Coping Strategies among Undergraduates of the University of Ruhuna, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background and Objective: Undergraduates could be more prone to psychological problems than the general population when there are significant changes in the educational environment. Confined to indoors during the COVID-19 pandemic, and travel restrictions increased the strain on their mental health, severely affecting their psychological well-being and various coping mechanisms were implemented globally. This study examined the coping strategies used by undergraduates of the University of Ruhuna, Southern Province, Sri Lanka, during the COVID-19 pandemic.Method: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was done from mid-June to August 2022 using a pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire among undergraduates from randomly selected five faculties. A stratified random sample of 359 undergraduates was invited to fill the socio-demographic details and the coping strategies using the validated 25-item Brief COPE scale. Ethical approval was granted by the Ethics Review Committee, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, University of Ruhuna. Data analysis was done using SPSS (version 23.0). Descriptive statistics, Chi-square and Fisher‟s tests were used.Results: Of the sample, females (62.1%) made up the majority. The mean (±SD) age was 23.67 (±1.6) years. The mean (±SD) adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies were 31.32(±9.08) and 19.31(±5.40) respectively. Among participants, 33.2% reported using high level adaptive coping strategies whereas 9.1% of the participants used high level maladaptive coping strategies. Mostly used adaptive coping strategies were active coping, acceptance and religion while self-distraction was used as a maladaptive coping strategy.Conclusions: Undergraduates adopted more healthy coping strategies than unhealthy coping strategies. It is suggested that more emphasis should be placed on improving mental health, expanding stress management programs and counselling with innovative strategies implemented to improve psychological well-being.