ABSTRACT

The global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly altered the lives of college students across the United States. Following the outbreak of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020, college campuses were shuttered, classes moved to remote instruction, and university activities, celebrations, and events were canceled. Cast against a backdrop of uncertainty about the future, studies have documented that the pandemic has significantly increased anxiety among college students as they adjust to a “new normal.” Drawing from general strain theory, we examine the influence of specific COVID-19-related strains on a variety of changes in student behavior including binge-watching streaming services, splurging on online shipping, sexting, “hooking up” with random people, and masturbating. Results using structural equation models on data from 1,287 students at a Midwestern university show that specific sources of strain directly are related to binge-watching, online shopping, hooking up with random people, and masturbating, while anxiety was directly related to increased binge-watching, online shopping, and sexting. Anxiety mediated the pathways between some sources of strain and binge-watching and splurging on online shopping. Overall, findings highlight that the global pandemic not only induces anxiety and interrupts academic life but also carries far-reaching consequences for a wide range of behaviors.

摘要

全球冠状病毒 (COVID-19) 大流行极大地改变了美国大学生的生活。随着 2020 年春季 COVID-19 的爆发，大学校园被关闭，课程转移到远程教学，大学活动、庆祝活动和活动被取消。在对未来充满不确定性的背景下，研究表明，随着大学生适应“新常态”，大流行显着增加了他们的焦虑。从一般应变理论出发，我们研究了特定的 COVID-19 相关应变对学生行为的各种变化的影响，包括狂欢观看流媒体服务、挥霍在线航运、发短信、与随机的人“勾搭”和手淫. 对来自 1 的数据使用结构方程模型的结果，中西部一所大学的 287 名学生表明，特定的压力来源与暴饮暴食、在线购物、与随机的人勾搭和手淫直接相关，而焦虑则与暴饮暴食、在线购物和色情短信的增加直接相关。焦虑介导了一些压力来源与网络购物狂潮和挥霍之间的途径。总体而言，研究结果强调，全球大流行不仅会引发焦虑并中断学术生活，还会对广泛的行为产生深远的影响。焦虑介导了一些压力来源与网络购物狂潮和挥霍之间的途径。总体而言，研究结果强调，全球大流行不仅会引发焦虑并中断学术生活，还会对广泛的行为产生深远的影响。焦虑介导了一些压力来源与网络购物狂潮和挥霍之间的途径。总体而言，研究结果强调，全球大流行不仅会引发焦虑并中断学术生活，还会对广泛的行为产生深远的影响。