Subjective well-being of psychological-pedagogical students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction. With the development of humanistic attitudes in society, the importance of issues related to the subjective well-being of the individual increases. It is important not only how successful a person is at work or in educational activities, but also how well he/she feels. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed the learning environment for university students. The study of the factors of subjective well-being of students expands the instrumental capabilities of psychological support during the pandemic. In the case of a repetition of a similar situation, this knowledge will be useful for helping students, and potentially a wider circle of people, to maintain subjective well-being.
Aim. The present research aimed to investigate the subjective well-being of students of psychological and pedagogical directions of universities during the pandemic with an emphasis on its emotional component.
Methodology and research methods. The research methodology is based on the subjective approach, which considers a student as an active subject, capable of successfully adapting to the changed conditions of an educational activity. In the course of the research, the authors identified the interrelationships of subjective well-being, its semantic markers and self-organisation to expand the possibilities of diagnosing subjective well-being and maintaining it during the periods of extreme social situations, as well as to use semantic markers for self-analysis. To assess subjective well-being, three methods were applied. Self-assessment of satisfaction with one’s condition on a 10-point scale was carried out according to the following parameters: sleep, food, communication with family, communication with friends, studies, hobbies, and mood. The authors employed the scale of subjective well-being (by А. Perrudet-Badoux, G. Mendelsohn, J. Chiche, adapted by M. V. Sokolova) and psychosemantic characteristics of the subjective attitude to the situation of distance learning at the university due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To assess the ability of students to organise themselves in the changed learning conditions, the questionnaire of self-organisation of activities (N. T. Feather и M. J. Bond, adapted by E. Yu. Mandrikova) was used. The study involved 406 students between the ages of 18 and 45 years (383 women and 23 men) studying in the areas of psychology and pedagogy at the University of Tyumen and State Kurgan State University. For statistical analysis of the research data, the Mann-Whitney U Test and correlation analysis were used.
Results. It was found that the ability to self-organise leads to higher subjective well-being, and this, in turn, stimulates self-organisation. Semantic markers of subjective well-being associated with educational activities during the pandemic, such as comfortable and uncomfortable, interesting and uninteresting, tired and vigorous, were highlighted. The authors revealed objective parameters associated with self-organisation and subjective well-being, namely sleep disturbances. This can lead to the fact that there is not enough daytime and the student works at night, thereby resulting in the disturbance of night sleep, and consequently – poor self-organisation.
Scientific novelty. The parameters of subjective well-being and self-organisation of students in a new, extreme social situation, during the COVID-19 pandemic are considered.
Practical significance. The data obtained can be used to develop a strategy for teaching students in a pandemic situation and forced self-isolation, as well as to increase subjective well-being in a new social situation. The research results can be applied in psychodiagnostics for a more complete interpretation of the parameters of subjective well-being, as well as for the use of the identified relationships in the programmes of psychological support for students of psychological and pedagogical specialities. Semantic markers of subjective well-being that have received empirical justification can be employed to create a diagnostic scale.

1. Sorokin M. U., Kasianov E. D., Rukavishnikov G. V., Makarevch O. V., Neznanov N. G., Lutova N. B., Mazo G. E. The structure of anxious experiences associated with the spread of COVID-19: data from an online survey. Vestnik RGMU = Bulletin of RSMU. 2020. 3: 77–84. DOI: 10.24075/vrgmu.2020.030 (In Russ.)

2. Ryff C. D. Psychological well-being in adult life. Current Directions in Psychological Science. 1995; 4 (4): 99–104. DOI: 10.1111/1467-8721.ep10772395

3. Argyle M. The psychology of happiness. London: Routledge; 2013. 288 p.

4. Diener E. Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist. 2000; 55 (1): 34–43. DOI: 10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.34

5. Diener E., Lucas R. E., Oishi S. Advances and open questions in the science of subjective well-being. Collabra: Psychology. 2018; 4 (1): 15. DOI: 10.1525/collabra.115

6. Shamionov R.M.Sub’ektivnoe blagopoluchie lichnosti: psihologicheskaya kartina i faktory = Subjective well-being of the individual: psychological picture and factors [Internet]. Saratov; 2007 [cited 2020 Dec 12]. 295 p. Available from: https://www.elibrary.ru/download/elibrary_18896869_34019906.pdf (In Russ.)

