IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v20y2023i5p4071-d1079344.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Mental Health and COVID-19 in University Students: Findings from a Qualitative, Comparative Study in Italy and the UK

Author

Listed:
  • Ilaria Riboldi

    (Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cadore 48, 20900 Monza, Italy)

  • Chiara Alessandra Capogrosso

    (Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cadore 48, 20900 Monza, Italy)

  • Susanna Piacenti

    (Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cadore 48, 20900 Monza, Italy)

  • Angela Calabrese

    (Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cadore 48, 20900 Monza, Italy)

  • Susanna Lucini Paioni

    (Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cadore 48, 20900 Monza, Italy)

  • Francesco Bartoli

    (Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cadore 48, 20900 Monza, Italy)

  • Cristina Crocamo

    (Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cadore 48, 20900 Monza, Italy)

  • Giuseppe Carrà

    (Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Via Cadore 48, 20900 Monza, Italy
    Division of Psychiatry, University College London, Maple House 149, London W1T 7BN, UK)

  • Jo Armes

    (Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, School of Health and Sciences, University of Surrey, Stag Hill, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK)

  • Cath Taylor

    (Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, School of Health and Sciences, University of Surrey, Stag Hill, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK)

Abstract

Introduction: COVID-19 restrictions introduced several changes in university academic and social experience. Self-isolation and online teaching have amplified students’ mental health vulnerability. Thus, we aimed to explore feelings and perspectives about the impact of the pandemic on mental health, comparing students from Italy and the UK. Methods: Data were collected from the qualitative portion of “the CAMPUS study”, longitudinally assessing mental health of students at the University of Milano-Bicocca (Italy) and the University of Surrey (UK). We conducted in-depth interviews and thematically analysed the transcripts. Results: The explanatory model was developed from four themes identified across 33 interviews: anxiety exacerbated by COVID-19; putative mechanisms leading to poor mental health; the most vulnerable subgroups; and coping strategies. Generalised and social anxiety resulted from COVID-19 restrictions by being associated with loneliness, excessive time online, unhealthy management of time and space and poor communication with the university. Freshers, international students, and people on the extremes of the introversion/extroversion spectrum, were identified as vulnerable, while effective coping strategies included taking advantage of free time, connection with family and mental health support. The impact of COVID-19 was mostly related to academic issues by students from Italy, whereas to the drastic loss of social connectedness by the UK sample. Conclusions: Mental health support for students has an essential role, and measures that encourage communication and social connectedness are likely to be beneficial.

