Education-Related COVID-19 Difficulties and Stressors during the COVID-19 Pandemic among a Community Sample of Older Adolescents and Young Adults in Canada

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic created significant disruptions to the provision of education, including restrictions to in-person and remote learning. Little is known about how older adolescents and young adults experienced these disruptions. To address this gap, data were drawn from the Well-Being and Experiences study (the WE Study), a longitudinal community-based sample collected in Manitoba, Canada, from 2017–2021 (n = 494). Prevalent difficulties or stressors during in-person learning were less interaction with friends or classmates, worrying about grades, less interaction with teachers, and too much screen time (range: 47.3% to 61.25%). Prevalent difficulties or stressors for remote learning were less interaction with friends or classmates and teachers, less physical activity, worrying about grades, and too much screen time (range: 62.8% to 79.6%). Differences related to sex, education level, financial burden, and mental health prior to the pandemic were noted. From a public health perspective, efforts to re-establish social connections with friends, classmates, and teachers; strategies to manage stress related to worrying about grades or resources to improve grades that have declined; and approaches to reduce screen time in school and at home may be important for recovery and for any ongoing or future pandemics or endemics that impact the delivery of education.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• pandemic
• education
• remote learning
• school
• university