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. 2024 Jul;72(5):1450-1457.
doi: 10.1080/07448481.2022.2080504. Epub 2022 Jul 1.

Behaviors and attitudes of college students during an academic semester at two Wisconsin universities during the COVID-19 pandemic

Hannah G Rosenblum  1   2 , Hannah E Segaloff  1   2   3 , Devlin Cole  3   4 , Christine C Lee  1   5 , Dustin W Currie  1   2 , Glen R Abedi  1 , Patrick L Remington  4 , G Patrick Kelly  6 , Collin Pitts  4   6 , Kimberly Langolf  7 , Juliana Kahrs  7 , Kurt Leibold  7 , Ryan P Westergaard  3   8 , Christopher H Hsu  1 , Hannah L Kirking  1 , Jacqueline E Tate  1
Affiliations

Behaviors and attitudes of college students during an academic semester at two Wisconsin universities during the COVID-19 pandemic

Hannah G Rosenblum et al. J Am Coll Health. 2024 Jul.

Abstract

Objective: Characterize college student COVID-19 behaviors and attitudes during the early pandemic. Participants: Students on two university campuses in Wisconsin.

Methods: Surveys administered in September and November 2020.

Results: Few students (3-19%) participated in most in-person activities during the semester, with eating at restaurants as the exception (72-80%) and attending work (35%) and parties (33%) also reported more frequently. The majority wore masks in public (94-99%), but comparatively fewer (42%) did so at parties. Mask-wearing at parties decreased from September to November (p < 0.05). Students attending parties, or consuming more alcohol, were less concerned and more likely to take COVID-19-associated risks.

Conclusions: Students were motivated to adhere to COVID-19 prevention measures but gathered socially. Though there was frequent public masking, mask-wearing at parties declined in November and may represent pandemic fatigue. High-yield strategies for decreasing viral spread may include changing masking social norms and engaging with students about creative risk-reduction strategies.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; college campuses; college students; mask-wearing; physical distancing; universities.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States of America. This work was reviewed by ethical review boards at both universities, CDC, and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, and was determined to be non-research as public health surveillance under federal law and CDC policy. This activity was reviewed by CDC and was conducted consistent with applicable federal law and CDC policy.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow of survey data collected at University A and University B in September and November 2020.aAt University A, 6,164 students were registered in on-campus dorms at start of semester and invited to participate.bAt University B, 2,187 students were registered in on-campus dorms at start of semester and approximately 850 of those in three of the dorms were invited to participate.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Comparison of intended and reported behaviors at the start of semester within cohort answering survey at two timepoints.A) Planned and reported activities and planned and reported frequency of physical distancing in public. B) Mask-wearing by activity start and end of semester.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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