The psychological effect of the pandemic and measures taken in response to control viral spread are not yet well understood in university students; in-depth qualitative analysis can provide nuanced information about the young adult distress experience. Undergraduate students (N = 624) in an early US outbreak “hotspot” completed an online narrative writing about the impact and distress experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected April-May 2020. A random selection of 50 cases were sampled for thematic analysis. Nine themes were identified: viral outbreak distress, fear of virus contraction/transmission, proximity to virus, dissatisfaction with public response, physical distancing distress, social distancing distress, academic and school-related distress, disruptive changes in health behavior and routines, financial strain and unemployment, worsening of pre-existing mental health problems, and social referencing that minimizes distress. Future work is needed to understand the persistence of the distress, in addition to developing methods for assessment, monitoring, and mitigation of the distress.

大流行的心理影响以及为控制病毒传播而采取的措施尚未在大学生中得到很好的理解；深入的定性分析可以提供有关青年人痛苦经历的细微信息。本科生（N= 624）在美国早期爆发的“热点”中完成了一篇关于 COVID-19 大流行带来的影响和痛苦的在线叙事写作。数据收集时间为 2020 年 4 月至 5 月。随机抽取 50 个案例进行专题分析。确定了九个主题：病毒爆发困扰、害怕病毒收缩/传播、接近病毒、对公众反应的不满、身体疏远困扰、社会疏远困扰、学业和学校相关困扰、健康行为和常规的破坏性变化、经济压力和失业、先前存在的心理健康问题的恶化，以及最大限度地减少痛苦的社会参考。除了开发评估、监测和减轻遇险的方法外，未来还需要开展工作以了解遇险的持续性。