Mitigating Emotional Exhaustion Among College Students During COVID-19: The Role of Crisis Communication, Social Support, and Coping

The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has had lasting effects on students’ mental health, including issues related to social isolation and reduced interaction with peers and advisors. However, there remains a research gap in understanding how institutional communication and individual coping mechanisms affect student emotional exhaustion in such contexts. This study addresses this gap by investigating the impact of macro-organizational factors, such as the quality of university crisis communication, and micro-organizational factors, including social support and coping strategies, on emotional exhaustion among college students. We collected survey data from 314 participants using Prolific Academic and analyzed it with structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicate that perceived uncertainties mediate the relationship between crisis communication quality and emotional exhaustion. Additionally, social support moderates how perceived uncertainties affect the quality of crisis communication while coping strategies moderate the relationship between perceived uncertainties and emotional exhaustion. These findings provide valuable insights into improving institutional support and enhancing student well-being during and after crises. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.