PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

The COVID-19 pandemic has been there for over a year and may substantially negatively impact student’s mental well-being. This study aimed to assess the subjective mental well-being and satisfaction with life of Filipino college students. This cross-sectional study involved the analysis of 1,141 college students in the Philippines. The data were collected using the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Results indicated that while 52.8% reported high satisfaction with life, 40.2% had poor mental well-being. Self-reported health status (β=1.899, p=.000), age (β=0.179, p=.000), and year level (β=0.306, p=.000) predicted mental well-being. On the other hand, subjective mental well-being (β=0.736, p=.000), self-reported health status (β=0.967, p=.000), and age (β=0.691, p=.025) predicted life satisfaction. The COVID-19 pandemic has likely affected students’ mental health and well-being. Interventions should be initiated to address the mental health needs of the students during this pandemic and even beyond the health crisis.

• Aristovnik, A., Keržič, D., Ravšelj, D., Tomaževič, N., & Umek, L. (2020). Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on life of higher education students: A global perspective. Sustainability, 12(20), Article 8438. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208438

• Bieda, A., Hirschfeld, G., Schönfeld, P., Brailovskaia, J., Lin, M., & Margraf, J. (2019). Happiness, life satisfaction and positive mental health: Investigating reciprocal effects over four years in a Chinese student sample. Journal of Research in Personality, 78, 198-209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2018.11.012

• Brådvik, L. (2018). Suicide risk and mental disorders. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(9), Article 2028. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15092028

• Browning, M. H., Larson, L. R., Sharaievska, I., Rigolon, A., McAnirlin, O., Mullenbach, L., Cloutier, S., Vu, T. M., Thomsen, J., Reigner, N., Metcalf, E. C., D’Antonio, A., Helbich, M., Bratman, G. N., & Alvarez, H. O. (2021). Psychological impacts from COVID-19 among university students: Risk factors across seven states in the United States. PloS One, 16(1), Article e0245327. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245327

• Burns, D., Dagnall, N., & Holt, M. (2020). Assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student wellbeing at universities in the United Kingdom: A conceptual analysis. Frontiers in Education, 5, Article 582882. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.582882

• Ceri, V., & Cicek, I. (2021). Psychological well-being, depression and stress during COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey: A comparative study of healthcare professionals and non-healthcare professionals. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 26(1), 85-97. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2020.1859566

• Chew, N. W., Cheong, C., Kong, G., Phua, K., Ngiam, J. N., Tan, B. Y., Wang, B., Hao, F., Tan, W., Han, X., Tran, B. X., Hoang, M. T., Pham, H. Q., Vu, G. T., Chen, Y., Danuaji, R., Kolkumar, R. N., Meenakshi, P. V., Talati, K., ... Sharma, V. K. (2021). An Asia-Pacific study on healthcare workers’ perceptions of, and willingness to receive, the COVID-19 vaccination. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 106, 52-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2021.03.069

• Cleofas, J. V. (2020). Life interruptions, learnings and hopes among Filipino college students during COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2020.1846443

• Cleofas, J. V., & Oducado, R. M. F. (2021). COVID-19 death occurrences, pandemic fatigue and well-being. Journal of Loss and Trauma. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2021.1971423

• Cleofas, J. V., & Rocha, I. C. N. (2021). Demographic, gadget and internet profiles as determinants of disease and consequence related COVID-19 anxiety among Filipino college students. Education and Information Technologies, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10529-9

• Cucinotta, D., & Vanelli, M. (2020). WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic. Acta Bio Medica: Atenei Parmensis, 91(1), 157-160. https://doi.org/10.23750/abm.v91i1.9397

• Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71-75. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13

• Dodson, K. (2020). COVID-19 is fueling a mental health crisis for the world’s youth. United Nations Foundation. https://unfoundation.org/blog/post/covid-19-is-fueling-a-mental-health-crisis-for-the-worlds-youth/

• Duong, C. D. (2021). The impact of fear and anxiety of Covid-19 on life satisfaction: Psychological distress and sleep disturbance as mediators. Personality and Individual Differences, 178, Article 110869. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110869

• Elbogen, E. B., Lanier, M., Blakey, S. M., Wagner, H. R., & Tsai, J. (2021). Suicidal ideation and thoughts of self‐harm during the COVID‐19 pandemic: The role of COVID‐19‐related stress, social isolation, and financial strain. Depression and Anxiety, 38(7), 739-748. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.23162

• Guillasper, J. N., Oducado, R. M. F., & Soriano, G. P. (2021). Protective role of resilience on COVID-19 impact on the quality of life of nursing students in the Philippines. Belitung Nursing Journal, 7(1), 43-49. https://doi.org/10.33546/bnj.1297

