upon society have had a profound impact on both physical and mental health, particularly for young people. The current study assesses student mental health pre, within and post COVID.

Method: Eight hundred and fourteen first year undergraduate students completed a battery of self-report questionnaires to assess for depression, mobile phone use, self-esteem, resilience and social support with data being collected over a three-year period. The data from each year was compared (216, 218 and 380 students respectively).

Findings: Statistical analysis revealed that COVID-19 had a significant impact on self-reported levels of depression, smartphone use, self-esteem, resilience and social support. Multiple regression analysis revealed that smart phone use and resilience were significant predictors of levels of depression.

Discussion and Conclusion: Overall, we found far higher-than-expected mental health problems within the student cohort. These findings are discussed in relation to potential interventions. The findings suggest that COVID-19 has had a major impact upon student mental health, and that we have not yet seen a recovery within our new ‘post-COVID’ times.

Take home message: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a long-term impact not only on student mental health and self-esteem, but importantly on levels of student resilience, making them vulnerable to the impact of any further stress invoking events.