Education is protective against depressive symptoms in the context of COVID-19
Sasha Rudenstine1, Kat McNeal1, Talia Schulder1
1Department of Psychology, City College of New York, New York, New York, USA.
Objective:
This study assessed current education stage (ie, undergraduate, graduate) as protective against depressive symptoms among a low socioeconomic status (SES) student population in a public university, in the context of COVID-19-related stressors.
Participants:
Participants were students at The City University of New York (CUNY) during the Spring 2020.
Methods:
Demographic data, symptom severity, and current educational stage were collected via an online university-wide survey between April 8, 2020 and May 2, 2020.
Results:
The prevalence of probable depression was lower amongst persons who reported being currently in a more advanced educational stage compared to people currently in a lower educational stage. COVID-19-related stressor exposure was the largest predictor of depressive symptoms, followed by demographics and current education stage.
Conclusions:
Current education stage is related to depressive symptoms during COVID-19. Pandemic-related educational disruptions and shifts to remote learning may limit educational achievement for low-SES student populations creating further threats to these students' health.
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