A qualitative study of university students’ perspectives of hope during the COVID-19 pandemic
Background: Students in higher education commonly experience mental health problems. There is an ongoing need to explore potential intervention targets to focus on mental health promotion among students. Hopefulness may alleviate or be protective against various negative mental health conditions suc...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2023-07-01
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| Series: | SAGE Open Medicine |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/20503121231185014 |
| _version_ | 1797773447595556864 |
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| author | Aria Keshoofy Konrad Lisnyj David L Pearl Abhinand Thaivalappil Andrew Papadopoulos |
| author_facet | Aria Keshoofy Konrad Lisnyj David L Pearl Abhinand Thaivalappil Andrew Papadopoulos |
| author_sort | Aria Keshoofy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Students in higher education commonly experience mental health problems. There is an ongoing need to explore potential intervention targets to focus on mental health promotion among students. Hopefulness may alleviate or be protective against various negative mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, suicide, and trauma-related disorders. Objective: To explore postsecondary students’ meanings and experiences of hope during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify factors affecting hopefulness during crises. Methods: Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants for online semi-structured interviews in a university located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: In total, 12 participants were interviewed, and 4 themes were generated: (1) hope is a complex concept with an associated set of behaviors, (2) cognitive framing of hope as a means of student resilience, (3) COVID-19 as an antagonist which amplifies preexisting student concerns and issues, and (4) the social and physical environments serve as barriers and enablers to hope and well-being. Hope was perceived as a positive mental trait, external events and the environment were reported to impact hope, and those who were generally more hopeful adjusted better mentally when unexpected circumstances arose. Conclusions: Findings shed light on the interconnectedness and complex nature of hope, its sources, and enablers. Novel findings include the ways in which hope was affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recommendations for individual- and community-based interventions include targeting enablers to hopefulness by promoting social support systems, offering virtual extracurricular activities, and delivering alternative approaches to teaching and learning. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T22:06:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f7a7950909be4bc59558c0dc29630467 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-3121 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T22:06:38Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SAGE Open Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-f7a7950909be4bc59558c0dc296304672023-07-24T12:33:19ZengSAGE PublishingSAGE Open Medicine2050-31212023-07-011110.1177/20503121231185014A qualitative study of university students’ perspectives of hope during the COVID-19 pandemicAria Keshoofy0Konrad Lisnyj1David L Pearl2Abhinand Thaivalappil3Andrew Papadopoulos4Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, CanadaFamily Health Division, City of Hamilton Public Health Services, Hamilton, ON, CanadaDepartment of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, CanadaDepartment of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, CanadaDepartment of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, CanadaBackground: Students in higher education commonly experience mental health problems. There is an ongoing need to explore potential intervention targets to focus on mental health promotion among students. Hopefulness may alleviate or be protective against various negative mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, suicide, and trauma-related disorders. Objective: To explore postsecondary students’ meanings and experiences of hope during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify factors affecting hopefulness during crises. Methods: Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants for online semi-structured interviews in a university located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: In total, 12 participants were interviewed, and 4 themes were generated: (1) hope is a complex concept with an associated set of behaviors, (2) cognitive framing of hope as a means of student resilience, (3) COVID-19 as an antagonist which amplifies preexisting student concerns and issues, and (4) the social and physical environments serve as barriers and enablers to hope and well-being. Hope was perceived as a positive mental trait, external events and the environment were reported to impact hope, and those who were generally more hopeful adjusted better mentally when unexpected circumstances arose. Conclusions: Findings shed light on the interconnectedness and complex nature of hope, its sources, and enablers. Novel findings include the ways in which hope was affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recommendations for individual- and community-based interventions include targeting enablers to hopefulness by promoting social support systems, offering virtual extracurricular activities, and delivering alternative approaches to teaching and learning.https://doi.org/10.1177/20503121231185014 |
| spellingShingle | Aria Keshoofy Konrad Lisnyj David L Pearl Abhinand Thaivalappil Andrew Papadopoulos A qualitative study of university students’ perspectives of hope during the COVID-19 pandemic SAGE Open Medicine |
| title | A qualitative study of university students’ perspectives of hope during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full | A qualitative study of university students’ perspectives of hope during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_fullStr | A qualitative study of university students’ perspectives of hope during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | A qualitative study of university students’ perspectives of hope during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_short | A qualitative study of university students’ perspectives of hope during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_sort | qualitative study of university students perspectives of hope during the covid 19 pandemic |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/20503121231185014 |
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