When Social Isolation Is Nothing New: A Longitudinal Study on Psychological Distress During COVID-19 Among University Students With and Without Preexisting Mental Health Concerns

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on college and university campuses internationally (e.g., widespread campus closures, transitions to online learning). Postsecondary students, who were already a developmentally vulnerable population, are now facing additional new challenges, which could lead to increased mental health concerns. However, there is a paucity of research on the psychological impacts of COVID-19, or who may be most at risk, among postsecondary students. To address these gaps in the literature, we recontacted a sample of 773 postsecondary students (74% female, Mage = 18.52) who previously completed a survey on student mental health in May 2019, again in May 2020. Students filled out an online survey at both time points, reporting on their recent stressful experiences and mental health. Although we expected that students with preexisting mental health concerns would show increased psychological distress during the pandemic, this hypothesis was not supported. Instead, repeated-measures analyses demonstrated that students with preexisting mental health concerns showed improving or similar mental health during the pandemic (compared with one year prior). In contrast, students without preexisting mental health concerns were more likely to show declining mental health, which coincided with increased social isolation among these students. Our findings underscore that colleges and universities will not only need to continue to support students with preexisting mental health needs but also prioritize early prevention and intervention programming to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on students with increasing psychological distress, potentially stemming from increasing social isolation in response to the pandemic. La pandémie mondiale du coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) a eu un impact sans précédent sur les campus universitaires et collégiaux à l'échelle internationale (p. ex., fermetures de campus généralisées, transition vers l'apprentissage en ligne). Les étudiants de niveau postsecondaire, qui forment déjà une population vulnérable sur le plan développemental, font maintenant face à de nouveaux défis supplémentaires, ce qui pourrait entraîner une augmentation des inquiétudes en matière de santé mentale. Or, il y a un manque de recherche sur les impacts psychologiques de la COVID-19, ou sur les personnes qui pourraient être les plus à risque, chez les étudiants de niveau postsecondaire. Afin de combler