Exploratory analysis of college students’ occupational engagement during COVID-19

ABSTRACT Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, college students experienced occupational disruptions to their daily routines and alarming mental health outcomes. This paper seeks to examine associations between college students’ occupational engagement and psychological well-being; identify potential protective and risk factors for gender, race, and ethnic identities; and explore the impacts of occupational disruptions during COVID-19. Method: Undergraduate students (n = 152) were recruited through social media and ResearchMatch and completed an online survey. Associations and differential impacts on identity were analyzed for occupational balance, satisfaction with participation in discretionary activities, depression, fatigue, general anxiety, stress, loneliness, and COVID-19 behaviors, beliefs, and experiences (CBBE). Results: Occupational engagement had significant negative correlations with the five mental health measures. Females reported more fatigue, anxiety, and stress than males. Hispanic/Latinx participants reported greater occupational engagement. Black/African American participants reported greater occupational balance than their multiracial peers. Occupational Impairment subscale was positively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. Participants who lost their job were more depressed. Males reported a greater increase in alcohol, cigarette, and recreational drug consumption than females. The COVID-19 Preventative Action subscale was positively correlated with COVID-19 Worry. Females both engaged in more preventive actions and worried more than males. Conclusion: Overall, this study reveals that increasing occupational engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic could be beneficial for mental health and well-being, that COVID-19 had differential impacts on occupational engagement and mental health outcomes based on identity, and that behaviors, beliefs, and experiences shifted with the global occupational disruption.