How school closures affected learning and the physical and mental health of Chinese university students during the COVID-19 pandemic?: Fid-Bau Portal

How school closures affected learning and the physical and mental health of Chinese university students during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Miao, Doudou / Zhu, Min / Zhou, Zhihan / Zhang, Nan

Abstract

Abstract Many universities implemented closed-off management to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks. However, the effect that interventions implemented during the pandemic on students’ learning and health is unclear. For this study, 2350 university students in Beijing and Shanghai completed an online survey about changes in their learning and their physical and mental health during school closures compared with non-closures. We then examined whether those changes were influenced by factors including city, gender, educational background, student residential type, and imposed interventions. The results showed that different interventions had little effect on non-residents' (housed off campus) learning and health during school closures (p > 0.05) and students who preferred in-person learning regressed more significantly in learning during school closures (p < 0.05). Graduates regressed more significantly than undergraduates (p < 0.001), and residents (housed on campus) more than non-residents in learning (p < 0.001). Students' stress levels were significantly higher (p < 0.001), especially among graduates and residents (p < 0.001), with the major stressors for university students being academic, economic, and interpersonal during school closures. Around 4/5 of students reported higher potential depression and 3/4 reported higher anxiety, with females being more likely than males (p < 0.001), graduates more likely than undergraduates (p < 0.001), and residents more likely than non-residents (p < 0.01) to be depressed and anxious. Also, males had more significant negative changes in their habits (smoking, drinking, exercise, and sedentariness) than females (p < 0.01). These results may benefit universities in helping provide evidence-based intervention policies during similar events.

Highlights • Students who preferred in-person learning showed significant negative changes in learning. • Graduates and/or residents regressed significantly in learning. • The major stressors for students were academic, economic, and interpersonal factors. • Around 4/5 and 3/4 of students reported potential depression and anxiety respectively. • Males had more significant negative changes in habits than females.