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Archives of Business Research – Vol. 10, No. 11

Publication Date: November 25, 2022

DOI:10.14738/abr.1011.13510. Abdullah, M., Omar, M., & Bahardin, T. I. (2022). Predictive Analytics of Mental Health Problems Among College Students in the

Covid-19 Pandemic. Archives of Business Research, 10(11). 301-318.

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

Predictive Analytics of Mental Health Problems Among College

Students in the Covid-19 Pandemic

Mokhtar Abdullah

Meritus.University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Mohammad Omar

KUTPM, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tun Izlizam Bahardin

Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

ABSTRACT

Covid-19 pandemic has brought into focus the mental health of various segments of

society. This paper presents an empirical study on mental health of college students

due to the specific situations caused by the pandemic. A particular focus is on the

effects of three stressors, namely, academic workload, separation from school, and

fears of contagion among the college students. This initiative was a follow-up of the

study by Yang et al. (2021) who proposed a research model that evaluates the

impacts of these stressors on perceived stress which subsequently affects the

mental health of the students. Using the data collected by Yang et al. (2021), an

alternative predictive analytics approach, i.e., Partial Least Squares Structural

Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), was adopted to re-evaluate the research model. This

has produced an improvement over the results of Confirmatory Factor Analysis

(CFA) adopted by Yang et al. (2021), particularly in the test for the significance of

correlation between academic workload and mental health. While the use of PLS- SEM that allowed for strategic refinements of the model produced a significant

correlation between the two important constructs, the CFA failed to obtain a similar

result. All the other significant correlations between the stressors and mental

health and correlation between the mediating factor, the perceived stress, and

mental health were also established using the PLS-SEM approach.

Keywords: Mental Health, College Students Stressors, Covid-19 Pandemic, PLS-SEM.

INTRODUCTION

The new global phenomenon, Covid-19 pandemic, has adversely affected the mental health of

various segments of society. The Covid-19 pandemic has alarming implications for individual

and collective health and emotional and social functioning (Pfefferbaum, 2020). In many

countries around the world, individuals are required to reduce physical contact to others

outside one’s household (social distancing) (Anderson et al., 2020). As an important segment

of society, students’ lives are being affected severely by the pandemic by additional measures

such as lockdowns, quarantines, and closing of schools, and universities. Mental health

problems among students due to the pandemic-related measures can affect their quality of life,

academic achievement, physical health, and satisfaction with the college experience, and

negatively impacting relationships with friends and family members. These issues can also have

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Archives of Business Research (ABR) Vol. 10, Issue 11, November-2022

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

long-term consequences for students, affecting their future employment, earning potential, and

overall health (Eisenberg et al., 2007). Many students experience a lack of regular and

compassionate communication from their institutions as a primary stressor during Covid-19,

according to a nationwide survey (American Council on Education (ACE), 2020). Not only do

students report uncertainty about academic options and what those options mean for their

future, but more than half say that they do not know where to turn for mental health support.

This lack of clarity is concerning since one in five students report that COVID-19 has

significantly worsened their mental health (ACE, 2020).

It is known that the prevalence of epidemics accentuates or creates new stressors including

fear and worry for oneself or loved ones, constraints on physical movement and social activities

due to quarantine, and sudden and radical lifestyle changes. A recent review of virus outbreaks

and pandemics documented stressors such as infection fears, frustration, boredom, inadequate

supplies, inadequate information, financial loss, and stigma (Brooks, et al., 2020). Much of the

current literature on psychological impacts of Covid-19 has emerged from the earliest hot spots

in China. Although several studies have assessed mental health issues during epidemics, most

have focused on health workers, patients, children, and the general population (Lai et al., 2020;

Xie eta l., 2020). However, Yang et al. (2021) presented a recent study on the effects of three

Covid-19 related stressors on perceived stress and mental health (i.e., physiological and

psychological) of college students in China College students were more anxious and depressed

during the initial outbreak of COVID-19 than they were during similar time frames in previous

academic years, according to a Dartmouth study (2020).

A growing number of cross-sectional studies raise concerns about the effect of the pandemic on

college student mental health (Fruehwirth et al., 2021), and some speak to potential factors that

are related to our Covid-19 related stressors. One study found that depression and anxiety rates

for undergraduates in 9 US public research universities in May/July 2020 were higher for those

who had trouble adapting to distanced learning (Chirikov et al., 2020). Another conducted at a

public university in the US in April 2020 found that worse mental health was associated with

employment losses, difficulties focusing on academic work and concern about Covid-19

(Kecojevic et al., 2020). Two studies of college students in China using post-pandemic data

found that family income stability was negatively associated with anxiety symptoms and that

Covid-19 diagnosis of family or friends was positively associated with anxiety and depression

symptoms (Cao et al., 2020).

A survey study by Wathelet et al. (2020), of 69,054 students in France who experienced

quarantine due to Covid-19 pandemic found high prevalence rates of severe self-reported

mental health symptoms. Among risk factors identified, female or nonbinary gender, problems

with income or housing, history of psychiatric follow-up, symptoms compatible with Covid-19,

social isolation, and low quality of information received were associated with altered mental

health.

Sundarasen et al. (2020) examines its impact on the anxiety level of university students in

Malaysia during the peak of the crisis and the pertinent characteristics affecting their anxiety.

A cross-sectional online survey, using Zung’s self-rating anxiety questionnaire was conducted

during the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown. Out of the 983 respondents, 20.4%, 6.6%, and

2.8% experienced minimal to moderate, marked to severe, and most extreme levels of anxiety.

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Abdullah, M., Omar, M., & Bahardin, T. I. (2022). Predictive Analytics of Mental Health Problems Among College Students in the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Archives of Business Research, 10(11). 301-318.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/abr.1011.13510

Table 1 displays the results of a survey conducted by Center for Collegiate Mental Health

(CCMH), Penn State University in the US, about widespread concerns of the students seeking

services in the time of Covid-19 pandemic. The findings from the survey confirmed that 33%

indicated that their reasons for seeking services were related to the COVID-19 pandemic or

related events, while 67% did not. When asked to report which areas of their life had been

negatively impacted by COVID-19, the students’ response was that the most common areas

affected were mental health (65%), motivation or focus (61%), loneliness or isolation (60%),

academics (59%), and missed experiences or opportunities (54%).

Table 1: The areas mostly affected by Covid-19 Pandemic

However, previous researches tended to agree with the above findings. With many universities

having suspended classroom teaching and switched to online teaching, the lives of students

have changed drastically. While social distancing measures may successfully slow down the

spread of the infection and relieve the public health systems (Glass et al., 2006), they may

eventually increase the social isolation of students and affect their psychological well-being and

mental health (Bavel et al., 2020). Being under a lot of pressure to perform academically,

students are prone to developing mental health problems (Mikolajczyk et al., 2008). The social

networks of students have been argued to be an important factor in buffering stress and helping

them to be more effective (Stadtfeld et al., 2019). Reduced social interactions, a lack of social

support, and newly arising stressors associated with the COVID-19 crisis could potentially

affect students’ mental health negatively.

In this study, three important stressors among college students — academic workload,

separation from school, and fear of contagion, as advocated by Yang et al. (2021) are

considered. The research model put forward by Yang et al. (2021) and the goodness-of-fit of

the model using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) are reviewed. The results of the CFA will

be compared with the results obtained using a different mode of analysis, i.e., Partial Least

Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM).

Objectives of Study

This study aims to revisit the work of Yang et al. (2021) regarding the effects of three stressors,

i.e., academic workload, separation from school, and fears of contagious on students’ perceived