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Group1 Research Chapter2

State policymakers are enacting laws to enhance children's mental and physical health in schools, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has exacerbated mental health issues among students. Research indicates a rise in anxiety and depression among college students due to academic disruptions and the challenges of online learning, highlighting the urgent need for mental health interventions. The stigma surrounding mental health treatment further complicates access to care, necessitating a focused examination of the pandemic's psychological impacts on this vulnerable population.

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20 views5 pages

Group1 Research Chapter2

State policymakers are enacting laws to enhance children's mental and physical health in schools, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has exacerbated mental health issues among students. Research indicates a rise in anxiety and depression among college students due to academic disruptions and the challenges of online learning, highlighting the urgent need for mental health interventions. The stigma surrounding mental health treatment further complicates access to care, necessitating a focused examination of the pandemic's psychological impacts on this vulnerable population.

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Ash Kim
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© © All Rights Reserved
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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

In response to growing concerns about children’s mental and physical

health, state policymakers have enacted laws to require schools to take an active

role in supporting their students’ wellbeing – from requiring a minimum amount of

time dedicated to physical activity, to requiring access to clean, potable water, to

providing access to mental and physical health services, to implementing a range

of preventative dental, vision, and health screenings. As schools reopen this fall

to the new realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many shifting to virtual

learning for at least part of the school week, they will be challenged to implement

many of these requirements. Schools, and the communities they serve, must find

new ways to support students’ social, emotional, and physical health needs,

which are typically addressed within the school building. (Temkin, PhD, 2020)

With the global development of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

outbreak, the psychological issues which accompany this pandemic have rapidly

compounded its public health burden (Torales et al., 2020). Emerging research

assessing the mental health implications of COVID-19 has identified a

heightened prevalence of moderate-to-severe self-reported depressive and

anxious symptomatology among the general public (Wang et al., 2020), reflecting

the widespread effects of uncertainty and health-related fears. However, further

research that investigates beyond the population level is required to understand

the individualized disruption of lives and routines as a result of COVID-19, and its

associated psychological impacts. For college students, heightened levels of


psychological distress and downstream negative academic consequences are

prevalent under normal circumstances (American College Health Association,

2019). As a result of physical distancing measures implemented in response to

COVID-19, tertiary education institutions have shifted to an emergency online

learning format, which would be expected to further exacerbate academic

stressors for students. Based on insights from research examining the impact of

academic disruptions on students (Wickens, 2011), it is reasonable to venture

that students may experience reduced motivation toward studies, increased

pressures to learn independently, abandonment of daily routines, and potentially

higher rates of dropout as direct consequences of these measures. Thus, by

increasing academic stressors in a population with heightened pre-existing stress

levels and a potentially reduced ability to rely on typical coping strategies – such

as family who themselves may be experiencing heightened distress – the

COVID-19 pandemic has placed an unprecedented mental health burden on

students, which urgently requires further examination and immediate

intervention. (Grubic, Badovinac, Johri, 2020)

Mental health issues are the leading impediment to academic success.

Mental illness can affect students’ motivation, concentration, and social

interactions crucial factors for students to succeed in higher education. The 2019

Annual Report of the Centre for Collegiate Mental Health reported that anxiety

continues to be the most common problem (62.7% of 82,685 respondents)

among students who completed the Counsel Centre Assessment of

Psychological Symptoms, with clinicians also reporting that anxiety continues to


be the most common diagnosis of the students that seek services at university

counsel centres. Consistent with the national trend, Texas A&M University has

seen a rise in the number of students seeking services for anxiety disorders over

the past 8 years. In 2018, slightly over 50% of students reported anxiety as the

main reason for seeking services. Despite the increasing need for mental health

care services at postsecondary institutions, alarmingly, only a small portion of

students committing suicide contact their institution counsel centres, perhaps due

to the stigma associated with mental health. Such negative stigma surrounding

mental health diagnosis and care has been found to correlate with a reduction in

adherence to treatment and even early termination of treatment. The COVID-19

pandemic has brought into focus the mental health of various affected

populations. It is known that the prevalence of epidemics accentuates or creates

new stressors including fear and worry for oneself or loved ones, constraints on

physical movement and social activities due to quarantine, and sudden and

radical lifestyle changes. A recent review of virus outbreaks and pandemics

documented stressors such as infection fears, frustration, boredom, inadequate

supplies, inadequate information, financial loss, and stigma. Much of the current

literature on psychological impacts of COVID-19 has emerged from the earliest

hot spots in China. Although several studies have assessed mental health issues

during epidemics, most have focused on health workers, patients, children, and

the general population. For example, a recent poll by The Kaiser Family

Foundation showed that 47% of those sheltering in place reported negative

mental health effects resulting from worry or stress related to COVID-19. Nelson
et al have found elevated levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms among

general population samples in North America and Europe. However, with the

exception of a few studies, notably from China, there is sparse evidence of the

psychological or mental health effects of the current pandemic on college

students, who are known to be a vulnerable population. Although the findings

from these studies thus far converge on the uptick of mental health issues among

college students, the contributing factors may not necessarily be generalizable to

populations in other countries. As highlighted in multiple recent correspondences,

there is an urgent need to assess effects of the current pandemic on the mental

health and well-being of college students. (Nelson et. al., 2020)


MEMBERS:
Adot, Jonah Jane C.
Apelinga, Nicole S.
Bacay, Jericho B.
Balane, Jessa P.
Banawa, Crisval

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