SOUTH KINGSTOWN – A study published by psychologists, doctoral students and professors from the University of Rhode Island, Pennsylvania-based Lehigh University and the University of Iceland found increased levels of depression, anxiety and impulsivity among university faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic and a decrease in actions to mitigate those symptoms.
The study, “Anxiety, Depression, Impulsivity, and Mindfulness among Higher Education Faculty during COVID-19,” was published in the Health Behavior and Policy Review. It examined relationships between anxiety, depression and mindfulness symptoms among faculty during the pandemic and looked at how such symptoms and practices differ by gender, age, location and ethnicity.
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The study was based on responses gathered from a survey that was administered in May to faculty members of URI and Lehigh University. Out of the 302 respondents, 19.5% reported higher anxiety levels and 15.3% said they had elevated depression symptoms, URI said. Also, 38.6% said their exercising habits reduced, 36.6% said their sleeping habits got worse and 33.6% reported that their eating habits worsened during the four weeks before the study. URI also said 21.5% reported an increase in alcohol use.
“The pandemic has affected all of us, but the study shows that faculty are also a vulnerable population,” said URI psychology professor Lisa L. Weyandt, director of the university’s Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program and principal author of the study, in a statement. “We were interested in learning what the effects have been on professors who are used to being in the classroom, interacting with students and their colleagues, and are suddenly isolated and working from home. Even though faculty are highly educated, we see they too are prone to increased mental health issues and engaging in unhealthy behaviors.”
URI doctoral student Avery Beatty said the study’s findings can help inform universities on particular supports that may be needed to help faculty with their behaviors.
(CORRECTION: Lehigh University and the University of Iceland were misidentified in the first graf.)
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