7. Betsch C. How behavioural science data helps mitigate the COVID-19 crisis. Nature Human Behaviour. 2020; 4 (438). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-020-0866-1

8. Zarocostas J. How to fight an infodemic. The Lancet. 2020; 395 (10225): 676. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30461-X

9. Vaezi A., Javanmard S. H. Infodemic and risk communication in the era of CoV-19. Advanced Biomedical Research. 2020; 9: 10. DOI: 10.4103 / abr.abr_47_20

10. Allahverdipour H. Global challenge of health communication: Infodemia in the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Journal of Education and Community Health. 2020; 7 (2): 65–67. DOI: 10.29252/jech.7/2/65

11. Wang C., Pan R., Wan X., Tan Y., Xu L., McIntyre R. S., Ho C. A longitudinal study on the mental health of general population during the COVID-19 epidemic in China. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 2020; 87: 40–48. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2020.04.028

12. Zhai Y., Du X. Mental health care for international Chinese students affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The Lancet Psychiatry. 2020; 7 (4): e22. DOI: 10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30089-4

13. Nestik T. A., Deyneka O. S., Maksimenkо А. А. Socio-psychological predictors of belief in conspiracy theories of the origin of COVID-19 and involvement in social media. Sotsial’naya psikhologiya i obshchestvo = Social Psychology and Society. 2020; 11 (4): 87–104. DOI: 10.17759/sps.2020110407. (In Russ.)

14. Qian M., Wu Q., Wu P., Hou Z., Liang Y., Cowling B. J., Yu H. Psychological responses, behavioral changes and public perceptions during the early phase of the COVID-19 outbreak in China: A population based cross-sectional survey. MedRxiv. 2020. DOI: 10.1101/2020.02.18.20024448

15. Yang H., Bin P., He A. J. Opinions from the epicenter: an online survey of university students in Wuhan amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. Journal of Chinese Governance. 2020; 5 (2): 234–248. DOI: 10.1080/23812346.2020.1745411

16. Varnavskaia E. V., Afanasiev S. O., Iakovenko N. S. Lexical markers of social anxiety. Mezdunarodnii zhurnal gumanitarnih I estestvennih nauk = International Journal of Humanities and Natural Sciences. 2020; 7-3: 62–64. DOI: 10.24411/2500-1000-2020-10813 (In Russ.)

17. Liu X., Liu, J., Zhong X. Psychological state of college students during COVID-19 epidemic. SSRN. 2020. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3552814

18. Kecojevic A., Basch C. H., Sullivan M., Davi N. K. The impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on mental health of undergraduate students in New Jersey, cross-sectional study. PLoS ONE. 2020; 15 (9): e0239696. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239696

19. Son C., Hegde S., Smith A., Wang X., Sasangohar F. Effects of COVID-19 on college students’ mental health in the United States: Interview survey study. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2020. 22 (9): e21279. DOI: 10.2196/21279 PMID: 32805704 PMCID: 7473764

20. Sokolovskaya I. E. Socio-psychological factors of students’ satisfaction in the context of digitalization of education during the COVID-19 pandemic and self-isolation. Tsifrovaia sotsiologia = Digital Sociology. 2020; 3 (2): 46–54. DOI: 10.26425/2658-347X-2020-2-46-5

21. Artuhova T. Yu. Features of the psychological well-being of students during a pandemic. In: Zeigarnikovskie chtenia. Diagnostica i psihologicheskaia pomosh v sovremennoi klinicheskoi psihologii: problema nauchnih I eticheskih osnovanii: materisli mezdunarodnoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii. Moskva, 18–19 noiabria 2020 = Zeigarnikov Readings. Diagnostics and Psychological Assistance in Modern Clinical Psychology: The Problem of Scientific and Ethical Foundations. Materials of the International Scientific and Practical Conference [Internet]; 2020 Nov 18–19; Moscow. Moscow: Moscow State Psychological and Pedagogical University; 2020 [cited 2020 Apr 23]; p. 30–33. Available from: https://depspp.com/files/Public/Publikacii/mentalnye_resursy/10-zejgarnikovskie_chteniya_sevast_yanova_u_yu_adeeva_t_n_1.pdf (In Russ.)

