IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i20p13454-d945615.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

COVID-19 and Lockdown, as Lived and Felt by University Students

Author

Listed:
  • Cátia Branquinho

    (Instituto de Saúde Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa (FMUL), 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal
    Equipa Aventura Social, 1400-185 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • Fábio Botelho Guedes

    (Instituto de Saúde Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa (FMUL), 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal
    Equipa Aventura Social, 1400-185 Lisbon, Portugal
    Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa (FMHUL), 1495-751 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • Ana Cerqueira

    (Instituto de Saúde Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa (FMUL), 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal
    Equipa Aventura Social, 1400-185 Lisbon, Portugal
    Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa (FMHUL), 1495-751 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • Alexandra Marques-Pinto

    (Centro de Investigação em Ciência Psicológica, Faculdade de Psicologia, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-013 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • Amélia Branco

    (GHES Research Center—Office of Economic and Social History, ISEG—Lisbon School of Economics & Management of the University of Lisbon, 1249-078 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • Cecília Galvão

    (Instituto de Saúde Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa (FMUL), 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal
    Instituto de Educação, Universidade de Lisboa (IEUL), 1649-013 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • Joana Sousa

    (Instituto de Saúde Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa (FMUL), 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal
    Laboratório de Nutrição, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • Luís F. Goulão

    (Unidade de Investigação Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food (LEAF), Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa (ISAUL), 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • Maria Rosário Bronze

    (Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Lisboa (FFUL), 1649-003 Lisbon, Portugal
    Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica (iBET), 2780-157 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • Wanda Viegas

    (Unidade de Investigação Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food (LEAF), Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa (ISAUL), 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • Margarida Gaspar de Matos

    (Instituto de Saúde Ambiental (ISAMB), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa (FMUL), 1649-028 Lisbon, Portugal
    Equipa Aventura Social, 1400-185 Lisbon, Portugal
    APPSYci, ISPA—Instituto Universitário, 1149-041 Lisbon, Portugal)

