Event Title
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Related Stressors on Graduate and Undergraduate Students at a Majority-Minority University in NYSThe Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Related Stressors on Graduate and Undergraduate Students at a Majority-Minority University in NYS
Start Date
21-6-2021 9:15 AM
End Date
21-6-2021 10:00 AM
Topic
Interventions in Education
Session Chair
Julia Hastings
Abstract
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has greatly compromised the life experiences of US college students. Recent studies have shown that college students have experienced a series of challenges in general well-being (Copeland et al. 2021) and academic functioning due to the transition to online learning (Kyne and Thompson 2020). What’s more, students of historically marginalized identities have experienced a “double pandemic” due to the disproportionate dual impact of Covid-19 on physical health and mental health, evidenced by the elevated mortality rates in Black and Hispanic individuals (Cheng, Sun, and Monnat 2020), the mental exhaustion resulted from a series of societal upheavals (e.g., the 2020 presidential election, the murder of George Floyd, the increase in Anti-Asian hate crimes), the loss of LGBTQ+ identity celebration and activism (Pereira et al. 2021), and the resulting loss of appeal for international students to study in the US (Berger 2021). Method. Qualitative data were gathered through seven focus groups conducted in mid-December from 30 public university graduate and undergraduate students. The participants represented a diverse range of race/ethnicity (56.7% White), gender (70% cisgender women, 20% cisgender men, 10% transgender or nonbinary), and sexual orientation (53.5% heterosexual or straight). The focus group questions protocol was developed by an interdisciplinary team, and all focus groups were transcribed and further checked for accuracy. Three members of the research team with expertise in qualitative analysis performed thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke 2006, 86-93) to generate themes across the data, and review discrepancies before finally reaching consensus. Results. The process of thematic analysis has produced three common themes from the data. (1) Worries related to health: Participants expressed concerns about the health of family members as well as eagerness for more clarity and enforcement of public health guidelines on campus. (2) Sociopolitical anxiety: Participants reported ongoing difficulty balancing academic responsibilities while dealing with ongoing anxiety and stress related to the sociopolitical climate. Specifically, participants felt “inescapable” from stress due to constant exposure on social media, television, and daily conversations with close others regarding the political climate and presidential election. For students with historically marginalized identities (i.e., international students, transgender and nonbinary students, racial minority students), some reported that “it’s a literal matter of survival.” (3) Challenging adjustment beyond remote learning: Participants reported challenges associated with remote learning, as they experienced difficulty meeting the demands of their multiple roles and competing responsibilities, as they were “being pulled in 30 directions.” Participants also expressed significant loss of connections with peers and professors, as if it is “all of the work with none of the fun.” Discussion. The current sociopolitical context exacerbated ongoing stressors for both undergraduate and graduate students, particularly BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and international students, many of whom were experiencing a “double pandemic.” As we move toward a post-pandemic society, this work will hold critical implications for higher education institutions in New York State as well as nationally and globally and will provide valuable and timely guidance regarding steps that may be implemented at the individual, academic, administrative, and policy levels.
Author Bio
Dr. Meredith R. Maroney served as the Health Promotion Specialist for the Center for Behavioral Health Promotion and Applied Research and as a Staff Psychologist at Counseling and Psychological Services at the University at Albany during the 2020-2021 academic year. In this role she conducted applied research and engaged in prevention activities, while also serving as the Director of Project Sexual Health and Peer Education (SHAPE). Through her work at CAPS, she provided individual, couples, and group therapy to UAlbany students. She has previously worked with adolescents and young adults in a number of settings including college counseling centers, schools, hospitals, and community-based treatment settings. Dr. Maroney obtained her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Boston in August 2020, her MS in Mental Health Counseling from UMass Boston in 2015, and her BS in Psychology from Loyola University Maryland in 2012. She has expertise in college mental health, health and mental health disparities, sexual orientation and gender diversity, autism, qualitative research, and intervention development. She is moving to the University of Calgary to work as an Assistant Professor in the Counseling Psychology PhD program at the Werklund School of Education beginning in July 2021.
Dr. M. Dolores Cimini is a New York State licensed psychologist and Director of the Center for Behavioral Health Promotion and Applied Research at the University at Albany, SUNY. She is also the Director of the nationally recognized Middle Earth Peer Assistance Program. Dr. Cimini has led comprehensive efforts in research-to-practice translation at the University at Albany for the past 28 years with over $9 million in support from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Justice, and New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports. The screening and brief intervention program developed by Dr. Cimini, the STEPS Comprehensive Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention Program, has earned 13 national awards for best practices and innovation in behavioral health care. Dr. Cimini has co-edited two books, including a volume focused on college student health and well-being entitled Promoting Behavioral Health and reducing Risk Among College Students: A Comprehensive Approach (2018). Dr. Cimini served as a member of the National Advisory Council of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration from 2015-2019 and is currently a member of the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association. She served on the governance board of the American Psychological Association, where she is the past Chair of the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest; in this role, she has had leadership for reviewing and disseminating APA’s practice standards focused on serving diverse and underrepresented groups and the addressing of issues related to psychology and social justice. Prior to her work with BAPPI, Dr. Cimini was a member of APA’s Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology (CDIP) from 2008-2011.
