The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on college and university campuses internationally (e g , widespread campus closures, transitions to online learning) Postsecondary students, who were already a developmentally vulnerable population, are now facing additional new challenges, which could lead to increased mental health concerns However, there is a paucity of research on the psychological impacts of COVID-19, or who may be most at risk, among postsecondary students To address these gaps in the literature, we recontacted a sample of 773 postsecondary students (74% female, Mage = 18 52) who previously completed a survey on student mental health in May 2019, again in May 2020 Students filled out an online survey at both time points, reporting on their recent stressful experiences and mental health Although we expected that students with preexisting mental health concerns would show increased psychological distress during the pandemic, this hypothesis was not supported Instead, repeated-measures analyses demonstrated that students with preexisting mental health concerns showed improving or similar mental health during the pandemic (compared with one year prior) In contrast, students without preexisting mental health concerns were more likely to show declining mental health, which coincided with increased social isolation among these students Our findings underscore that colleges and universities will not only need to continue to support students with preexisting mental health needs but also prioritize early prevention and intervention programming to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on students with increasing psychological distress, potentially stemming from increasing social isolation in response to the pandemic (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved) Abstract (French) La pandemie mondiale du coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) a eu un impact sans precedent sur les campus universitaires et collegiaux a l'echelle internationale (p ex , fermetures de campus generalisees, transition vers l'apprentissage en ligne) Les etudiants de niveau postsecondaire, qui forment deja une population vulnerable sur le plan developpemental, font maintenant face a de nouveaux defis supplementaires, ce qui pourrait entrainer une augmentation des inquietudes en matiere de sante mentale Or, il y a un manque de recherche sur les impacts psychologiques de la COVID-19, ou sur les personnes qui pourraient etre les plus a risque, chez les etudiants de niveau postsecondaire Afin de combler ces lacunes dans la litterature, nous avons contacte, de nouveau en mai 2020, un echantillon de 773 etudiants de niveau postsecondaire (74 % de sexe feminin, age median = 18,52 ans) qui avaient deja repondu a un sondage en mai 2019 sur la sante mentale des etudiants Les etudiants ont rempli un sondage en ligne aux deux moments, faisant etat de leurs recentes experiences stressantes et de leur sante mentale Bien que nous nous attendions a ce que les etudiants ayant des preoccupations preexistantes en matiere de sante mentale montrent une detresse psychologique accrue pendant la pandemie, cette hypothese n'a pas ete appuyee Au lieu de cela, des analyses repetees ont demontre que les etudiants ayant des problemes preexistants de sante mentale affichaient une amelioration ou une sante mentale similaire pendant la pandemie (comparativement a un an auparavant) En revanche, les etudiants qui n'avaient pas de problemes preexistants de sante mentale etaient plus susceptibles de presenter une diminution de la sante mentale, ce qui coincidait avec un isolement social accru chez ces etudiants Nos resultats soulignent que les colleges et les universites auront non seulement besoin de continuer a soutenir les etudiants ayant des besoins preexistants en sante mentale, mais aussi de donner la priorite aux programmes de prevention et d'intervention precoces afin d'attenuer les repercussions de la COVID-19 sur les etudiants qui eprouvent une detresse psychologique croissante, pouvant decouler d'un isolement social croissant en reponse a la pandemie (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement Public Significance Statement -Although there is mounting concern that students with preexisting mental health concerns may be particularly vulnerable to the psychological impacts of COVID-19, the present study found that students without preexisting mental health concerns had greater increases in psychological distress during the pandemic Increases in social isolation were unique to students without preexisting mental health concerns (whereas students with preexisting mental health concerns showed no change), which may account for the worsening of their mental health (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

When social isolation is nothing new: A longitudinal study psychological distress during COVID-19 among university students with and without preexisting mental health concerns

Resilience, stress, and psychological well-being in nursing students: A systematic review.

Blended learning has propelled into mainstream education in recent years with the help of digital technology. Commonly available digital devices and the Internet have made access to learning resources such as learning management systems, online libraries, digital media, etc. convenient and flexible for both lecturers and students. Beyond the physical classroom wal ls, learning can still continue at another place and time. However, although today's students generally face no difficulties in using technology for everyday social and entertainment activities, it would be constructive to understand if the students can make effective use of technology for learning as well. It has been posited that to make effective use of technology for learning, one needs to have a certain leve l of digital literacy. Digital literacy for learning is more than just knowing how to operate the technology, but also having the right information management and critical thinking skills, as well as proper online behaviours. This study aims to answer the question: Do students require digital literacy to be effective in learning in a ble nded learning environment? To answer this question, this study examined the relationships between effective learning and four digital literacy constructs; i.e. underpinnings, background knowledge, central competencies, and attitudes and perspectives. Responses were first collected from the students who were taking courses in a blended learning environment at a local university and then analysed using partial least squares. Analyses show that the four digital literacy constructs could be reduced to three, and the three digital literacy constructs each had a statistically significant relationship with the effective learning construct. This study provides evidence that digital li teracy is a prerequisite for students to be effective in learning in a blended learning environment.

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Digital Literacy: A Prerequisite for Effective Learning in a Blended Learning Environment?.

Assessing stress, protective factors and psychological well-being among undergraduate nursing students.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many organizations around the world to make full use of a variety of emerging online communication platform technologies. Universities are among the organizations that have asked students, tutors, and lecturers to use a number of different online communication platforms to ensure the education process remains uninterrupted. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has generated considerable challenges for the global higher education community while using such emerging technologies. This research has two main goals. First, this paper will begin by investigating whether the online learning platforms used by university students during the COVID-19 period have presented any challenges to their learning. Second, the paper will then go on to address proposed solutions by developing a conceptual model to reduce the impact of such challenges. This research uses an exploratory qualitative research approach, supported by literature content analysis techniques. The data set for this study was collected during the first peak of the pandemic period in Malaysia, between the 16th of May 2020 and the 5th of June 2020. We used SPSS to conduct a descriptive analysis and NVivo12 to analyse data collected from 486 students from different universities in Malaysia. These students disclosed various obstacles they encountered when they used IT platform applications for online learning. These obstacles include (a) work and information overload received from instructors, (b) inadaptability and unfamiliarity of the new online learning environment, and (c) personal health challenges related to stress and anxiety. Based on previous relevant research, this study introduced a set of motivational factors and developed a conceptual motivational model for sustainable and healthy online learning.

Exploring the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on University Students’ Learning Life: An Integrated Conceptual Motivational Model for Sustainable and Healthy Online Learning

Flora Xuhua He

Papers

Assessing stress, protective factors and psychological well-being among undergraduate nursing students.

Assessing readiness for self-directed learning within a non-traditional nursing cohort.

The experience of palliative care among older Chinese people in nursing homes: A scoping review.