Social isolation causing psychological distress among university students

Surprisingly, university students without pre-existing mental health concerns seem to be suffering greater psychological distress during the pandemic than their peers with pre-existing mental health problems according to a study of close to 800 university students in Toronto carried out by researchers from McGill and University of Toronto. "It is unexpected and counterintuitive," says Nancy Heath , a professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology at McGill and a coauthor on the paper that was published today in Canadian Psychology. "We all expected that those 'at risk' due to prior mental health difficulties would be the most vulnerable to the COVID-19 stressors. However, those university students without mental health concerns are consistently and significantly more negatively impacted by COVID-19. Our explanation is that social isolation is hitting those without prior mental health difficulties much harder." Weathering the loneliness of social isolation The study compared the results of two surveys of close to 800 students, who answered questions online about their mental health and wellbeing, initially in May 2019, and then again in May 2020. 74% of the students were female, 25% were male and 1% were other. Their average age was 18.