Dr. Emily Feuer (she, her, hers) currently serves as the Assistant Director for Student Affairs Assessment and Planning at the University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY). In her role, Dr. Feuer works with both qualitative and quantitative data to better understand the student experience and uncover opportunities to improve student life at UAlbany. She is also a part of RISE Partnerships consulting team where she works to help others improve the fraternity/sorority experience. Dr. Feuer graduated with her Ph.D. in Educational Policy & Leadership in May 2019 from UAlbany.
(Presenter)
Shangyun Zhou is a rising 4th-year PhD student in the Counseling Psychology Program at UAlbany. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in Psychology at South China Normal University in China, Shangyun traveled to the United States to obtain further education and completed his master’s degree in Clinical Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. Before coming to UAlbany for his doctoral degree, Shangyun has worked multiple jobs as a counselor at the NYC-Well crisis hotline, a Geriatric Care Specialist at Hamilton-Madison House in downtown NYC, and a research associate at NYU Langone Health - Center for the Study of Asian American Health. Shangyun receives training both as a researcher and a psychotherapist. As a student researcher, Shangyun is involved in multiple projects on suicide and suicide prevention. He is currently conducting research on the impact of COVID on college student wellbeing outcomes (such as psychological distress and suicidal ideation) at the Center for Behavioral Health Promotion and Applied Research. Shangyun is also conducting research on suicide-related outcomes in both clinical and non-clinical populations related to issues such as hospital admission/readmission and childhood violence exposure. For his dissertation, Shangyun is interested in studying the effect of perfectionism and interpersonal factors on suicide and suicide prevention in Asian college students in the US. As a psychotherapist in training, Shangyun is currently being trained at the Counseling and Psychological Services Center of UAlbany, offering short-term treatment for students in need of services.
(Presenter)
Justin M. Karter, MA, MA, is currently a doctoral candidate in Counseling Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Boston and a clinical doctoral intern at the SUNY Albany Counseling Center. He holds master's degrees in both Journalism and Mass Communication and Clinical and Community Psychology from Point Park University in Pittsburgh. Justin's research interests are in the interdisciplinary social sciences, critical psychology, and philosophy of psychology. He is currently working on his dissertation, which is a qualitative investigation of the experiences of self-identified psychosocial disability advocates who are engaged in activism within and against the movement for global mental health. In his clinical work, Justin is interested in relational psychodynamic, humanistic, narrative, and liberation approaches to psychotherapy and is currently training in a college counseling setting. In addition, Justin serves as the lead news editor for the social-justice oriented webzine, Mad in America.
Document Type
Extended Abstract
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Related Stressors on Graduate and Undergraduate Students at a Majority-Minority University in NYSThe Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Related Stressors on Graduate and Undergraduate Students at a Majority-Minority University in NYS
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has greatly compromised the life experiences of US college students. Recent studies have shown that college students have experienced a series of challenges in general well-being (Copeland et al. 2021) and academic functioning due to the transition to online learning (Kyne and Thompson 2020). What’s more, students of historically marginalized identities have experienced a “double pandemic” due to the disproportionate dual impact of Covid-19 on physical health and mental health, evidenced by the elevated mortality rates in Black and Hispanic individuals (Cheng, Sun, and Monnat 2020), the mental exhaustion resulted from a series of societal upheavals (e.g., the 2020 presidential election, the murder of George Floyd, the increase in Anti-Asian hate crimes), the loss of LGBTQ+ identity celebration and activism (Pereira et al. 2021), and the resulting loss of appeal for international students to study in the US (Berger 2021). Method. Qualitative data were gathered through seven focus groups conducted in mid-December from 30 public university graduate and undergraduate students. The participants represented a diverse range of race/ethnicity (56.7% White), gender (70% cisgender women, 20% cisgender men, 10% transgender or nonbinary), and sexual orientation (53.5% heterosexual or straight). The focus group questions protocol was developed by an interdisciplinary team, and all focus groups were transcribed and further checked for accuracy. Three members of the research team with expertise in qualitative analysis performed thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke 2006, 86-93) to generate themes across the data, and review discrepancies before finally reaching consensus. Results. The process of thematic analysis has produced three common themes from the data. (1) Worries related to health: Participants expressed concerns about the health of family members as well as eagerness for more clarity and enforcement of public health guidelines on campus. (2) Sociopolitical anxiety: Participants reported ongoing difficulty balancing academic responsibilities while dealing with ongoing anxiety and stress related to the sociopolitical climate. Specifically, participants felt “inescapable” from stress due to constant exposure on social media, television, and daily conversations with close others regarding the political climate and presidential election. For students with historically marginalized identities (i.e., international students, transgender and nonbinary students, racial minority students), some reported that “it’s a literal matter of survival.” (3) Challenging adjustment beyond remote learning: Participants reported challenges associated with remote learning, as they experienced difficulty meeting the demands of their multiple roles and competing responsibilities, as they were “being pulled in 30 directions.” Participants also expressed significant loss of connections with peers and professors, as if it is “all of the work with none of the fun.” Discussion. The current sociopolitical context exacerbated ongoing stressors for both undergraduate and graduate students, particularly BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and international students, many of whom were experiencing a “double pandemic.” As we move toward a post-pandemic society, this work will hold critical implications for higher education institutions in New York State as well as nationally and globally and will provide valuable and timely guidance regarding steps that may be implemented at the individual, academic, administrative, and policy levels.
Comments
The recording of this speaker ends at 1:22:21