Well-being amongst undergraduate students during the dual pandemic: an exploratory study

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the college experience. Concurrently, social justice movements highlighting systemic racism and police brutality were taking place.We explored the extent to which undergraduate students from a private university felt both positive and negative emotions due to the dual pandemic. Methods:Undergraduate students reported the extent to which they felt 19 emotions due to COVID-19 in August 2020 (n = 944) and January 2021 (n = 321). In August 2020, participants also indicated the extent to which they felt the same emotions due to the civil unrest occurring in response to systemic racism and police brutality. Results: Participants felt a wide range of emotions in response to the dual pandemic. Students felt more positively about the civil unrest compared to COVID-19 in August 2020. Despite vaccine availability, negative emotions regarding COVID-19 rose in January 2021. Conclusions: The implications of the ongoing effects of the dual pandemic are discussed.

Keywords: COVID-19; Civil unrest; dual pandemic; emotions; feelings.