How are students coping one year after the COVID-19 lockdown? A photoelicitation project.

Abstract

Objective: To understand how students are coping one year after campuses were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants: Students at a large state university in Midwestern USA. Method: Sequential mixed method study. A photo-survey of students' experiences was conducted as part of an ethnographic study of "college life." Student researchers and faculty collaboratively analyzed photos and accompanying text for coping strategies. Association of coping strategies with respondents' characteristics was assessed with inferential statistics. Results: Most respondents alluded to the negative mental toll of the pandemic and predominantly utilized emotion-focused coping strategies. Non-binary students and students who lived off but close to campus appeared to have fewer coping strategies than their peers. Conclusion: The experiences of diverse student sub-populations differ. Photos give researchers a unique vista into students' experiences. Students - as co-researchers - can help campuses understand the stresses associated with their college experiences and how they are coping.