RAPID: Engineering Student Mental Wellness During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, some students will fall ill, potentially critically, while others will face the prospect of sick family members, and even deaths in the family. These experiences are likely to expose students to stress, uncertainty, and fear that may affect their mental health and academic performance for years to come. This study’s contribution will be significant because by studying the effects of the pandemic and academy’s response to it on engineering students, engineering departments will be able to create tailored approaches to help students recover and stay on track for graduation in the aftermath of this pandemic. The outcomes of this project will include: 1) characterizations of the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has on mental wellness and stress levels of various engineering student populations; 2) characterizations of coping strategies being used by students during the pandemic; 3) student reactions, positive and negative, to how their home institution handled the COVID-19 pandemic and any related changes in course delivery and university operations. The goal of this project is to study the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the academy’s response to it on mental health and baseline stress levels in engineering students from all backgrounds. The specific research aims are: 1) to determine how the conditions imposed by COVID-19 are affecting student baseline stress levels and mental wellness, and 2) to characterize student beliefs surrounding how well their institution has handled the COVID-19 outbreak, student coping strategies, and what students wish their institutions had done differently. Both aims will be accomplished through a nationwide survey targeting engineering students. Mental health and stress level will be measured with a compilation of validated instruments. The second aim will be accomplished through qualitative analysis of responses to a number of open-ended questions about student opinions and beliefs. This study is significant because it will be the first effort to assess the effects of pandemics and other large-scale emergencies on engineering students’ mental health and well-being, and will help inform how universities support returning students and handle such crises in the future.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.