It is often said and right so that youth determines the future of the nation and has an important role to play in augmenting the development of the nation. The importance of youth, especially students has risen astronomically In this competitive world. It is so because the world has become an extremely competitive world. Those nations will survive who have adequate and skilled youth equipped for this modern world. Yet, the problem is that the students, especially college ones, are suffering from different mental health problems. According to a study conducted in 2017, one in five adults reported some sort of symptom of anxiety and depression. This shows the extremely dismal picture of the state of mental and psychological health of the young population. It has been shown that the problem has been more prevalent among college athletes and students. There are many causes that have led to this increasing phenomenon of depression and anxiety. Yet, its impacts are very detrimental and pernicious. They affect college athletes and students in a different way. It leads them to attempt suicide, hampered their socialization process, undermined their studies and academic growth. Above all, it can be said that depression in the worst form has paralyzed their life. Since the onset of the coronavirus, the problem has taken a more worrying turn and has exacerbated the problems among college students and athletes. During the period of the pandemic, it has been seen that the cases of depression and anxiety have risen.
Firstly, the depression among college athletes has impacted them in different ways. The first and foremost impact has been on their mental health. It has been reported that college athletes have shown signs of anxiety and depression which has seriously undermined their performance in athletics or different school competitions. A study carried out in 2019 showed that one in 3 male students while one in d female student-athletes has shown symptoms of anxiety. As a result, the performance has been greatly affected and low-performance grades were observed among these students.
In addition to this, college athletes have lost interest in their sport. Due to depression and anxiety, it has been reported that these athletes have lost interest and were not passionate about their performance. The comparative study revealed that those athletes who are very keen to participate and improve their performance have lost a high degree of indifference towards their sports after suffering from depression. It noted that prior to the depression, college athletes were extremely eager to improve their performance and engage in competitions. Low performance was a point of concern for them. Yet, after suffering from a mental health problem, it has been seen that the same students were less curious about the result of their performance. They were indifferent to the fate of their career. So, it completely undermines their interest, passion, and motivation, as usually happens with depression.
Besides engendering the loss of interest in their sport activity, it has also prompted the use of some destructive habits. Such detrimental habits include the excessive use of alcohol. Research has shown that college athletes are more prone to consume excessive alcohol than their non-athlete counterparts. The use of alcohol by athletes affects them in many ways. The hangover effect of this generally impacts the performance. But it has more long-term consequences. In the longer run, their physical health, which is indispensable for a good athlete, is undermined. As a result, it directly impacts their career and future. Most of the time, it causes violent social behavior which often leads to cases against them and in turn affects their future and performance. Yet, besides this excessive use, it is depression and anxiety that unsettles them and causes alienation.
Besides this, depression has pernicious impacts on general college students as well. Firstly, it hampers their socialization process and growth. The prevalence of depression among college students has undermined social interaction and thus resulted in social deprivation and isolation. Studies have shown that to have sound mental and social interaction, teenagers should regularly interact with their friends, relatives, and family members during the period of adolescent age. The trend is now seeing a downward trend with the onset of increasing mental health problems. Contemporarily, the majority of students spent their time on phones using social media applications. As a result, their social growth to which mental health is inextricably linked is impaired. Similarly, the social interaction with parents for their effective mental growth has also been undermined. Children are now virtually disconnected from their parents and regular discussion between children and parents that were the hallmark of familial relationships are diminishing at a rapid pace as students prefer to remain silent or alone. Resultantly, college students have become isolated during the key stage of their age which further exacerbated mental health problems such as social deprivation, depression, anxiety, and so forth to attack.
By and large, they have experienced sorrow and uneasiness which likewise constrained them to desert their business. Students suffering from psychological problems have gotten segregated, for the most part, stay upset, feel humiliating, and can display weak conduct on infinitesimal issues. Aside from psychological wellness issues, they additionally experience the ill effects of intense subject matters. Such issues show as loss of interest in various things, loss of rest, and coming up short on any reasonable reaction towards different things. In some cases, it prompts a loss of confidence, and the character gets dubious. These issues of psychological well-being and feelings lead to an increment in self-destruction rates. In the worst case, it can lead to a suicide rate.
The prevalence of depression among immigrant students can have a really negative impact on them. Firstly, it can be seen that this will severely impact the learning outcomes for Hispanic children or children belonging to any other immigrant community. For instance, it can be seen that people from immigrant communities will find it difficult to learn English and will not be able to assimilate into mainstream society. Accordingly, they will face different types of biased attitudes and prejudices.
The onset of the coronavirus has left deleterious impacts. It has impacted people across the world. Besides socio-economic impacts, the contagion has engendered multifarious health problems for the people and other multiple problems. All these problems then were key to increased the state of depression and anxiety among people. It can be argued that coronavirus was key to increasing depression and anxiety, especially among students.
As the schools were closed and regular learning was disrupted, it caused huge problems for the students. The main institution for socialization was church and school where the young generation can socialize. As these institutions were closed due to lockdown, this affected their socialization development, for which school is a key institution. The schooling of children is also affected due to the inefficient availability of the internet. Due to the closure of schools and churches, cognitive and rational development is affected. These institutions were vital for intellectual development. As socialization is necessary to such developments, it will seriously obstruct the rational development of the mind. Students could not participate in constructive and productive activities that are indispensable to encourage critical thinking and foster a problem-solving approach. In this way, it can be said that children's mental health growth was encumbered and in the future, this can lead to depression.
Many families confront problems regarding the future of children and their education. Both children will face hiccups in getting an education. They are not able to focus properly on their education. Their learning prospects will be affected which will affect their future in the long term. Moreover, from the psychosocial development of Erikson, the socio-economic issues and learning losses will exact a considerable toll on mental health. The probability of restlessness, anxiety and depression has surged in these hard circumstances. As a result, children and adults were not able to concentrate on their studies. Due to the extension of the pandemic, the families have looked for debt to resolve their issues of expenditure. This may force the family to abandon the education of their children and look for them to get the job to meet expenses and pay off the debt. In this way, the contagion presents a whole sum of problems that have seriously affected the family’s health. Again, the studies related to this dimension of depression caused due to coronavirus proved this fact. It has been noted that women with parents were 49 percent more likely to have depression and anxiety than women having no children.
Above all, it will be a national loss. The problem can lead to more students leaving school and abandoning their studies. There will be more out of college students. So, the literacy rate that would have gone up would now see a decline. This will directly influence the nation’s development. The country’s development is contingent upon the literacy rate. So, when the latter decline, the former will be automatically influenced in an insidious way.
References:- Legg, Timothy J. “Depression, and College Students.” July 2017
- “Mental Health: Impact on Performance.”
- “The Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health.”
- Reichert, Dr. Elizabeth. “COVID-19: Depression, Anxiety, Risk for Suicide.”