The impact of Covid-19 on the emotional and psychological well-being of students

Students experienced various challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, e.g., distance learning, which caused limited face to-face socialization opportunities with peers, leading to loneliness and anxiety. Loneliness and anxiety are known to be associated with psychological difficulties such as depression or lack of motivation, feelings of anxiety and difficulty concentrating on work, etc. COVID-19 also had an impact on the physical health of young people, such as back pain when sitting at the computer, eye pain and other difficulties. Although COVID-19 is no longer an issue, young people studying remotely during the pandemic are now our learners. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify the emotional state of school youth at the moment and the impact of COVID-19 on their mental health, as researches show that three-quarters of all mental disorders appear before the age of 24. At this age, there are rapid changes in the body as well as the formation of personal identity. Based on these considerations, the Nordplus project ‘Methods for working with young people to ensure learning process resilienceʼ was initiated, in which surveys of students and teachers were organized, and six different educational institutions from three Baltic states participated in the study. Results show that students feel tired, anxious, and angry and have too heavy workload. Teachers think that physical activity, sports and help with studies could reduce the mental health problems of students, but for students, it is most important to spend more time with friends.