"I Hate It, It's Ruining My Life": College Students' Early Academic Year Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Due to strategies aimed at controlling COVID-19, governments across the world implemented social distancing and stay-at-home measures, which has resulted in isolation and economic crisis (Golberstein et al., 2019). To date, few studies have examined individuals' experiences of COVID-19, but these have mostly been focused on frontline workers and the medical field. The purpose of this study was to determine how COVID-19 has affected collegiate student mental health by assessing their perceived challenges and coping strategies. A total of 585 students completed an online survey between July 27 and October 12, 2020, which included open-ended questions on challenges they faced due to COVID-19. Students' average age was 22.46 years, with 75% identifying as female, and primarily from racial/ethnicity groups of Hispanic/Latino (39.5%), White/Caucasian (33.3%), Asian (11.5%) and Black/African American (4.6%). Content analysis revealed themes for challenges due to COVID-19 and coping strategies. Challenges included (a) mental, emotional, physical challenges, (b) online learning, (c) confronting the "new normal", (d) concern for self and others, (e) positive experiences, and (f) societal challenges. Coping strategies were classified into (a) problem-focused coping, (b) emotion-focused coping, and (c) avoidant coping. Emotion-focused coping strategies were indicated by many; however, students engaged in all coping dimensions during the pandemic. Administrators, mental health care workers, and other university staff can use these themes as a framework to redistribute resources for students to better cope with adverse situations to promote academic, mental, and personal success.