the prevalence of negative coping mechanisms and its
TRANSCRIPT
Special thanks to every student that participated, the UWI Campus Registrar and Campus Ethics committee for granting approval to conduct this study at The UWI and our Supervisor for guiding us at every step of this project.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in high prevalence of negativecoping mechanisms and academic stressors amongst The UWI-STAstudents. Students have lower HRQoL compared to population norms ofthe English-speaking Caribbean, mainly having issues in the dimensionof Anxiety/Depression. As such there is the need for appropriatestudent interventions.
• Frequency of Academic stressors in the online university environmenthave significantly increased because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The high prevalence of negative coping mechanisms among The UWI-STAstudents was consistent with students from other universities.
• ‘Sleeping’ had a prevalence rate twice that of a study conducted in TheUWI, Cave Hill Campus.
• Prevalence of Substance use (alcohol, smoking, vaping, marijuana, drugs)was relatively low in this study; however, it was considerably highercompared to universities in New Zealand and Kenya: Smoking was twotimes higher and Marijuana use was nine times higher.
• Males employed more destructive coping strategies than females,consistent with multiple studies.
• HRQoL of The UWI-STA students was lower compared to the English-speaking Caribbean population norms, possibly due to the impact of thepandemic. Relationship between gender and HRQoL was consistent withthese population norms.
• Due to the sampling strategy used (quota sampling), these results are notgeneralizable, a limitation of this study.
The Prevalence of Negative Coping Mechanisms and Its Association with The Health-Related Quality of Life of University Students: Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Shubham Kumar, Steven Mann, Shivraj Motilal, Shifaa Muhammad, Summer Ramkissoon, Simone Rampersad, Shristi Sarker, Summer Sooknanan, Marsha A Ivey
Department of Para Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of The West Indies
Conclusion
e: [email protected] ; [email protected]
References
Acknowledgments
Methodology
Introduction
Mental health of young adults has become a relevant matteramidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals employ various copingmechanisms to deal with their stresses and mental healthchallenges. The type of coping strategy determines the outcomesof their Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL).
Objectives
Discussion
4.2%
6.6%
12.3%
16.8%
16.9%
17.8%
20.8%
26.3%
43.7%
44.2%
45.8%
59.2%
65.9%
66.6%
70.4%
70.7%
74.6%
79.1%
83.0%
85.5%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Illegal drugs (LSD, cocaine, etc)
Study drugs
Self-harm
Smoking cigarettes
Professional counselling
Marijuana intake
Vaping
Increased sexual activity
Excessive caffiene intake
Drinking alcohol
Aggressive behaviour
Excercising
Self isolation
Praying/Meditation
Support from family/friends
Watching TV
Venting
Poor eating habits…
Long hours on social media
Sleeping
Percent
Co
pin
g M
ech
an
ism
Figure 1: Coping mechanisms Used (sometimes/often/always) in the Past 6 months among Students, The UWI, 2021
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Mobility Self-Care Usual Activities Pain/Discomfort Anxiety/Depression
Per
cen
t o
f S
tud
ents
EQ-5D-5L Dimension
1-no problems
2- slight problems
3- moderate problems
4- severe problems
5- extreme problems
Figure 2: Students’ Health-related Quality of Life by EQ-5D-5L©
dimensions, The UWI, 2021
• Main Stressors: Academic stress/coursework demands (96.9%) and Timemanagement problems (90.3%).
• The most common EQ-5D-5L health states were 11113 (11.9%) and 11112 (11.6%).This reflects moderate and slight anxiety/depression respectively with no issue inthe other four dimensions.
• The average EQ5D5L Index value was 0.83 (SD=0.109, 95% CI=0.818-0.843).
• The average EQ-VAS score was 69.5 (SD=19.4, 95% CI=67.4-71.6).
• Females had a significantly lower HRQoL compared to males: EQ-VAS score (66.4vs 74.6) and Index value (0.81 vs 0.86) (p<0.05) respectively.
• Students who only used positive coping mechanisms had significantly higherHRQoL compared to those who used at least one negative coping mechanism: EQ-VAS scores (75.7 vs 68.1) and Index values (0.89 vs 0.82) (p<0.05 respectively).
Study Design
Cross-Sectional Study
Setting
The UWI-STA
Study Population
11 270 Undergraduate
Students
Sample Size
326 Students
Study Sample
Quota sampling by Faculty and Gender
distribution
Data Collection
Self-administered Questionnaires via
social media; use of EQ-5D-5L©
instrument
Data Analysis
Descriptive statistics;
Associations using t-tests, chi-square
tests
Data Protection
Participant’s informed consent;
No identifying information; Data
password-protected
Coping Mechanism
Poor eating
Caffeine
Venting
Self Harm
Self Isolation
Exercise
Praying
Sleep
Drugs This study investigated thestressors of students at theUniversity of the West Indies, StAugustine Campus (UWI-STA) andhow their coping mechanismsinfluenced their HRQoL during theCOVID-19 pandemic.
Results
Ethics approval: UWI Ethics Committee (ref: CREC-SA.0708/01/2021)
• To determine the prevalence of negative coping mechanismsutilized by The UWI-STA students.
• To determine the associated stressors.
• To measure the HRQoL of students.
• To examine the associations between coping mechanisms andHRQoL.
n = 326
1. EuroQol Research Foundation.: https://euroqol.org/eq-5d-instruments/
2. Bailey H, et al (2021). Health Qual Life Outcomes; 19: 97. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7980638/
3. Persaud N, Persaud I (2015). Int J High Educ. 20;5(1):11.