Academic distress among undergraduate students during COVID-19: the relevance of SES and help-seeking behaviors

IntroductionAcademic distress has been frequently reported following the COVID-19 pandemic. This study estimates academic distress among undergraduate students, characterizes its nature in relation to economic, social, and health indicators, and examines the level of request for help following mental distress. Students with higher levels of academic distress were expected to show lower socio-economic status, lower social connections, and lower wellbeing indices.MethodsA cross-sectional study based on a structured anonymous questionnaire was delivered online to more than 1,400 undergraduate students from one university in Israel (women, 66.7%).ResultsAcademic distress was reported by 27.1% of the sample. Students who reported academic distress were more likely to report stress, negative psycho-somatic symptoms, changes in weight since COVID-19, low self-esteem, depressive symptoms, higher COVID-19 concerns, and higher security situation concerns. A hierarchic logistic regression model showed that the probability of reporting academic distress was 2.567 times higher (p