• Haddock, C. K., Poston, W. S., Pyle, S. A., Klesges, R. C., Vander Weg, M. W., Peterson, A., & Debon, M. (2006). The validity of self-rated health as a measure of health status among young military personnel: Evidence from a cross-sectional survey. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 4(1), 57. https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7525-4-57

• Hamaideh, S. H., Al‐Modallal, H., Tanash, M. A., & Hamdan‐Mansour, A. (2021). Depression, anxiety and stress among undergraduate students during COVID‐19 outbreak and “home‐quarantine”. Nursing Open. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.918

• Hernández-Torrano, D., Ibrayeva, L., Sparks, J., Lim, N., Clementi, A., Almukhambetova, A., Nurtayev, Y., & Muratkyzy, A. (2020). Mental health and well-being of university students: A bibliometric mapping of the literature. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1226. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01226

• Ho, C. S. H., Chee, C. Y. I., & Ho, R. C. M. (2020a). Mental health strategies to combat the psychological impact of COVID-19 beyond paranoia and panic. Annals, Academy of Medicine, Singapore, 49(1), 1-3.

• Ho, C. S. H., Lim, L. J., Lim, A. Q., Chan, N. H., Tan, R. S., Lee, S. H., & Ho, R. (2020b). Diagnostic and predictive applications of functional near-infrared spectroscopy for major depressive disorder: A systematic review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 378. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00378

• Husain, S. F., Yu, R., Tang, T. B., Tam, W. W., Tran, B., Quek, T. T., Quek, T. T., Hwang, S. H., Chang, C. W., Ho, C. S., & Ho, R. C. (2020). Validating a functional near-infrared spectroscopy diagnostic paradigm for major depressive disorder. Scientific Reports, 10, 9740. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-66784-2

• Joseph, A. (2021). As the COVID-19 crisis ebbs in the U.S., experts brace for some to experience psychological fallout. STAT News. https://www.statnews.com/2021/05/07/as-the-covid-19-crisis-ebbs-in-the-u-s-experts-brace-for-a-long-term-impact-on-mental-health/

• Kecojevic, A., Basch, C. H., Sullivan, M., & Davi, N. K. (2020). The impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on mental health of undergraduate students in New Jersey, cross-sectional study. PloS One, 15(9), Article e0239696. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239696

• Kim, Y. H., & Koh, T. S. (2016). Factors affecting on life satisfaction of university students: Focusing on the moderating effects of ego-resilience. Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial Cooperation Society, 17(10), 481-489. https://doi.org/10.5762/KAIS.2016.17.10.481

• Labrague, L., & Ballad, C. A. (2020). Lockdown fatigue among college students during the covid-19 pandemic: Predictive role of personal resilience, coping behaviours, and health. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppc.12765

• Labrague, L. J., De los Santos, J. A. A., & Falguera, C. C. (2021). Social and emotional loneliness among college students during the COVID‐19 pandemic: The predictive role of coping behaviors, social support, and personal resilience. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppc.12721

• Le, H. T., Lai, A. J. X., Sun, J., Hoang, M. T., Vu, L. G., Pham, H. Q., Nguyen, T. H., Tran, B. X., Latkin, C. A., Le, X. T. T., Nguyen, T. T., Pham, Q. T., Ta, N. T. K., Nguyen, Q. T., Ho, R. C. M., & Ho, C. S. H. (2020). Anxiety and depression among people under the nationwide partial lockdown in Vietnam. Frontiers in Public Health, 8, 656. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.589359

• Lee, J., Jeong, H. J., & Kim, S. (2021). Stress, anxiety, and depression among undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic and their use of mental health services. Innovative Higher Education, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-021-09552-y

• Lim, G. Y., Tam, W. W., Lu, Y., Ho, C. S., Zhang, M. W., & Ho, R. C. (2018). Prevalence of depression in the community from 30 countries between 1994 and 2014. Scientific Reports, 8, 2861. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-21243-x

• Lim, K. S., Wong, C. H., McIntyre, R. S., Wang, J., Zhang, Z., Tran, B. X., Tan, W., Ho, C. S., & Ho, R. C. (2019). Global lifetime and 12-month prevalence of suicidal behavior, deliberate self-harm and non-suicidal self-injury in children and adolescents between 1989 and 2018: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(22), 4581. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16224581

• Lombardo, P., Jones, W., Wang, L., Shen, X., & Goldner, E. M. (2018). The fundamental association between mental health and life satisfaction: Results from successive waves of a Canadian national survey. BMC Public Health, 18, 342. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5235-x