22. Arënliu A., Bërxulli D. Rapid assessment: Psychological distress among students in Kosovo during the COVID-19 pandemic [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2020 Apr 23]. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340262171_Rapid_assessment_Psychological_distress_among_students_in_Kosovo_during_the_COVID_19_pandemic

23. Harlamova T. M. Specificity of the mental state and coping strategies of students in distance learning in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vestnik Permskogo gosudarstvennogo gumanitarno-pedagogicheskogo universiteta. Seriya № 1. Psihologicheskie i pedagogicheskie nauki = Bulletin of the Perm State Humanitarian Pedagogical University. Series № 1. Psychological and Pedagogical Sciences. 2020; 1: 26–39. DOI: 10.24411/2308-7218-2020-10103 (In Russ.)

24. Rose S. Medical student education in the time of COVID-19. JAMA. 2020; 323 (21): 2131–2132. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2020.5227

25. Cao W., Fang Z., Hou G., Han M., Xu X., Dong J., Zheng J. The psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on college students in China. Psychiatry Research. 2020; 287: 112934. DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112934

26. Wang C., Cheng Z., Yue X.G., McAleer M. Risk management of COVID-19 by universities in China. Journal of Risk Financial Management. 2020; 13 (2): 36. DOI: 10.3390/jrfm13020036

27. Capone V., Caso D., Donizzetti A. R., Procentese F. University student mental well-being during COVID-19 outbreak: What are the relationships between information seeking, perceived risk and personal resources related to the academic context? Sustainability 2020; 12 (17): 7039. DOI: 10.3390/su12177039

28. Yaremchuk S. V., Bakina A. V. Subjective well-being of young people and its relationship with the psychological distance to objects of the socio-psychological space of the individual in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sotsialnaia psihologia i obshestvo = Social Psychology and Society. 2021; 12 (1): 26–43. DOI: 10.17759/sps.2021120103 (In Russ.)

29. Rasskazova E. I., Leontiev D. A., Lebedeva A. A. Pandemic as a challenge to subjective well-being: Anxiety and coping. Konsul’tativnaya psikhologiya i psikhoterapiya = Counseling Psychology and Psychotherapy. 2020; 28 (2): 90–108. DOI: 10.17759/cpp.2020280205 (In Russ.)

30. Mandrikova E. Yu. Development of a self-organization questionnaire. Psikhlogicheskaya diagnostika = Psychological Diagnostics. 2010; 2: 87–111. (In Russ.)

31. Sokolova M. V. Shkala sub’ektivnogo blagopoluchija = Scale of subjective well-being. Yaroslavl: NPC “Psychodiagnostics”; 1996. 17 p. (In Russ.)

32. Nos E. Yu. The ability to self-organize activity as a criterion of personal potential and a condition for achieving psychological well-being. Sibirskii psihologicheskii zhurnal = Siberian Psychological Journal. 2009; 34: 106–108. (In Russ.)

33. Chumakov M., Chumakova D. Parents’ personality, marriage satisfaction, stress, and punishment of children in the family. Behavioral Sciences. 2019; 9 (12): 153. DOI: 10.3390/bs9120153

34. Kislyakov P. A., Shmeleva E. A. Prosocial’noe povedenie i psihologicheskoe blagopoluchie uchashhejsja molodezhi = Prosocial behavior and psychological well-being of students. In: Psihologiya obrazovaniya: sovremennyj vektor razvitiya = Psychology of Education: Modern Vector of Development. Ekaterinburg: Ural Federal University; 2020. p. 491–507.