Mental health consequences of COVID-19 pandemic among college students and coping approaches adapted by higher education institutions: A scoping review

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus – SARS CoV 2 (COVID 19) has posed a dire threat, not only to physical health but also to mental health, impacting our overall lifestyles. In addition to these threats, there have been unique challenges for different subsets of the population. Likewise, college students including research scholars are facing a variety of challenges in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The scoping review maps existing literature on the mental health of college students in the times of COVID-19, approaches adopted by universities and academic institutions to help students cope with challenges posed by COVID-19 and draws lessons learnt and potential opportunities for integrating mental health promotion as part of routine services, particularly in low-and-middle-income countries context such as India. Four electronic databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus and Google Scholar) were searched following Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review process. Out of the total 1038 screened records, thirty-six studies were included in the review. Data characteristics such as the type of document, intervention and outcome were extracted. Data were synthesized using thematic content analysis. The fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the mental health of students, accentuates the urgent need to understand these concerns to inform the action and public mental health interventions that can better support college students to cope with the crisis.