Understanding mental wellbeing amongst potentially vulnerable higher education students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract: During the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education students were reported as one of the most affected in terms of wellbeing. In the current study, we explored higher education students' self-perceptions on why and how their mental wellbeing was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and its related measures. Focus group discussions with potentially vulnerable university student groups, as well as university staff, revealed that the students described the pandemic as a period of reduced mental wellbeing. Overall, students identified two main reasons for this: the lingering aspect of the pandemic and restricted social contact and support. Moreover, we identified several underlying factors of specific student groups' vulnerability in terms of wellbeing: entering the university during the COVID-19 pandemic and students' living situation, employment status, financial stress, and home environment. Moreover, as a potential mitigating factor, the availability of university facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic emerged as beneficial for students' mental wellbeing. Our results indicate the importance of universities acting as social spaces that facilitate connection and peer support and, thus, working preventively towards the improved mental wellbeing of students. Furthermore, university support in providing facilities to increase inclusivity should be organized or improved