• Malone, C., & Wachholtz, A. (2018). The relationship of anxiety and depression to subjective well-being in a mainland Chinese sample. Journal of Religion and Health, 57(1), 266-278. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-017-0447-4

• Mamun, M. A. (2021). Suicide and suicidal behaviors in the context of CoViD-19 pandemic in Bangladesh: A systematic review. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 14, 695-704. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S315760

• NHS Health Scotland, University of Warwick, and University of Edinburgh. (2008). Short Warwick Edinburgh mental well-being scale (SWEMWBS). https://www.corc.uk.net/media/1245/swemwbs_childreported.pdf

• Oducado, R. M. F., & Estoque, H. (2021). Online learning in nursing education during the covid-19 pandemic: Stress, satisfaction, and academic performance. Journal of Nursing Practice, 4(2), 143-153. https://doi.org/10.30994/jnp.v4i2.128

• Oducado, R. M. F., Rabacal, J. S., Moralista, R. M., & Tamdang, K. A. (2021). Perceived stress due COVID-19 pandemic among employed professional teachers. International Journal of Educational Research and Innovation, (15), 305-316. https://doi.org/10.46661/ijeri.5284

• Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (2013). The satisfaction with life scale (SWL). Measurement Instrument Database for the Social Science. https://www.midss.org/content/satisfaction-life-scale-swl

• Philippine Department of Health. (2021). COVID-19 case tracker. https://doh.gov.ph/covid-19/case-tracker

• Pretorius, T., & Padmanabhanunni, A. (2021). A looming mental health pandemic in the time of COVID-19? Role of fortitude in the interrelationship between loneliness, anxiety, and life satisfaction among young adults. South African Journal of Psychology, 51(2), 256-268. https://doi.org/10.1177/0081246321991030

• Rabacal, J. S., Oducado, R. M. F., & Tamdang, K. A. (2020). COVID-19 impact on the quality of life of teachers: A cross-sectional study. Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research, 8(4), 478-492. https://doi.org/10.15206/ajpor.2020.8.4.478

• Ren, Z., Xin, Y., Ge, J., Zhao, Z., Liu, D., Ho, R. C. M., & Ho, C. S. H. (2021). Psychological impact of COVID-19 on college students after school reopening: A cross-sectional study based on machine learning. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1346. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.641806

• Repišti, S., Jovanović, N., Kuzman, M. R., Medved, S., Jerotić, S., Ribić, E., Majstorović, T., Simoska, S. M., Novotni, L., Milutinović, M., Stoilkovska, B. B., Radojičić, T., Ristić, I., Zebić, M., Pemovska, T., & Russo, M. (2020). How to measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on quality of life: COV19-QoL - the development, reliability and validity of a new scale. Global Psychiatry, 3(2), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.2478/gp-2020-0016

• Rodríguez-Rey, R., Garrido-Hernansaiz, H., & Collado, S. (2020). Psychological impact and associated factors during the initial stage of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic among the general population in Spain. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1540. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01540

• Rogowska, A. M., Kuśnierz, C., & Bokszczanin, A. (2020). Examining anxiety, life satisfaction, general health, stress and coping styles during COVID-19 pandemic in Polish sample of university students. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 13, 797-811. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S266511

• Schnettler, B., Miranda-Zapata, E., Grunert, K. G., Lobos, G., Denegri, M., Hueche, C., & Poblete, H. (2017). Life satisfaction of university students in relation to family and food in a developing country. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1522. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01522

• Simegn, W., Dagnew, B., Yeshaw, Y., Yitayih, S., Woldegerima, B., & Dagne, H. (2021). Depression, anxiety, stress and their associated factors among Ethiopian university students during an early stage of COVID-19 pandemic: An online-based cross-sectional survey. PloS One, 16(5), Article e0251670. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0251670

• Slavinski, T., Bjelica, D., Pavlović, D., & Vukmirović, V. (2021). Academic performance and physical activities as positive factors for life satisfaction among university students. Sustainability, 13(2), 497. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020497

• Soh, H. L., Ho, R. C., Ho, C. S., & Tam, W. W. (2020). Efficacy of digital cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Sleep Medicine, 75, 315-325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2020.08.020

• Stewart-Brown, S., Tennant, A., Tennant, R., Platt, S., Parkinson, J., & Weich, S. (2009). Internal construct validity of the Warwick-Edinburgh mental well-being scale (WEMWBS): A Rasch analysis using data from the Scottish health education population survey. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 7(15). https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7525-7-15

