Changes in 'ordinary' life. Covid-19's effects on young students' mental and physical well-being

Abstract

The present paper builds on the topic of ‘disaster studies’, addressing the most crucial theoretical aspects of them: a) the purpose of studying «meaningful interactions» between the social system and the individuals and their actions; b) the conviction that, in cases of a pandemic or natural disasters, pain and tragedy can take on unequalled levels of emergency, generating powerful effects as relates to the rhythms of ‘ordinary’ life; c) the role of cognitive processes in conditioning daily life and determining individual predispositions towards the future. From this perspective, the research explores the results obtained from an online survey conducted in 2021 on all Sapienza’s students, who have spent an academic mobility period outside Italy or inside Rome. The analysis explores variations and influences of the cognitive-emotional dimension (beliefs, desires, opportunities) on the (intention-to-) action dimension (attitudes, actions), especially considering the physical and mental well-being aspects.

Keywords

• behaviour
• emergency
• lifestyles
• mental well-being
• physical well-being
• web-survey