Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Dec 19, 2023; 13(12): 1106-1120
Published online Dec 19, 2023. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v13.i12.1106
Surviving the shift: College student satisfaction with emergency online learning during COVID-19 pandemic
Xiao-Yan Zhai, Dong-Chuan Lei, Yan Zhao, Peng Jing, Kun Zhang, Ji-Ting Han, Ai-Hua Ni, Xue-Yi Wang
Xiao-Yan Zhai, Institute of Mental Health of Hebei Medical University, Department of Clinical Psychology, Hebei General Hospital, Shijiazhuang 050051, Hebei Province, China
Dong-Chuan Lei, Sculpture Institute, Hebei Academy of Fine Arts, Shijiazhuang 050700, Hebei Province, China
Yan Zhao, Department of Pathogenic Biology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, Hebei Province, China
Peng Jing, Ai-Hua Ni, Department of Clinical Psychology, Hebei General Hospital, Shijiazhuang 050051, Hebei Province, China
Kun Zhang, Basic Medical College, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, Hebei Province, China
Ji-Ting Han, Department of Media Art, Shijiazhuang Information Engineering Vocational College, Shijiazhuang 052160, Hebei Province, China
Xue-Yi Wang, Institute of Mental Health of Hebei Medical University, Psychiatric Department of the First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050031, Hebei Province, China
Author contributions: Wang XY and Ni AH contributed to conception and design of the study; Jing P organized the database; Zhao Y, Zhang K, Lei DC, and Han JT collected data; Zhai XY performed the statistical analysis and write the article; All authors contributed to manuscript revision, read, and approved the submitted version.
Institutional review board statement: The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Hebei General University and complied strictly with ethical requirements. Ethics Review No. 2020 scientific ethics No. 30.
Informed consent statement: All study participants or their legal guardian provided informed written consent about personal and medical data collection prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Dr. Wang has nothing to disclose.
Data sharing statement: Technical appendix, statistical code, and dataset available from the first author at 13832346369@163.com. Consent was not obtained but the presented data are anonymized and risk of identification is low.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xue-Yi Wang, PhD, Chief Doctor, Institute of Mental Health of Hebei Medical University, Psychiatric Department of the First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, No. 89 Donggang Road, Shijiazhuang 050031, Hebei Province, China. 070@hebmu.edu.cn
Received: August 13, 2023
Peer-review started: August 13, 2023
First decision: October 10, 2023
Revised: November 2, 2023
Accepted: December 4, 2023
Article in press: December 4, 2023
Published online: December 19, 2023
Processing time: 123 Days and 23.3 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic disrupted education systems by forcing systems to shift to emergency online leaning. Online learning satisfaction affects academic achievement. Many factors affect online learning satisfaction. However there is little study focused on personal characteristics, mental status, and coping style when college students participated in emergency online courses.

AIM

To assess factors related to satisfaction with emergency online learning among college students in Hebei province during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1600 college students. The collected information included demographics, psychological aspects of emergent public health events, and coping style. Single factor, correlation, and multiple linear regression analyses were performed to identify factors that affected online learning satisfaction.

RESULTS

Descriptive findings indicated that 62.9% (994/1580) of students were satisfied with online learning. Factors that had significant positive effects on online learning satisfaction were online learning at scheduled times, strong exercise intensity, good health, regular schedule, focusing on the epidemic less than one hour a day, and maintaining emotional stability. Positive coping styles were protective factors of online learning satisfaction. Risk factors for poor satisfaction were depression, neurasthenia, and negative coping style.

CONCLUSION

College students with different personal characteristics, mental status, and coping style exhibited different degrees of online learning satisfaction. Our findings provide reference for educators, psychologists, and school administrators to conduct health education intervention of college students during emergency online learning.

Keywords: COVID-19; Emergency online leaning; Online learning satisfaction; College students; Mental status; Coping style; Distance education; Psychiatric status

Core Tip: We evaluated satisfaction with online learning and its associated factors, specifically demographic variables, mental status, and coping style of Chinese college students who participated in emergency online courses during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Little study has been focused on online acceptance of education. Our findings provide reference for educators, psychologists, and school administrators to conduct health education intervention.