MENTAL DISTRESS AND COPING STRATEGIES OF VIETNAMESE STUDENTS IN THE US DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

COVID-19 has a great impact on students around the world. However, little is known about the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on Vietnamese university students in the US. This study evaluated mental distress levels in this population group and their coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, an online questionnaire survey was carried out among Vietnamese university students who have been staying and studying in the US since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic via Facebook. The researcher adopted the K10 and Brief COPE scales in the questionnaire survey. With 103 valid respondents,   the results of the study indicated that a large proportion (79.61%) of Vietnamese students in the US indeed experienced mental distress, ranging from mild to severe levels. They were exposed to the increasing stressors, thereby affecting their mental health during the pandemic. However, they also showed that they tried to reduce those psychological burdens by applying adaptive strategies such as acceptance, doing something else, and active coping.