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Category: Project

Description: In 2020, the Corona Crisis hit the world abruptly and one of the first measures to prevent the further spread of the virus was to close educational institutions, including universities. More restrictions followed and people were asked to stay at home and avoid social contacts. Consequently, students of various European universities faced online teaching, social distancing, and quarantine, presumably for months. All these measures are expected to impact mental health. Generally, students show substantially higher prevalence for mental health problems than the general community samples. However, the academic environment can also have a positive impact on students’ well-being. That is why the present research project focuses on academic factors enhancing students’ robustness against psychological strain, something we call resilience. Especially in times of global crisis, these aspects of mental health seem more important as ever before. In semi-structured interviews, various participants gave their opinion towards every aspect of the research topic. A clearer picture of aspects positively influencing student well-being could serve as the basis for further interventions. In doing so, the system ‘university’ could become a healthier one. NOTE: This project has been updated due to the Corona Crisis and its scope has been expanded to include the effects of a global pandemic on university students' well-being. (see original in pre-registration 2020-03-11)