The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the current COVID-19 pandemic will cause a significant increase in stress-related conditions and mental health problems (Kaufman et al., 2020). Public health emergencies and epidemics have been documented to be associated with increased psychological distress and uncertainty affecting the general population (Lotsch et al., 2017; Sahu, 2020). During isolation, derived from quarantine, individuals experience frustration, lack of freedom and boredom, worrying about contracting the infection, concern for family and friends, and general affections on emotional wellbeing (Brooks et al., 2020). During epidemics, the population most vulnerable to developing mental health problems is economically disadvantaged and people with chronic diseases (Torales et al., 2020; Bao et al., 2019; Jones et al., 2017), as well as women, older persons, and migrant workers (Lou et al., 2020), health personnel (Naser et al., 2020; Sundarasen et al., 2020), and students (Lou et al., 2020; Naser et al., 2020; Sundarasen et al., 2020).

Lockdown mobility restrictions have an imminent impact on university students’ lifestyles and may lead to various psychological maladjustments, such as stress, anxiety, and depression (Jakovljevic et al., 2020). This series of changes that significantly modify the daily routine requires both students and instructors to adapt to online learning platforms and modify face-to-face academic activity (Debbarma and Durai, 2021). Practices of social estrangement, travel restrictions, and isolation are stressful experiences that are also associated with self-inflicted harm and suicidal tendencies (Matthews et al., 2019), as well as sleep disorders (Gritsenko et al., 2020; Besser et al., 2020), and low perception of general health status (Besser et al., 2020).

The COVID-19 pandemic is unique and, in the case of university students, stressful for various reasons, such as the uncertainty they may have when estimating the danger that the pandemic represents for them and their university careers. A fundamental part of the correct management of stress, depression, and other adverse effects is the coping strategies of pressure (Amaral-Prado et al., 2020).

It is crucial to explore university students’ psychosocial experience, especially during an unforeseen emergency such as the COVID-19 pandemic (Islam et al., 2020). University students may be considered a population vulnerable to mental health problems due to age-specific transitions (Auerbach et al., 2018) and other relevant factors such as unforeseen socioeconomic status changes.

During the COVID 19 pandemic, low-income students from rural areas have an increased risk of suffering from anxiety (Cao et al., 2020). On the other hand, socioeconomic and family changes tend to contribute to the increase of anxiety and depression; it has also been observed that the older the students present more significant depression (Islam et al., 2020).

The pandemic’s economic consequences, such as sudden unemployment and economic uncertainties, putting university students in a vulnerable situation; this is important because a significant number of students are involved in part-time work to finance their education expenses and support their families (Son et al., 2020).

University students face the situation that all educational institutions are closed, causing a feeling of uncertainty about the academic and professional condition. The shift to online learning in courses that were not originally designed to be developed in that format could increase stress among students, mainly due to difficulties accessing computers and the internet at home. These difficulties could result in a lack of concentration (Sahu, 2020), combined with a series of academic and everyday challenges with high anxiety levels (Kecojevic et al., 2020). As another of the COVID 19 impacts, high levels of depression were associated with difficulties concentrating on academic work and job loss (Kecojevic et al., 2020). Before the COVID-19 contingency, research shows that one in five students experienced one or more mental health disorders worldwide (Zhai and Xue, 2020).

From the instructor’s perspective, they face a similar situation of negative stress, and anxiety experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic (Besser et al., 2020). It has been documented that the instructor’s profession in everyday pre-pandemic situations can be considered one that requires great patience, understanding, resilience, and diligence to offer a quality education during the academic preparation period of his students (Sierra-Molina et al., 2019). It is also recognized as a work of great stress and high exhaustion levels (Sokal et al., 2021). In the pandemic reality, this task becomes too complicated, and the change in the school ecosystem, including the need to use multiple electronic resources that had not been previously used (Amaral-Prado et al., 2020). Also, the stress, problems, and obligations used to stay inside the home are now present in and out of the classroom (Besser et al., 2020); if students’ academic burden increases, also on the teacher, an increase in the workload is expected (Nambiar, 2020).

The acceptance of dynamic changes may be due to each teacher’s subjectivity, work background, actual ability and level of awareness when using computers, training on changes to virtual models, and the quality of the Internet connection (Moralista et al., 2020). Distance education is not only the change of physical classrooms to virtual classrooms. There are various factors to ensure the best transition to this model; The institution’s or even country’s infrastructure should be strengthened and trained teachers in advance (Lassoued, Z. et al., 2020). Teachers’ willingness to use video conferencing may be overshadowed by insufficient attention, constant distractors, slow interactions, and schedule changes, underlining the need to find new measures to be ready for the digital environment (Rapanta et al., 2020).

This article is based on a study that aims to research higher education teachers’ and students’ experiences related to switching from face-to-face to remote education mode because of the COVID-19 outbreak. This study’s relevance lies in the need for empirical evidence on the impact that confinement and the shift to a remote education model for the health emergency had the mental health of university professors and students. In Mexico, return to face-to-face courses is expected once COVID-19 epidemiological risk is defined as low, according to criteria specified by Mexican health authorities (Ministry of Health, 2020). To date, all educational levels courses continue in the remote model at least until January 2021; some universities’ remote courses have been scheduled to be maintained at least until the end of the first half of 2021. This scenario implies that higher education instructors and students would be outside the classroom for at least 16 months, affecting both groups’ mental health.

