COVID-19, ICT literacy, and Mental Health of University Students: A Three-Country Study

We ran a cross-national project examining the mental health of university students in Ghana, South Africa, and the United States against the backdrop of a surge in the digitalization of teaching at universities in these countries wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic

Mental Health Services on MSU Campus

Problem/ Purpose Across American college campuses, the number of college students reporting feelings of depression to the point of inability to function is on the rise from 19% in 2007 to 34% in 2017 (Lipson et al., 2018). Lifetime mental health diagnoses amongst college students have also risen from 22% to 36% (Lipson et al., 2018). Unfortunately, studies have shown that less than half of adults in the US seek out mental health services due to financial issues and the stigma that still lingers around getting therapy. The number of college students who choose to pursue mental health services on campuses is even less (Green et al., 2020). This study sought to examine student awareness of mental health services on the Murray State University (MSU) Campus, as well as therapy preference (in-person, text, or online therapy). It was hypothesized that students would prefer online therapy compared to in-person or text therapy. Secondly, student awareness of services would significantly vary by academic programs and colleges. Data from MSU students were collected between the Fall of 2021 and the Spring of 2022. There were 368 respondents. The majority of participants were female (77%), with an average age of 20 years (Range: 18-50; SD = 5.05). Of all participants, 83% were Caucasian, 8% were African American, and 3% were Multiracial. While each year was fairly represented the majority were first-year students ( 40%). Finally, the five main schools/colleges of MSU were represented. Preliminary results showed that, contrary to our expectations, students prefer in-person therapy over text and online therapy (the least popular preference). Secondly, participants from the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, followed by participants from the College of Education and Human Services were the most aware of MSU counseling services. Additional findings related to awareness revealed that 57% of MSU college students did not know how to start the process of seeking out mental health services on campus. Additionally, the majority of the participants were not aware of the number of counseling centers on campus, while 40% did not know that the mental health services provided by MSU were free. Our findings provide insight into students’ perceptions of mental health services and provide practical strategies to promote and increase campus awareness of counseling services for students

Cross-Cultural Associations of COVID-19 Knowledge and Psychological Distress

The psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the subject of much research since the beginning of the outbreak. Research suggests that the prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders have increased significantly during the pandemic (Ettman et al., 2020; Santabárbara et al., 2020), and individuals who are more knowledgeable about the pandemic are more likely to be psychologically distressed (Saravanan et al., 2020). This study examined if there were cross-cultural differences in these patterns. Although past research has indicated that the prevalence of psychological disorders differs cross-culturally (Asnaani et al., 2010), international differences in the influence of COVID-19 knowledge on psychological distress have not been examined. Therefore, the current study examined if there were cross-cultural differences in the relationship between COVID-19 knowledge and psychological symptoms. Participants were sampled from the US (N=265; Mage=37.13; SDage=12.40; 61.9% Male; 75.5% Caucasian), Norway (N=99; 46.5% 18-25 years old; 55.6% Male), and Ghana (N=418; 51.2% 18-25 years old; 59% Male), who participated in online and paper surveys (Ghana only). Participants indicated the extent to which they were knowledgeable in six areas related to COVID-19 (e.g., “Symptoms of COVID-19”), and the extent to which they had experienced somatic, anxiety, and depressive symptoms over the past three months. The three countries were dummy coded and moderation analyses were conducted to determine if there were significant interactions between country and COVID-19 knowledge in predicting psychological symptoms. Results indicated a significant interaction between COVID-19 knowledge and depressive symptoms only, when comparing US with Norway and Ghana with Norway

Reducing the Impact of Early Childhood Stressors on Problem Behaviors

This study seeks to illuminate the problems that can be faced by those who have experienced stress in childhood but who did not necessarily develop clinically diagnosable problems. This research comes in light of research as a whole’s move away from static to contextual models of understanding personality development, making it imperative to consider daily occurrences, not just biology or significant traumatic events, in personality formation. Temperament has long been considered the innate source of behaviors that later solidify into personality, but behaviors themselves and the conditions that produce and reinforce them are shaped by the daily environment. This behavior-environment interaction is especially important for children experiencing chronic and multiple childhood stressors like low income, food insecurity, and parental aggravation. Non-clinical personality related problem behaviors like high internalizing/externalizing behaviors may arise from these stressors over time, which in turn lead to negative life consequences including relationship problems, lower job performance, and diagnosed disorders. This study therefore seeks to explore the impact of chronicity and multiple childhood stressors on high internalizing and externalizing behaviors in adolescence and the mitigating role of parental involvement during childhood. It is hypothesized that chronic and multiple stressors at ages 3 and 5 will predict higher internalizing/externalizing behaviors at age 15. Secondly, parental involvement at age 3 and 5 will predict lower internalizing/externalizing behaviors at age 15. But of course, not all children born into stressful environments will exhibit negative clinical problem behaviors. Resilience research on the impact of early childhood stressors on non-clinical behaviors is important to help reduce negative personality behaviors that impede daily adult functioning. Keywords: Personality, Childhood, Stress, Behavior, Temperament, Environment, Parental Aggravation, Parental Involvemen