Poster 17

Well-Being & Happiness in College Students During a Pandemic

Caroline Gallo

This study was conducted to examine the relationships between specific coping styles and both well-being and happiness in college students who are currently socially distancing. Previous research suggests that in stressful times, both active/problem-focused and social coping are positively correlated to well-being and happiness, while denial and substance use coping are both negatively correlated with well-being and happiness. Due to the stressful nature of the Coronavirus pandemic, it was hypothesized that the results would be the same within this study. A survey with various scales including measures of coping behavior, happiness, and well-being was completed by 109 college students via email. The results showed that happiness and well-being were both found to have a positive correlation with active/problem-focused coping, and a negative correlation with denial. Moreover, those who did not report using substances to cope had significantly higher well-being scores that those who did report using substances to cope. No significant results were found regarding social coping. Overall, these findings are consistent with past research suggesting that active/problem-focused coping are best during stressful times. However, social coping did not have a significant impact most likely because of the difficulty with engaging in social situations during the pandemic. Thus, strategies for dealing with stress must be tailored to the characteristics of the situation.

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