Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic presented several challenges for college students in different areas of their lives, with the literature highlighting mental health as a particularly affected dimension. However, students’ perceptions of the various dimensions that may influence their mental health and academic life during this pandemic context are not yet fully manifest. To understand the experiences of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic and to analyze the implications of this period on their mental health and academic life, this study was conducted with twenty students from a university campus located in the interior of the state of Rondônia. The interviews were conducted individually, transcribed and analyzed by reflective thematic analysis. From this analysis, three main themes with their own sub-themes were highlighted, which offer an in-depth understanding of the students’ perceptions and experiences. The first theme emphasized the understanding of the concept of mental health and experiences of psychological distress, while the second theme addressed students’ perceptions of the factors that positively and negatively affect their mental health. Finally, the third theme explored the implications of the pandemic on students’ academic, personal, and mental health lives. The results suggest that preventive and intervention measures are essential to promote a healthy, inclusive and welcoming learning environment. This study contributes to understanding the implications of the pandemic on various dimensions of college students’ lives and highlights the importance of addressing mental health as an integral aspect of academic life.
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Data Availability
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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ESCL contributed to the conception and design of the research and carried out the data analysis and writing of the article. In addition, she was involved in proofreading and editing the text. SC and AAP actively participated in the review of the data analysis, overseeing and validating the entire process, and contributed to the text review at all stages of the manuscript development. All three researchers participated in the text review and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Loiola, E.C., Coimbra, S. & Pires, A.A. Voices of College Students in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiences and Reflections on Mental Health and Academic Life. Trends in Psychol. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43076-023-00334-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43076-023-00334-3