Literature Review

Due to the nature of infectious diseases – unpredictability, acute and unambiguous

nature, and adaptability – they have “potential for explosive global effect.” (Fauci, 2012)
We saw this to be true with the COVID-19 pandemic which has “…resulted in over 4.3
million confirmed cases and over 290,000 deaths globally. It has also sparked fears of an
impending economic crisis and recession.” Due to social distancing and travel restrictions,
many businesses have minimized their staff or shut down entirely causing enormous loss of
jobs across all economic sectors. To combat this, a $2 trillion “virus-aid package” was secured
and distributed in the United States. Even with the aid provided, many still fear a new recession
and are calling for ongoing relief measures to be developed. (Nicola, 2020) COVID-19
interestingly presents “one of the most significant environmental changes in the modern
marketing history, which could potentially have a profound impact on corporate social
responsivity (CSR), consumer ethics, and basic marketing philosophy.”
In the UK, a task force was created to ensure that firms and retailers did not take
advantage of the pandemic for profit. Alternatively, many companies have resisted unethical
practices and actually improved their engagement and communication with consumers. While
the pandemic has caused an economic crisis, one lasting effect may be the shift toward more
honest and genuine communication with consumers. (He, 2020)
The pandemic has posed a huge challenge for the education system as well as teachers
and students must find a way to adapt to socially distanced learning. Some of the biggest
concerns regarding education are how students will be assessed fairly considering the
circumstances, and how students will adjust to a new learning environment. Some students do
not have a supportive learning environment at home, or their parents are unable to help them
with the transition because they are working. Even students whose home life could support
their educational needs may have faced anxiety and confusion as they tried to adapt to online
learning formats. Different approaches had to be developed to reach a variety of students
facing diverse challenges. (Daniel, 2020)
While the effects of the pandemic have reached everyone, some communities are more
susceptible. COVID-19 “has disproportionately affected racial and ethnic minority groups, with
high rates of death in African American, Native American, and LatinX communities.” These
groups are more likely to have chronic medical conditions, difficulty accessing healthcare, and
are more likely to be “essential workers” who are therefore exposed to more people. (Tai,
2021) Another vulnerable group that has been disproportionately affected during the
pandemic is women. The rise in stress and increase in people staying home for long periods of
time has put women who are in abusive relationships at greater risk. Though there is not much
data about this yet, news reports and past epidemics show this trend clearly. (Roesch, 2020)
In addition to incorporating proper social distancing and sanitation measures, public
officials have had to fight the spread of misinformation, also known as an “infodemic”. This is
dangerous because the spread of false information has the potential to “change transmission
patterns.” While people who were engaged in media generally were less likely to take part in
the spread of misinformation, the outlets for news affected the quality of information.
Specifically, social media largely contributed to the spread of misinformation. (Bridgman,
2020)
In addition to the physical health effects, COVID-19 caused “widespread emotional
distress and increased risk for psychiatric illness.” The most challenging aspects of the
pandemic for mental health include “uncertain prognoses, looming severe shortages of
resources for testing and treatment and for protecting responders and health care providers
from infection, imposition of unfamiliar public health measures that infringe on personal
freedoms, large and growing financial losses, and conflicting messages from authorities.”
(Pfefferbaum, 2020) Sufficient resources were not provided to tend to these mental health
challenges. This is especially important to consider because “psychological factors play an
important role in adherence to public health measures (such as vaccination) and in how people
cope with the threat of infection and consequent losses. (Cullen, 2020)
The pandemic has had uniquely detrimental effects on college students’ mental health.
Before the pandemic, one in five college students experienced one or more diagnosable mental
disorders worldwide. That has been compounded by the suspension of in-person classes, loss
of on-campus jobs, inability to return home due to social distancing, anxieties regarding the
virus, and abrupt disruption to their social lives, and lack of ability to plan for the future with
limited research, job, and internship opportunities. (Zhai, 2020)
 Research Question and Hypothesis

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented mental health challenges.

RQ1: How is the shift to online learning affecting the mental health of college students?
Hypothesis: If a student has existing mental disorders, they will struggle to adapt to online
learning.

References

Bridgman, A. “The causes and consequences of COVID-19 misperceptions: Understanding the role of
news and social media.” Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Misinformation Review. (2020).
https://doi.org/10.37016/mr-2020-028.
Cullen, W, G Gulati, and B D Kelly. "Mental Health in the Covid-19 Pandemic." QJM: An International
Journal of Medicine 113.5 (2020): 311-12. Print.
Daniel, Sir John. "Education and the Covid-19 Pandemic." PROSPECTS 49.1 (2020): 91-96. Print.
Fauci, Anthony S., and David M. Morens. "The Perpetual Challenge of Infectious Diseases." New
England Journal of Medicine 366.5 (2012): 454-61. Print.
He, Hongwei, and Lloyd Harris. "The Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Corporate Social Responsibility
and Marketing Philosophy." Journal of Business Research 116 (2020): 176-82. Print.
Nicola, Maria, et al. "The Socio-Economic Implications of the Coronavirus Pandemic (Covid-19): A
Review." International Journal of Surgery 78 (2020): 185-93. Print.
Pfefferbaum, Betty, and Carol S. North. "Mental Health and the Covid-19 Pandemic." New England
Journal of Medicine 383.6 (2020): 510-12. Print.
Roesch, Elisabeth, et al. "Violence against Women During Covid-19 Pandemic Restrictions." BMJ 369
(2020): m1712. Print.
Tai, Don Bambino Geno, et al. "The Disproportionate Impact of Covid-19 on Racial and Ethnic
Minorities in the United States." Clinical Infectious Diseases 72.4 (2021): 703-06. Print.
Zhai, Yusen, and Xue Du. "Addressing Collegiate Mental Health Amid Covid-19 Pandemic." Psychiatry
Research 288 (2020): 113003. Print.]