Mental Health in Chilean Higher Education Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has required important changes in the lifestyles and quality of life of higher education students, generating emotional distress. This study sought to evaluate a predictive model of emotional distress and positive mental health through measures of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) in Chilean higher education students during the pandemic. Method: To this end, 502 students (67.8% female), aged 18-44 years, were surveyed at two time points during the pandemic, separated by 6 months. Potential predictors included emotional regulation strategies, perceived social support, sociodemographic characteristics, factors related to the pandemic, and students' experiences related to online classes. Results: Findings indicated that PTSS levels were generally stable across the two time points, but PTG levels increased. In addition, emotional regulation strategies (suppression, cognitive reappraisal), perceived social support, and female gender predicted both PTSS and PTG 6 months later; students' number of hours of screen time for school also influenced PTG. Conclusions: Findings enhance understanding of the processes contributing to PTSS and PTG in higher education students. The need to improve quality of life and mental health in higher education students, including individual- and institutional-level strategies, is discussed. Clinical Impact Statement The results highlight the importance of attending to student adjustment in online classes during the pandemic, with the goals of reducing students' stress as well as their risk for negative mental health consequences. Results also suggest the potential benefit of promoting students' connections with their networks and potential sources of social support, such as their families, friends, or fellow students. Furthermore, findings indicate that preventive or clinical interventions that include a focus on emotional regulation can help decrease the distress associated with stress and facilitate the perception and experience of positive changes from the pandemic experience.