Student Life During a Pandemic
WAVE 1 Results
September 2020
STUDENT EXPERIENCES OF COVID-19
How are students feeling about remote and parent involvement in their learning experiences including:
-
socializing with people in their bubble
-
respect for physical distancing
-
frequency of exposure to news and information about COVID-19
-
their concern about impacts on household members, vulnerable populations, country/world health, health system overload, maintaining social ties, and violence in the home
Close but not too close
In the past month, to what extent did students physical distance?
Most of the time
(1235, 51.5%)
All of the time
(319, 13.3%)
Some of the time
(562, 23.4%)
Not most of the time
(226, 9.4%)
Not at all
(54, 2.3%)
How much do students worry about their Personal Health?
were very or
extremely worried
38%
Did students access professional support?
-
it's required
-
it's socially responsible
-
they didn’t want to get sick
Why do students mask up?
Main Reasons?
How much do students worry about Family Confinement and stress?
47.5%
were very or
extremely worried
Grade Differences?
Gender Differences?
HOW STRESSED ARE STUDENTS DURING COVID-19?
Measure used
Child Revised Impact of Events Scale
(CRIES; Weiss & Mamar, 1997):
13-item measure of objective stress as it related to COVID-19
4 Intrusion items Do you think about it [the event] even when you don’t mean to?
4 Avoidance items Do you try not to think about it [the event]?
5 Arousal items Do you have sleep problems?
Total score ranges from 0 to 65
Clinical cutoff score of 30 or above (17 or above on the subscales) having been found to identify children with a diagnosis of PTSD.
Overall, students are managing COVID-19 stress?
Overall, student stress regarding COVID-19 fell well below the clinical cutoff (30)
Arousal was highest individual area, but none close to clinical cutoff (17)
But some students are stressed about COVID-19
One in four (25%) students indicated that their self-reported COVID-19 stress exceeded the clinical cutoff
One in 7 (13.8%) self-reported arousal levels above critical cutoff
Self-reported stress and school return
No significant differences in stress reported by way of school return type.
How do Stress Levels Differ Among Students?
Older students (15-18) reported sig. > arousal levels (e.g., sleep probs, irritability, feel more nervous) than did younger students (12-14).
Thinking About COVID
As metro AB students returned to school, we asked students how frequently these sentences were true in the last 7 days re COVID-19. Students age 15-18 rated frequency > 12-14 year olds.
HOW ARE STUDENTS FEELING AND BEHAVING?
MEASURE USED
Behaviour Intervention Monitoring Assessment System (BIMAS-2; McDougal et al., 2016)
Measuring conduct, negative affect, cognitive/attention, and social and academic functioning
The BIMAS-2 is a brief, repeatable self-report measure that is useful for universal behavioral screening, progress monitoring, outcome assessment, and program evaluation.
How is their mental health and adaptive behaviours?
Overall, students self-reported mental health and adaptive behaviours in the normal ranges
Self-reported symptoms of conduct, negative affect, and cognitive/attention symptoms higher for females
In the last week, how often did students report?
I was anxious (nervous or worried)...
Just over one-third of students (38%) reported they they never or rarely felt worried or nervous in the week prior to completing survey
Almost the same percentage (38.1%) self-reported that they often or very often felt worried or nervous in the week prior to completing survey
38%
of students were often or very often anxious
In the last week, how often did students report?
I was sad or withdrawn...
26%
of students were often or very often sad or withdrawn
Majority of students (53.3%) reported they they never or rarely felt sad or withdrawn in the week prior to completing survey
Over one quarter (25.8%) self-reported that they often or very often felt sad or withdrawn in the week prior to completing survey
Females more sad and worried during last week
Gender differences quite apparent in self-reporting of depressive and anxiety symptoms
Females reported significantly more sadness and worry in the week prior to the survey completion
WHAT INDICATORS OF RESILIENCY WERE REPORTED?
Measure used
Child and Youth Resilience Measure
(CYRM-R; Jefferies et al., 2013)
Measuring an estimate of resiliency in 3 areas:
Individual (personal skills, peer support, social skills);
Caregiver (physical and psychological caregiving); and
Context (spiritual, education, cultural).
We will review just two items here related to family and friends.
We asked students to consider some of the personal, social, and contextual strengths that were both available and accessible to them.
Are students feeling supported by their family?
76%
of students reported that they felt supported by family a lot or quite a bit
My family stands by me during difficult times...
I feel supported by my friends
Over three quarters of students (68.4%) self-reported that, during this period of school re-entry, they felt that their friends supported them
At least one in five (31.7%) indicated that they felt somewhat, a little, or not at all supported by friends at the time of the survey completion