We developed a cross-sectional, exploratory, nonexperimental, and descriptive study through an online questionnaire. We decided to carry out the online information survey derived from the accelerated increase of communication technology among the academic community due to the confinement itself to avoid the dispersion of COVID-19. This manuscript results from a study that had, as a general research question, understanding the changes faced by teachers and students of higher education derived from implementing the emergency remote teaching model in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. One of the study’s particular objectives was to learn about mental health stressors occurring in the academic community due to the change in the teaching modality. The general results of the research on students’ and teachers’ experience were presented in other research teams’ manuscripts (Zapata-Garibay et al., 2021). This document explains the mental health indicators associated with this change in the teaching model.

We received a total of 1,225 responses; from them, we excluded 185 responses due to eligibility criteria for a total sample of 1,040 complete responses. We had an 84% response rate. 82% of participants’ professors live in seven states of Mexico, and 83.4% of participating students live in three states. We had participants from 29 of the country’s 32 states. Professors and students from more than 97 universities around the country participated; they are in 118 undergraduate academic programs, 31 master’s programs, seven specialty programs, and 14 doctoral programs. About the discipline, the most significant participation was in the areas of Economic and Administrative Sciences (20.9%), Medicine and Human Pathology (19.5%), Psychology (16.9%), Political Sciences (13.3%), Humanities and Social Sciences (5.5%), Veterinary and Agronomy Sciences (5.4%), and Pedagogy and Educational Sciences (5.3%).

One of the questions that have arisen in the wake of the COVID-19 health emergency is to what extent this emergency can lead to negative psych-emotional responses, deliberate failure to comply with the health authorities’ recommendations, and even initiating or increasing unhealthy behavior, such as substance use (Pfefferbaum and North, 2020). Generally speaking, the most likely reactions resulting from confinement are stress, depression, irritability, insomnia, fear, confusion, anger, frustration, and boredom, or stigma; these conditions may persist even long after completion of confinement (Brooks et al., 2020). In the COVID-19 pandemic context, students’ and teachers’ mental health conditions in the Mexican higher education system have been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak itself and the implications of all aspects of individuals' lives, primarily in their socioeconomic situation. The vulnerability of this population regarding mental health exists since before the pandemic; the COVID-19 outbreak increased the stressors that affect their mental health.

A first point to note is that a significant proportion of students lost their jobs due to the health emergency; this situation is consistent with data reported nationally. In our study, 16.8% of the total sample of students said to have lost their jobs. Considering this percentage, the total number of students who reported was working between January and June 2020 has more than doubled. In other words, of the total number of students who said they had a job at the beginning of the epidemic, 43% said they had lost it during the first six months of 2020. This figure is consistent with other sources, which state that young people are one of the social groups that have had the most significant impact on their unemployment levels due to the health emergency caused by COVID-19.

Although a significant proportion of students reported not having a job, our study records that they were in charge of providing care for children, older adults, and people with special needs; this situation is seen in the same way by teachers. The proportion of students who served over 65 years of age and persons with special needs was higher than that observed in teachers. On the other hand, the teachers had children in their care more significantly, making sense by remembering that individuals in some marital union predominate in this group. In general, this information tells us about the presence of a double shift for both teachers and students, which outlines paying attention to other people’s needs (because they are developing their academic activities from home) and at the same time their courses. Undoubtedly, this situation can translate into stress conditions in both groups, in addition to those they may be experiencing arising from their responsibilities as teachers and students. It has been documented that caregivers of children, older adults, people with disabilities, and students and education professionals are among the groups most likely to develop burnout syndrome (Arias et al., 2019). In this case, coupling both activities due to confinement, the risk of emotional wear may increase.

Since the beginning of the epidemic, the current information highlighted the higher prevalence of complications in people with COVID-19 and some pre-existing medical conditions, such as diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. This situation was particularly noticeable in Mexico due to the high prevalence of the general population’s diseases mentioned above. In 2018, Mexico registered 75.5% of overweight and obesity among the population aged 20 and over, 18.4% with previously diagnosed hypertension, and 10.1% with a previous diagnosis of diabetes (INEGI, 2020). For this reason, a battery of questions was included in both questionnaires that sought to capture, through self-declaration, the presence of medical conditions that would make them more vulnerable to complications if they developed COVID-19. In students’ case, they were asked the same health conditions regarding other people living at their homes to identify possible sources of stressors related to their health conditions. The results showed that students, their families, and teachers have overweight and obesity below the national average. In this case, it is necessary to remember that this is a self-declaration, so the answer to this question may be biased by the interviewees’ subjectivity around what levels are considered overweight and obesity. In contrast, self-reported hypertension and diabetes were higher than the national data for people living with students and for teachers. In general, the presence of conditions associated with complications related to COVID-19 can translate as an additional source of stress for students and teachers since the expectation of acquiring the virus and developing the disease in the presence of comorbidities is associated with complications and even fatal outcomes.