Abstract

In the last 2 years, the COVID-19 pandemic has spread all over the world, forcing the closure of universities, among other unusual measures in recent history. (1) Background: This work is based on the study HOUSE-ULisbon, a survey carried out during the second confinement (March–May 2021) in Portugal with the collaboration of all the Faculties of the University of Lisbon (UL). The present work aims to explore gender differences in how first-year college students experienced and felt COVID-19 and the second confinement. (2) Methods: A questionnaire was carried out. In total, 976 university students (19.66 years ( SD = 4.033); Min = 17 and Max = 65) from the first year of the UL were included, of which 69.5% ( n = 678) were female, and 30.5% were male ( n = 298). SPSS v. 26 was used for quantitative data and MAXQDA 2020 for qualitative data. (3) Results: Overall, students reported various symptoms of physical and mental discomfort (especially females). Statistically significant differences were found in the problems that could arise from the pandemic, such as the prevalence of higher anxiety and worries by females, and online gaming by males. In coping strategies, differences were found in leisure and family relationships, with greater difficulty on the female side. Social interaction was perceived as difficult or very difficult by both genders. As strategies for future pandemics, they highlighted a concerted effort between the government and media in the transmission of messages to the population, facilitating information, knowledge and adoption of protective behaviors. (4) Conclusions: These results are important data for activating or maintaining resources and services for first-year university students, who in some university institutions were supported during the pandemic by psychological, material (e.g., computers, internet), and financial support measures, which are now diminished or extinct. The impacts on their lives will certainly not be extinguished post-pandemic, and health, education, and public policy measures should be prioritized for this group. These results are important data for activating resources and services for students, informing health and education professionals, and supporting public policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Cátia Branquinho & Fábio Botelho Guedes & Ana Cerqueira & Alexandra Marques-Pinto & Amélia Branco & Cecília Galvão & Joana Sousa & Luís F. Goulão & Maria Rosário Bronze & Wanda Viegas & Margarida Gasp, 2022. "COVID-19 and Lockdown, as Lived and Felt by University Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-10, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:20:p:13454-:d:945615
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/20/13454/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/20/13454/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cátia Branquinho & Anabela Caetano Santos & Catarina Noronha & Lúcia Ramiro & Margarida Gaspar Matos, 2022. "COVID-19 Pandemic and the Second Lockdown: The 3rd Wave of the Disease Through the Voice of Youth," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(1), pages 199-216, February.
    2. Cuiyan Wang & Riyu Pan & Xiaoyang Wan & Yilin Tan & Linkang Xu & Cyrus S. Ho & Roger C. Ho, 2020. "Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors during the Initial Stage of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Epidemic among the General Population in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-25, March.
    3. Giorgio Di Pietro & Federico Biagi & Patricia Costa & Zbigniew Karpinski & Jacopo Mazza, 2020. "The likely impact of COVID-19 on education: Reflections based on the existing literature and recent international datasets," JRC Research Reports JRC121071, Joint Research Centre.
    4. Mikyung Jun & Songyi Lee & Taeeun Shim, 2021. "First-Year College Student Life Experiences during COVID-19 in South Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-18, September.
    5. Nicholas Grubic & Shaylea Badovinac & Amer M Johri, 2020. "Student mental health in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic: A call for further research and immediate solutions," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 66(5), pages 517-518, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. J. Pierre Zila-Velasque & Pamela Grados-Espinoza & Naomi Coba-Villan & Jocelyn Quispe-Chamorro & Yesenia F. Taipe-Guillén & Estefany Pacheco & Laura Ccasa-Valero & Virgilio E. Failoc-Rojas & Cristian , 2022. "Mental Disorders and Level of Resilience in Eight High-Altitude Cities of Peru during the Second Pandemic Wave: A Multicenter Population-Based Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-19, December.
    2. Hee-Kyung Kim, 2022. "In the COVID-19 Era, Effects of Job Stress, Coping Strategies, Meaning in Life and Resilience on Psychological Well-Being of Women Workers in the Service Sector," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-15, August.
    3. Isabel Mercader Rubio & Pilar Sánchez-López & Nieves Gutiérrez Ángel & Nieves Fátima Oropesa Ruiz, 2022. "Psychological Consequences of Fear of COVID-19: Symptom Analysis of Triggered Anxiety and Depression Disorders in Adolescents and Young Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-8, October.
    4. S. Brent Jackson & Kathryn T. Stevenson & Lincoln R. Larson & M. Nils Peterson & Erin Seekamp, 2021. "Outdoor Activity Participation Improves Adolescents’ Mental Health and Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-18, March.
    5. Piotr Długosz & Damian Liszka & Anastasiia Bastrakova & Luydmila Yuzva, 2022. "Health Problems of Students during Distance Learning in Central and Eastern Europe: A Cross-Sectional Study of Poland and Ukraine," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-16, August.
    6. Chen Liao & Liying Nong & Yu-Feng Wu & Yu-Tai Wu & Jian-Hong Ye, 2023. "The Relationships between University Students’ Physical Activity Needs, Involvement, Flow Experience and Sustainable Well-Being in the Post-Pandemic Era," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-17, May.
    7. Artem Kashtanov & Ekaterina Molotok & Andrey Yavorovskiy & Alexander Boyarkov & Yuriy Vasil’ev & Ali Alsaegh & Sergey Dydykin & Olesya Kytko & Renata Meylanova & Yulianna Enina & Vasiliy Troitskiy & M, 2022. "A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study Assessing the Psycho-Emotional State of Intensive Care Units’ Physicians and Nurses of COVID-19 Hospitals of a Russian Metropolis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-22, February.
    8. Federica Bianco & Annalisa Levante & Serena Petrocchi & Flavia Lecciso & Ilaria Castelli, 2021. "Maternal Psychological Distress and Children’s Internalizing/Externalizing Problems during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Moderating Role Played by Hypermentalization," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-15, October.
    9. Jing Guo & Xing Lin Feng & Xiao Hua Wang & Marinus H. van IJzendoorn, 2020. "Coping with COVID-19: Exposure to COVID-19 and Negative Impact on Livelihood Predict Elevated Mental Health Problems in Chinese Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-18, May.
    10. Rocío Lavigne-Cervan & Borja Costa-López & Rocío Juárez-Ruiz de Mier & Marta Sánchez-Muñoz de León & Marta Real-Fernández & Ignasi Navarro-Soria, 2021. "Implications of the Online Teaching Model Derived from the COVID-19 Lockdown Situation for Anxiety and Executive Functioning in Spanish Children and Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-15, October.
    11. Wasiq Khan & Bilal M. Khan & Salwa Yasen & Ahmed Al-Dahiri & Dhiya Al-Jumeily & Khalil Dajani & Abir Hussain, 2022. "COVID-19 Vaccination and Mental Stress within Diverse Sociodemographic Groups," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-19, October.
    12. Sabrina Bonichini & Marta Tremolada, 2021. "Quality of Life and Symptoms of PTSD during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-11, April.
    13. Fei Qin & Yiqing Song & George P Nassis & Lina Zhao & Yanan Dong & Cuicui Zhao & Yiwei Feng & Jiexiu Zhao, 2020. "Physical Activity, Screen Time, and Emotional Well-Being during the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-16, July.
    14. Ankica Kosic & Tamara Džamonja Ignjatović & Nebojša Petrović, 2021. "A Cross-Cultural Study of Distress during COVID-19 Pandemic: Some Protective and Risk Factors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-15, July.
    15. Shunying Zhao & Qiang Yang & Hohjin Im & Baojuan Ye & Yadi Zeng & Zhinan Chen & Lu Liu & Dawu Huang, 2022. "The impulsive online shopper: effects of COVID-19 burnout, uncertainty, self-control, and online shopping trust," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-15, December.
    16. Durmuş Burak, 2023. "The Effect of Risk and Protective Factors on Primary School Students’ COVID-19 Anxiety: Back to School After the Pandemic," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 16(1), pages 29-51, February.
    17. Mónica Leira-Sanmartín & Agustín Madoz-Gúrpide & Enriqueta Ochoa-Mangado & Ángela Ibáñez, 2021. "Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic and Related Variables: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Sample of Workers in a Spanish Tertiary Hospital," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-10, March.
    18. Shuangshuang Xin & Xiujie Ma, 2023. "Mechanisms of Physical Exercise Effects on Anxiety in Older Adults during the COVID-19 Lockdown: An Analysis of the Mediating Role of Psychological Resilience and the Moderating Role of Media Exposure," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-15, February.
    19. Vicenç Hernández-González & Josep Maria Carné-Torrent & Carme Jové-Deltell & Álvaro Pano-Rodríguez & Joaquin Reverter-Masia, 2022. "The Top 100 Most Cited Scientific Papers in the Public, Environmental & Occupational Health Category of Web of Science: A Bibliometric and Visualized Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-24, August.
    20. Na-Hye Kim & Jung-Min Lee & Eunhye Yoo, 2022. "How the COVID-19 Pandemic Has Changed Adolescent Health: Physical Activity, Sleep, Obesity, and Mental Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-12, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:20:p:13454-:d:945615. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.