Most CEGEP students report mental distress, struggles with distance learning: survey

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Nearly two-thirds of CEGEP students think the COVID-19 health crisis is causing their mental health to deteriorate, and nearly half of them are unhappy with the system of distance learning the pandemic has forced upon them, a new survey suggests.

The findings were contained in a poll of 6,215 students in 20 CEGEPs conducted Sept. 22-Oct. 30 for the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec (FECQ).

A total of 44.5 per cent of respondents said they did not “at all” like the distance learning that became necessary during the outbreak, compared with 29.1 per cent who expressed slight approval, 15.5 per cent who approved “somewhat” and 10.9 per cent who quite enjoyed it.

FECQ president Noémie Veilleux said the findings on distance learning were a reflection of how the program is being carried out.

Not only are students obliged to reduce their contacts with peers and teachers, but also find themselves in a “forced isolation” that can lead to “a certain distress.”

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Meanwhile, 63.8 per cent said the pandemic has taken a toll on their mental health, a proportion that rises to 73.4 per cent among those who think they don’t have enough money.

“That’s a lot,” Veilleux said. “And it would not be surprising if those numbers have increased since (the poll was conducted).”

The main factors cited by respondents as playing a role in the deterioration of their mental health were isolation, increased academic workload, the demands and obligations related to distance learning and the increased pressure to perform well academically.

Far behind were the absence of social contact and sports — those factors were not included in the poll’s questionnaire but mentioned by the respondents themselves.

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“Everything leads us to believe that actions must be taken in the near future to help students get up that hill,” said Veilleux.

While 3.7 per cent of respondents admitted to having had suicidal thoughts “often or very often” before the pandemic, that proportion had risen during the outbreak to 6.2 per cent.

“That it has increased significantly is because of the conditions of learning and living have deteriorated,” said Veilleux. “To be isolated like that … to experience performance anxiety, for some people … stress and anxiety will develop.

“It is very difficult in the context of a crisis like this to be able to imagine an ‘afterward’.”

The FEUQ represents about 78,000 college students through its member associations.

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