Other possible sources of mental health stressors included in this study are those factors related to how teachers and students developed their academic activities. The first factor explored was computer sharing. Due to the implementation of the emergency remote teaching model and the limited availability of computer equipment for each household member, both students and teachers shared a computer with other household members. This circumstance could have occurred in conditions of overlapping schedules or situations that involved negotiations inside the home to achieve the computer’s harmonious use among those who shared it.

Additionally, this study considered the assumption that teaching modality could have generated stress and other situations related to mental health. In this sense, half of the students expressed as very difficult the change to the new learning mode. This situation could be due to facing a model with which they were possibly unfamiliar and distancing the students’ dynamics, such as coexistence with classmates, discussion in courses, access to libraries, and reference materials. In contrast, teachers declared, to a lesser extent, that they had difficulty changing the model; at the beginning of the study, the authors expected the opposite because younger generations have been exposed to information technologies for longer.

One aspect to highlight, based on the obtained results, is the impact of academic work on the mental health of teachers and students; if the working days are long and strenuous, it can trigger burnout syndrome. Thus, we found that women (both teachers and students) expressed to a greater extent than they considered their days strenuous. Women have been traditionally designated as caregivers of household members and responsible for housework even if they have joined the extra-domestic workforce. Women have had to conduct their academic activities from home; this temporarily and spatially overlaps with home activities and childcare, which means assigning to women additional responsibility of supervising the children’s school activities. This situation, known as a triple shift, maybe is the reason why women teachers and students reported to a large extent that their academic days were strenuous. Although this concept has been discussed since before the pandemic, it has become more visible since the pandemic. The triple working shift causes an overload of tasks and responsibilities, generating a delay in self-care among women by prioritizing attention to others, which leads to a deterioration in the quality of life and an increase in the chances of developing some mental illness (Saavedra, 2017).

Other important aspects related to mental health are changes in habits and temperament. Teachers and students were also surveyed about tobacco or alcohol use to alleviate any discomfort they might have had. There is evidence to suggest that exposure to post-traumatic stress disorder such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters, serious accidents, violence could be linked to an increase in alcohol and tobacco use (García-Álvarez et al., 2020; Boscarino, Adams, and Galea, 2006; Lebeaut, Tran and Vujanovic, 2020). Additionally, some studies have indicated that alcohol and tobacco use may reflect symptoms related to depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (Ben-Zur and Zeidner, 2009; Jiménez-Treviño et al., 2019; Gross et al., 2020). In this context, students in our study reported increased consumption of tobacco or alcohol. When analyzed by sex, male teachers and male students were the ones who said this habit to a greater extent. However, it should be noted that in the case of female students, the percentage of alcohol and tobacco consumption was more than double that reported by teachers. In this sense, it is essential to note that women, both teachers, and students, said a more significant proportion of both factors related to behavior change, such as factors relating to habits changes. They were more aggressive and more straightforward loss of patience; they had more sleeping alteration, change eating habits, and perception of impairment of physical health status. This situation may be related to the overload of activities in women, resulting from the triple shift previously mentioned.

This predominance of women is also present in the indicators related to stress and depression included in this study, in a more noticeable way among the female students. This result coincides with what was found in various studies in which the authors have found a high prevalence of anxiety and depression in populations of university students (González et al., 2018). Particularly in students in health sciences, and mainly due to adverse academic outcomes, adoption of unhealthy habits (Meyer et al., 2013), academic overload, lack of time to fulfill school responsibilities, and the preparation of exams (Marty et al., 2005; Castillo-Pimienta et al., 2016).

Finally, the results presented in this article focus on the impact of confinement on teachers’ and students’ interpersonal relationships. Whereas, with male teachers, there is a higher percentage of cases indicating that they have perceived a greater distance from pupils. Female teachers pointed out that their off-the-job relationships have been affected by the shift to the emergency remote teaching model, as their work affects many other facets of their lives.

The presence of signs and symptoms related to mental health conditions was commonly present in women, including teachers and students. This situation could be explained because of women being designated individuals to perform household tasks, which, together alongside their activities as teachers and students, subject them to higher physical and emotional wear levels. Although there were higher percentages in men, it was in the items related to socialization in the work and study centers.

Another critical aspect being highlighted is related to the worst conditions recorded among students than those recorded among teachers. In general, students reported to a greater extent having difficulty with switching to an online mode and the way they dealt with the confinement.

Additionally, the presence of comorbidities associated with COVID-19 complications may be considered an additional stressor. Since the beginning of the pandemic, evidence indicated that people with chronic degenerative conditions were more likely to develop severe cases of COVID19. In Mexico, this topic was of particular interest due to the high prevalence of these health conditions in the general population.

The results of this study show the importance of considering the development and implementation of programs in the universities, which could provide mental health counseling and support to instructors and students, to alleviate the effect of the lockdown and any other situations that could impact their emotional wellbeing.