Hope and Gratitude Help First-Year Students Adjust to College During the COVID-19 Pandemic

What is it about?

Worsened by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, first-year college students face unique academic and social stressors during the transitional period from high school to college. This study looked at how hope and gratitude served as protective factors in helping 1st-year college students adjust to college demands, mitigating the negative impacts caused by the pandemic.

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Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Our findings suggest that hope, gratitude, and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) protective self-efficacy are important psychological assets that interventions can target to bolster students’ mental health. School administrators can consider incorporating these themes in existing interventions that students undergo (e.g., orientation activities, classes) so that they can build skills (e.g., conceptualizing goals, taking stock of existing resources) to mitigate the detrimental effects of the pandemic on their experience.