At-Home Activities and Subjective Well-Being of Foreign College Students in Thailand during the COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak

Abstract

Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology (SIIT) is an international institute of Thammasat University (TU), located in Pathum Thani, Thailand. The courses are offered in English, and many foreign students are studying at SIIT-TU. The classes have been suspended since 16 March 2020 to slow down the COVID-19 disease spread, and the students are suggested to study online at home. The present study intends to understand the at-home activities and well-being of foreign students. A web-based survey was conducted from 22 through 23 March 2020 to record the activities and well-being of the students on 20 and 21 March 2020. Happiness and stress levels with the seven-points Likert scales were considered as the two output variables (1 = lowest and 7 = highest). The ordered probit model was applied to develop the subjective well-being models, taking into account at-home activities. The results highlighted that students who were happier were more likely to study for longer at home, but that studying for longer increases stress levels. Students who were less happy and more stressed were more likely to speak on the phone for longer, while doing exercise at home for longer increased the likelihood of happiness. This paper contributes to a better understanding of at-home activities associated with well-being of foreign students in Thailand during the COVID-19 outbreak.