Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, Vol 57(3), Jul 2025, 190-199; doi:10.1037/cbs0000405
Stressful challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic offered a unique opportunity to study student adaptation and reflect on traditional issues in psychology. A mixed-methods study of 859 undergraduates provided insight into the processes underlying success or failure to cope. Students anonymously completed an online survey measuring current affective state, COVID-related health concerns, precautionary activities, engagement with university resources, sense of self, presence of social support, sourcing pandemic information, as well as reflections on the present and the postpandemic future. A contrast is drawn between profiles of “at-risk” and “resilient” groups. The “at-risk” profile displays “situational helplessness,” fearing pandemic illness but not practicing precautionary actions, while in a negative affect state without physical support at home, feeling alienated from the university, engaged in thoughts about the past, and cynical about the future. The “resilient” profile is coherent all around, with confident and reflective nuances, as well as strategic searches for pandemic information, while focussing on the present in a positive affective state and optimistic about the future. These findings underscore the need for a balance between emotion regulation and active coping. They also pertain to debates regarding transitory states versus enduring traits. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)