This study was the one to examine the impact of COVID-19 among a diverse sample of university students in Latin America and Spain. There is limited information on the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors about public health practices to reduce the risk of COVID-19 among young adults and even less among Latinx individuals. Researchers have not yet evaluated the contribution of sociocultural factors on the impact of the pandemic on chronic stress, including social isolation and loneliness, and how it may affect alcohol use and mental health. Analyzing how sociocultural factors affect attitudes, beliefs, and health behaviors related to COVID-19 restrictions provides an opportunity to identify common intervention targets (protective and risk factors) among university students.
A total of 1000 students were recruited across Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Colombia, and Spain to examine the associations between multi-level sociocultural risk and protective factors (individual, interpersonal, community, culture) and attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors towards COVID-19 mitigations efforts among university students. We also evaluated how the pandemic stress (i.e., social isolation, loneliness), coupled with sociocultural risk and protective factors, impacted alcohol use and mental health among university students.
Tadesse S., Del Pino Espejo MJ., Barrera-Parra A., Cevallos D., Ramirez G., Villalba K. The Association Between Mental Health, Substance Use, and Religious Faith Among Young Adults in Times of the Pandemic in Peru. American Public Health Association. Boston 2022.
Villalba K., Del Pino MJ., Barrera A., Cevallos D., Ramirez G., Connection with God in Times of the Pandemic: Association between Mental Health, Substance Use, and Spirituality Among Young Adults in Peru and Ecuador. World Congress of Sociology, Australia 2023
Villalba K., Del Pino Espejo MJ., Illescas E. Risk and Protective Factors for Mental Health and Substance Use among University Students in Seville, Spain Post-COVID-19. Athens Institute for Education and Research, Athens 2023.
Villalba, K., Del Pino Espejo MJ., Illescas E., Attonito J.(2023) Risk and protective factors associated with mental Health During COVID-19 Among Young Adults in Andalucía, Spain. BMC Public Health Atenier (In Press).