Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with several adverse consequences on the well-being and mental health of young individuals, in particular university youth. In the past, research has already shown that the young adult category has experienced an increase in mental health problems. Nevertheless, the link between social norms and mental health remains unclear.
Objectives: To investigate whether perceived social norms could impact the mental health of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic and outside of it.
Method: Five Swiss university students and six people over the age of 65 years old living in Switzerland participated in focus groups to compare perceptions of social norms and their perceived effects on mental health. Based on a sociological theoretical framework, the following social norms were identified: growing individualism (loss of solidarity), reflexive individualization, risks (of the labor market and related to the COVID-19 pandemic), adulthood, and university studies. The focus groups were conducted between the end of January and the beginning of February 2022.
Results: The results – deductive and inductive - showed that students perceived social norms in contemporary Swiss society. These social norms had an impact on their well-being as well as their mental health. Some of the links between social norms and mental health were stronger than others. The retirees' comments helped support the university students' specifics. One of the main results that can be put forward is the negative criticism of their contemporary context; marked by several negatively perceived social norms. The result is a feeling of decreased well-being (sadness, despair, anxiety, …). Two main sources of reduced well-being were therefore identified: (1) the feeling of being forced to do something, (2) the perception that society is affected by a social norm and the impossibility of changing the situation.
Conclusion: Students' social representations are representative of a context marked by social norms that have the potential to impact their mental health. The period of the COVID-19 pandemic worsened students' perceived social norms and their overall view of their contemporary context in several ways. Thus, the mental health of students could be improved by increased state intervention, for example on social and ecological issues.
