A new study in the British Journal of Educational Studies shows undergraduates at UK universities experienced prolonged and high levels of psychological distress and anxiety during the pandemic, likely due to social isolation.
The study, from researchers at the University of Bolton, tracked the mental wellbeing of 554 undergraduates from May 2020 to May 2021.
According to a press release from Taylor & Francis, the journal's publisher, the students were asked about wellbeing at four different points in the first year of the pandemic; in May 2020, when the country was in the 7th week of lockdown; June and July 2020, when lockdown measures were beginning to let up; in November and December of 2020 when stricter lockdown restrictions were introduced in the lead- up to Christmas; and in May 2021, when Britain was at step 3 (of 8 steps) of its plan to come out of lockdown restrictions.
More distress than health workers
Overall, undergraduates showed more signs of distress and anxiety than even UK healthcare workers, with undergraduates reporting an immediate worsening of wellbeing as soon as the pandemic began.
Rates of distress, loneliness and anxiety increased at different points between 1, 2, and 3, in the study, but not between points 3 and 4. Of note, rates of flourishing declined across the first year of the pandemic.
"Even in May 2020, at the first phase of data collection, psychological distress scores were already considerably above pre-pandemic levels," said lead author Rosie Allen, PhD, a research assistant at Bolton.