Navigating the COVID-19 Storm: Assessing Well-being in University Students from Lower-Income Backgrounds

The COVID-19 pandemic has had severe repercussions on individuals' lives, with particularly detrimental effects on those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The quality of life and overall well-being of this vulnerable demographic have been profoundly shaken. In the context of increasing research segmentation based on specific population profiles, this study is designed to investigate the well-being of university students hailing from lower-income groups during the pandemic, particularly when stringent movement control orders were in effect. Furthermore, this research scrutinizes variations in well-being with respect to gender and locality. A quantitative comparative approach was employed, and data were collected through a convenient online survey sampling method. The assessment of the subjects' quality of life was carried out using a standardized WHO-QOL BREF questionnaire, consisting of 26 items that measure various domains encompassing environment, physical health, psychological well-being, and social relationships. Furthermore, the WHO well-being measure was also used to assess the respondents' general well-being. Multigroup analysis (MGA) and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) were used to analyze the data. 305 students made up the study cohort, of whom 112 lived in urban regions and 193 in rural ones. The results show significant differences between male and female students in the areas of physical and psychological health. The study also found that among rural students, environmental characteristics and well-being were significantly correlated, although this was not the case for their urban counterparts