Impact Of The COVID-19 Pandemic On College Students’ Loneliness,Social Support And Coping Style

Objectives This study aimed to understand the psychological status of the college students during the COVID-19 epidemic isolation period,by investigating their loneliness,social support and coping style before and after returning to school,as well as the correlation among the three factors.Therefore,providing a theoretical basis for the majority of college educators and psychological counselors to pay attention to and protect college students ’ mental health under special environments.Methods Convenient sampling method was used to two universities in Lanzhou for the questionnaire survey.The contents of the questionnaire included the socio-demographic characteristics,the simplified coping style,the perceived social support,and the loneliness scale were administered to students and their social demographic data were also obtained.The survey was divided into two times before and after returning to school,with an interval of three months.SPSS22.0 was used for descriptive statistical analysis,and AMOS24.0 was used to construct regression model.Independent sample t test or one-way analysis of variance on the differences among college students’ loneliness,social support and coping style under different demographic characteristics were conducted.Pearson correlation analysis,regression analysis,Cross-lag regression and mediating effect analysis were used to explore the correlation between college students’ loneliness,social support and coping style before and after returning to school.Results（1）The survey of college students before returning to school（N = 3373）found that in terms of gender,the loneliness score of boys（40.93±9.67）was higher than that of girls（39.53±9.40）,and the results were statistically significant（P <0.001）.The social support score of girls（60.50±11.64）was higher than that of boys（58.51±11.82）,and the results were statistically significant（P< 0.001）.The positive coping style score of girls（23.56±5.12）was higher than that of boys（23.00±5.75）,and the results were statistically significant（P = 0.004）.Pearson correlation analysis showed that loneliness was significantly negatively correlated with each dimension of social support and the two dimensions of coping style（P< 0.01）.Multiple linear regression analysis showed that there were statistical differences in the loneliness of college students in terms of gender,whether they were the only child,whether they were single,family monthly income,subject classification,and smoking.In addition,social support can not only directly affect loneliness,but also indirectly affect loneliness through the mediating variable of positive coping style.（2）For the closed-loop cohort study of college students（N = 959）who participated in both surveys,it was found that the loneliness score of students after returning to school（42.19±9.07）was higher than that before returning to school（40.89±9.25）,and（P <0.01）.The total scores of other important personnel support and social support after returning to school were lower than before returning to school（P < 0.05）.In addition,college students ’ choice of positive coping style before returning to school can also predict the lower loneliness after returning to school（standardized regression coefficient β=-0.108,P < 0.05）.Conclusions（1）During the epidemic prevention and control period,the loneliness of college students at home has statistical differences in demographic variables including gender,single,birthplace,the only child,monthly family income and smoking status;Among them,monthly family income,smoking status and drinking status also have statistical differences in loneliness of college students after returning to school;（2）Social support and positive coping style are negatively correlated with loneliness;（3）Cross-lagged analysis showed that social support at baseline could predict loneliness and positive coping style during follow-up period,and positive coping style at baseline could predict loneliness during follow-up period.（4）Social support can directly affect loneliness,and coping style has a mediating effect on social support and loneliness.