What Do We Do Now? Examining Changes in Coping Strategies Among College Students Enrolled in a Wellness and Resilience Course Following the Onset of a Global Pandemic

Abstract

College students face many stressors and are at-risk of poor mental health and wellness outcomes. The global COVID-19 pandemic, increasing prevalence of childhood adverse experiences, and engagement in health-risk behaviors have amplified these concerns. Students need access to supports to cope with stress, regulate emotions, and help them to “bounce back” from these stressors now more than ever. This study investigated the outcomes of a 10-week skills-based wellness and resilience undergraduate course. Amid the onset of a global pandemic, this study examined change in emotion dysregulation, psychological capital, and health-risk behaviors from the beginning to the end of Spring quarter 2020 for students enrolled in this course. Results indicated significant improvements in psychological capital from pre to post intervention, suggesting efficacy for universal interventions targeting resilience skills. Implications of these findings, limitations, and directions for research are discussed. Keywords: Resilience, wellness, emotion regulation, psychological capital, high risk behavior, higher education, college students, university students, universal mental health