Suggested Citation

  • Ilaria Riboldi & Chiara Alessandra Capogrosso & Susanna Piacenti & Angela Calabrese & Susanna Lucini Paioni & Francesco Bartoli & Cristina Crocamo & Giuseppe Carrà & Jo Armes & Cath Taylor, 2023. "Mental Health and COVID-19 in University Students: Findings from a Qualitative, Comparative Study in Italy and the UK," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-18, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:5:p:4071-:d:1079344
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/5/4071/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/5/4071/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alessandro Morganti & Andrea Brambilla & Andrea Aguglia & Andrea Amerio & Norberto Miletto & Nicolò Parodi & Chiara Porcelli & Anna Odone & Alessandra Costanza & Carlo Signorelli & Gianluca Serafini &, 2022. "Effect of Housing Quality on the Mental Health of University Students during the COVID-19 Lockdown," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-11, March.
    2. Richard Preetz & Julius Greifenberg & Julika Hülsemann & Andreas Filser, 2022. "Moving Back to the Parental Home in Times of COVID-19: Consequences for Students’ Life Satisfaction," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-13, August.
    3. Romualdas Malinauskas & Vilija Malinauskiene, 2022. "Meta-Analysis of Psychological Interventions for Reducing Stress, Anxiety, and Depression among University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-17, July.
    4. Katharina Diehl & Charlotte Jansen & Kamila Ishchanova & Jennifer Hilger-Kolb, 2018. "Loneliness at Universities: Determinants of Emotional and Social Loneliness among Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-14, August.
    5. Cristina Crocamo & Bianca Bachi & Riccardo M. Cioni & Henrike Schecke & Irja Nieminen & Lidia Zabłocka-Żytka & Małgorzata Woźniak-Prus & Francesco Bartoli & Ilaria Riboldi & Jane V. Appleton & Sarah B, 2022. "Professionals’ Digital Training for Child Maltreatment Prevention in the COVID-19 Era: A Pan-European Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-15, January.
    6. Umberto Volpe & Laura Orsolini & Virginio Salvi & Umberto Albert & Claudia Carmassi & Giuseppe Carrà & Francesca Cirulli & Bernardo Dell’Osso & Mario Luciano & Giulia Menculini & Maria Giulia Nanni & , 2022. "COVID-19-Related Social Isolation Predispose to Problematic Internet and Online Video Gaming Use in Italy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-23, January.
    7. Yu-Hsiu Chu & Yao-Chuen Li, 2022. "The Impact of Online Learning on Physical and Mental Health in University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-10, March.
    8. Antonio Millán-Jiménez & Rafael Herrera-Limones & Álvaro López-Escamilla & Emma López-Rubio & Miguel Torres-García, 2021. "Confinement, Comfort and Health: Analysis of the Real Influence of Lockdown on University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-15, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wenyu Chai & Daniel T. L. Shek, 2024. "Mental Health of Hong Kong University Students Under COVID-19: Protective Ecological Factors and Underlying Mechanism," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 19(3), pages 921-943, June.
    2. Gaia Sampogna & Maurizio Pompili & Andrea Fiorillo, 2022. "The Short-Term Consequences of COVID-19 on Mental Health: State of the Art from Available Studies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-5, November.
    3. Sumeet Lal & Trinh Xuan Thi Nguyen & Abdul-Salam Sulemana & Pattaphol Yuktadatta & Mostafa Saidur Rahim Khan & Yoshihiko Kadoya, 2022. "A Longitudinal Study on Loneliness during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-17, September.
    4. Rosario Padial-Ruz & José Antonio Pérez-Turpin & Mar Cepero-González & Félix Zurita-Ortega, 2019. "Effects of Physical Self-Concept, Emotional Isolation, and Family Functioning on Attitudes towards Physical Education in Adolescents: Structural Equation Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-16, December.
    5. Ines Testoni & Silvia Piol & Diego De Leo, 2021. "Suicide Prevention: University Students’ Narratives on Their Reasons for Living and for Dying," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-15, July.
    6. Eleonora Marzilli & Luca Cerniglia & Silvia Cimino & Renata Tambelli, 2022. "Internet Addiction among Young Adult University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Peritraumatic Distress, Attachment, and Alexithymia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-22, November.
    7. Alessandro Morganti & Andrea Brambilla & Andrea Aguglia & Andrea Amerio & Norberto Miletto & Nicolò Parodi & Chiara Porcelli & Anna Odone & Alessandra Costanza & Carlo Signorelli & Gianluca Serafini &, 2022. "Effect of Housing Quality on the Mental Health of University Students during the COVID-19 Lockdown," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-11, March.
    8. Alessia Riva & Andrea Rebecchi & Stefano Capolongo & Marco Gola, 2022. "Can Homes Affect Well-Being? A Scoping Review among Housing Conditions, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Mental Health Outcomes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-25, November.
    9. Amaya Perez-Brumer & Rebecca Balasa & Aarti Doshi & Jessica Brogdon & Thuy Doan & Catherine E. Oldenburg, 2022. "COVID-19 Related Shifts in Social Interaction, Connection, and Cohesion Impact Psychosocial Health: Longitudinal Qualitative Findings from COVID-19 Treatment Trial Engaged Participants," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-12, August.
    10. Ewa Kupcewicz & Marzena Mikla & Helena Kadučáková & Elżbieta Grochans, 2022. "Loneliness and Satisfaction with Life among Nursing Students in Poland, Spain and Slovakia during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-16, March.
    11. Roberto Carlos Valdés Hernández & Lizeth Armenta Zazueta & Juan Gabriel López Hernández & Vidblain Amaro Ortega, 2023. "Factors Influencing Post-COVID-19 Virtual Education and Its Impact on University Students: Analysis Using Structural Equation Models," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, October.
    12. Janna Jaud & Tatiana Görig & Tobias Konkel & Katharina Diehl, 2023. "Loneliness in University Students during Two Transitions: A Mixed Methods Approach Including Biographical Mapping," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-15, February.
    13. Laura Orsolini & Giulio Longo & Umberto Volpe, 2023. "The Mediatory Role of the Boredom and Loneliness Dimensions in the Development of Problematic Internet Use," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-15, March.
    14. Trinh Xuan Thi Nguyen & Sumeet Lal & Sulemana Abdul-Salam & Pattaphol Yuktadatta & Louis McKinnon & Mostafa Saidur Rahim Khan & Yoshihiko Kadoya, 2022. "Has Smartphone Use Influenced Loneliness during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-12, August.
    15. Marien Alet Graham & Irma Eloff, 2022. "Comparing Mental Health, Wellbeing and Flourishing in Undergraduate Students Pre- and during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-17, June.
    16. Daniela Roxana Matasariu & Ludmila Lozneanu & Iuliana Elena Bujor & Alexandra Elena Cristofor & Cristina Elena Mandici & Marcel Alexandru Găină & Cristinel Ștefănescu & Vasile Lucian Boiculese & Ioana, 2023. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Quality Education of the Medical Young Generation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-19, February.
    17. Youlai Zeng & Jiahui Zhang & Jiaxin Wei & Shunyu Li, 2022. "The Impact of Undergraduates’ Social Isolation on Smartphone Addiction: The Roles of Academic Anxiety and Social Media Use," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-16, November.
    18. Maddalena Buffoli & Silvia Mangili & Stefano Capolongo & Andrea Brambilla, 2022. "Explorative Study on Urban Public Space Renovation during COVID-19: Test of a Visual Web-Based Survey about the City of Saint German en Laye, France," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-17, September.
    19. Beata Dziedzic & Paulina Sarwa & Ewa Kobos & Zofia Sienkiewicz & Anna Idzik & Mariusz Wysokiński & Wiesław Fidecki, 2021. "Loneliness and Depression among Polish High-School Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-11, February.
    20. Collins Opoku Antwi & Michelle Allyshia Belle & Seth Yeboah Ntim & Yuanchun Wu & Emmanuel Affum-Osei & Michael Osei Aboagye & Jun Ren, 2022. "COVID-19 Pandemic and International Students’ Mental Health in China: Age, Gender, Chronic Health Condition and Having Infected Relative as Risk Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-15, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:5:p:4071-:d:1079344. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.