Maritime Student Mental Health

The Mental State of a Maritime Student during the Pandemic
The coronavirus (Covid-19) spread rapidly all over the world. The current
situation imposes massive pressure on the government of each country, the public,
healthcare, and medical providers. The pandemic has brought not the only danger of
death from the epidemiologic contagion but also an intolerable psychological burden to
the people specifically workers, parents, and students. The widespread pandemic had a
substantial impact on the transportation sector, including the maritime industry and
students of maritime; strict isolation measures; social distancing; and limited crowds
affected and delayed the academic performance and academic year of a student.
According to UNESCO "half of the world's pupils and students continue to be affected by the
total or partial closure of schools and universities," which means more than 800 million young
people around the world. With the closure of school premises, all face-to-face lessons were
canceled to immediately transition from face-to-face classes into completely online
classes. The instant switch to fully e-learning classes had been stressful for many
instructors, parents, and students who are used to face-to-face classes. As (Khan &
Abdou, 2020) stated the shift from traditional classroom settings to e-learning instruction
had given the students an emotional and psychological burden, especially for those who
are of low socioeconomic status whom the students cannot afford to purchase gadgets
and other electronic devices, and have poor internet connectivity or lack of internet
literacy that needed for online learning.
Mental health problems affect many characteristics of a student’s life, reducing
their quality of life, academic achievement, physical health, and satisfaction with the
college experience, and negatively impacting relationships with friends and family
members. According to (Batt et al., 2021) students were identified as groups who
experience different levels of stress, anxiety, and depression affecting their academic
performances. Previous research showed that during the outbreak, individuals experience
negative emotional responses, such as anxiety and depression symptoms; Hence, stressful
events and public health emergencies such as the widespread of COVID-19 had an
adverse environmental factor that can have more psychological effects on students which
can be expressed as fear, worry, altered quality of sleep, and finally altered quality of life.
Recent research among Chinese college students revealed that 24.9% experienced anxiety
because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Maritime students’ mental health has only recently started to gain attention.
Hence, this study it focuses on two common mental health problems: depression and
anxiety. Depression is characterized by depressed mood and anhedonia, for instance, loss
of interest or pleasure in daily activities and hobbies. Anxiety is characterized by
“excessive worries (apprehensive expectation) about a number of events or activities”.
Depression and anxiety are closely related: they often co-occur, they have overlapping
symptoms, and what triggers them is that they might have a shared genetic vulnerability.
Hence, in the present study, they are considered jointly mental health problems (Gretch,
Kitada & Paukstat, 2022).
Therefore, it is vital to assess maritime students’ mental health status during the
pandemic or even so, to make a drastic intervention on the government’s part through
higher educational institutions.

References
Baumann, C., Rousseau, H., Tarquinio, C. et al. (2021). Effect of the COVID-19
outbreak and lockdown on mental health among post-secondary students in the Grand Est
region of France: results of the PIMS-CoV19 study. Health Qual Life Outcomes 19, 265.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-021-01903-9
Galacia, P. (2021). The impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on mental health among
Marine Engineering students in Region VI, Philippines. Faculty of Maritime, University
of Antique, Main Campus Lotilla St., Sibalom, Antique 5713, Philippines.
https://so04.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/MTR/article/view/250097
Khan, M. S. H., & Abdou, B. (2020). Flipped classroom: How Institutions of Higher
Education (HEIs) of Bangladesh could move forward during Covid-19 pandemic.
Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3615400

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The Mental State of a Maritime Student during the Pandemic

substantial impact on the transportation sector, including the maritime industry and

canceled to immediately transition from face-to-face classes into completely online

literacy that needed for online learning.

Mental health problems affect many characteristics of a student’s life, reducing

because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

of interest or pleasure in daily activities and hobbies. Anxiety is characterized by

“excessive worries (apprehensive expectation) about a number of events or activities”.

Kitada & Paukstat, 2022).

higher educational institutions.

Marine Engineering students in Region VI, Philippines. Faculty of Maritime, University

of Antique, Main Campus Lotilla St., Sibalom, Antique 5713, Philippines.

Education (HEIs) of Bangladesh could move forward during Covid-19 pandemic.

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