Study on the stress level and coping channels of Chinese urban and rural senior high school students learning on-campus after their return to school during the post-COVID-19 pandemic period

Objective:The study aims to understand the level of perceived stress and related influencing factors among the urban and rural senior high school students in China and their channels of coping with the stress,when they shifted from home-based online learning to on-campus learning after their return to school during the post-Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic period.Methods:From January to March 2021,the Chinese Perceived Stress Scale(SSCPs-14)and a self-designed questionnaire were used for the online survey among the senior high school students from six secondary schools(three from cities and three from counties)in three provinces of China(Shandong,Shanghai and Sichuan)who were selected by convenient sampling.Descriptive analysis,t-test,χ^(2)test and multivariate logistic regression were used to analyze the data.Results:A total of 1,462 respondents were enrolled in the study,of which 41.66%were urban students and 58.34%were rural ones.Their overall average score of CPSS-14 was 21.69±7.65.The respondents reported the following influencing factors of perceived stress,including"Change of their learning and sleep schedule(OR=1.426,95%CI:1.056~1.927,P=0.021),"Communication with their family members(OR=2.820,95%CI:1.971~4.034,P<0.001)and"The family’s financial status"(OR=1.675,95%CI:1.181~2.376,P=0.004).Their coping strategies when facing with the stress were ranked from high to low frequency as follows:"Talk to friends(34.63%)","Talk to parents(26.88%)","Seek help from teachers(14.53%)","Deal with it on my own(13.21%)","Seek help from a psychological counsellor(7.95%),"Others(1.42%)"and"Ignore the problem(1.39%)".Rural students with three and more than three coping channels(44%)were more than urban students(36%),with a statistically significant difference between the two(χ^(2)=10.878,P=0.012).A higher proportion of respondents(49.4%)with fewer coping channels reported high level of perceived stress,compared with those with multiple coping channels(33.4%).The difference between the two groups was statistically significant(χ^(2)=55.956,P<0.001).Conclusion:Senior high school students were faced with the stress brought about by the shift from the on-line learning to on-campus learning after their return to school during the post-COVID-19 pandemic period.The change of their learning and sleeping schedule,communication with family and their family’s financial status were the main influencing factors of senior high school students'stress after their return to school.Senior high school students with more coping channels had lower level of stress.Therefore,it is suggested that stress relief measures should be taken to promote the mental health of senior high school students in the post-COVID-19 pandemic period.