• Superio, D. L., Anderson, K. L., Oducado, R. M. F., Luceño, M. T., Palcullo, V. E. V., & Bendalian, M. V. T. (2021). The information-seeking behavior and levels of knowledge, precaution, and fear of college students in Iloilo, Philippines amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, Article 102414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102414

• Tee, M. L., Tee, C. A., Anlacan, J. P., Aligam, K. J. G., Reyes, P. W. C., Kuruchittham, V., & Ho, R. C. (2020). Psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. Journal of Affective Disorders, 277, 379-391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.08.043

• Trabelsi, K., Ammar, A., Masmoudi, L., Boukhris, O., Chtourou, H., Bouaziz, B., Brach, M., Bentlage, E., How, D., Ahmed, M., Mueller, P., Mueller, N., Hsouna, H., Elghoul, Y., Romdhani, M., Hammouda, O., Paineiras-Domingos, L. L., Braakman-Jansen, A., Wrede, C., … ECLB-COVID19 Consortium. (2021). Sleep quality and physical activity as predictors of mental wellbeing variance in older adults during COVID-19 lockdown: ECLB COVID-19 international online survey. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(8), Article 4329. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084329

• Tran, B. X., Nguyen, H. T., Le, H. T., Latkin, C. A., Pham, H. Q., Vu, L. G., Le, X. T. T., Nguyen, T. T., Pham, Q. T., Ta, N. T. K., Nguyen, Q. T., Ho, C. S. H., & Ho, R. C. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 on economic well-being and quality of life of the Vietnamese during the national social distancing. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, Article 565153. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.565153

• United Nations. (2020). COVID-19 and the need for action on mental health [Working paper]. https://doi.org/10.18356/13fff923-en

• Von Soest, T., Bakken, A., Pedersen, W., & Sletten, M. A. (2020). Life satisfaction among adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tidsskrift for Den norske legeforening, 140(10). https://doi.org/10.4045/tidsskr.20.0437

• Wang, C., Chudzicka-Czupała, A., Tee, M. L., Núñez, M. I. L., Tripp, C., Fardin, M. A., Habib, H. A., Tran, B. X., Adamus, K., Anlacan, J., Aparicio García, M. E., Grabowski, D., Hussain, S., Hoang, M. T., Hetnał, N., Le, X. T., Ma, W., Pham, H. Q., Reyes, P. W. C., ... Sears, S. F. (2021a). A chain mediation model on COVID-19 symptoms and mental health outcomes in Americans, Asians and Europeans. Scientific Reports, 11, 6481. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-85943-7

• Wang, C., Pan, R., Wan, X., Tan, Y., Xu, L., Ho, C. S., & Ho, R. C. (2020a). Immediate psychological responses and associated factors during the initial stage of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic among the general population in China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(5), Article 1729. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17051729

• Wang, C., Pan, R., Wan, X., Tan, Y., Xu, L., McIntyre, R. S., Choo, F. N., Tran, B., Ho, R., Sharma, V. K., & Ho, C. (2020b). A longitudinal study on the mental health of general population during the COVID-19 epidemic in China. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 87, 40-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2020.04.028

• Wang, C., Tee, M., Roy, A. E., Fardin, M. A., Srichokchatchawan, W., Habib, H. A., Tran, B. X., Hussain, S., Hoang, M. T., Le, X. T., Ma, W., Pham, H. Q., Shirazi, M., Taneepanichskul, N., Tan, Y., Tee, C., Xu, L., Xu, Z., Vu, G. T., ... Kuruchittham, V. (2021b). The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on physical and mental health of Asians: A study of seven middle-income countries in Asia. PloS One, 16(2), Article e0246824. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0246824

• Wąsowicz, G., Mizak, S., Krawiec, J., & Białaszek, W. (2021). Mental health, well-Being, and psychological flexibility in the stressful times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 647975. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.647975

• World Health Organization. (2020). Adolescent mental health. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health

• World Health Organization. (2021). WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard. https://covid19.who.int/

• Xiong, J., Lipsitz, O., Nasri, F., Lui, L. M., Gill, H., Phan, L., Chen-Li, D., Iacobucci, M., Ho, R., Majeed, A., & McIntyre, R. S. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in the general population: A systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders, 277(1), 55-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.08.001

• Zhang, M. W. B., & Ho, R. C. M. (2017). Moodle: The cost effective solution for internet cognitive behavioral therapy (I-CBT) interventions. Technology and Health Care: Official Journal of the European Society for Engineering and Medicine, 25(1), 163-165. https://doi.org/10.3233/THC-161261