{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,6]],"date-time":"2026-01-06T15:33:00Z","timestamp":1767713580783,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":56,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,10]],"date-time":"2025-02-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1739145600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), through the Research Center for Psychological Science of the Faculty of Psychology, University of Lisbon","award":["CICPSI","UIDB\/04527\/2020","UIDP\/04527\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CICPSI","UIDB\/04527\/2020","UIDP\/04527\/2020"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Healthcare"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly affected university students globally, exacerbating their already existing academic stress. This study investigates how the first COVID-19 lockdown (March\u2013July 2020) differently impacted Portuguese, Spanish, and Brazilian university students\u2019 perceived academic stress, personal well-being, academic engagement, and performance. Methods: An online survey collected responses from 1081 university students (78.17% female; Mage = 25.43 years, SD = 9.27). Qualitative data on academic stressors were analyzed using content analysis. Cross-country differences were assessed through chi-square analyses and ANOVAs. Hypotheses were tested with a mediation path analysis. Results: Emotional distress emerged as the most prevalent stressor (54%). The results evidence differences in how students from the three countries experienced their academic life during the first COVID-19 lockdown. Personal and academic well-being mediated stress\u2019 effects on performance. Conclusions: These findings underscore the need for context-tailored interventions and proactive measures to support students\u2019 academic engagement in challenging contexts, informing educators and policymakers alike.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/healthcare13040371","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,10]],"date-time":"2025-02-10T09:29:26Z","timestamp":1739179766000},"page":"371","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Perceived Stress, Well-Being, and Academic Performance of University Students During the First COVID-19 Lockdown: A Study of Portuguese, Spanish, and Brazilian Students"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9204-9519","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alexandra","family":"Marques-Pinto","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Ci\u00eancia Psicol\u00f3gica, Faculdade de Psicologia, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-013 Lisbon, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7730-7877","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lu\u00eds","family":"Curral","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centro de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Ci\u00eancia Psicol\u00f3gica, Faculdade de Psicologia, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-013 Lisbon, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Maria R.","family":"Costa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculdade de Psicologia, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-013 Lisbon, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-6352-5121","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francisca","family":"Quadros","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculdade de Psicologia, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-013 Lisbon, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2019-1011","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sa\u00fal Neves de","family":"Jesus","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculdade de Ci\u00eancias Humanas e Sociais, Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3583-8498","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Isabel Maria","family":"Mart\u00ednez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, Universitat Jaume I, 12071 Castell\u00f3 de la Plana, Spain"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6411-2763","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ant\u00f3nio","family":"Roazzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife 50670-901, Brazil"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3941-1387","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sofia","family":"Oliveira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Business Research Unit (BRU), ISCTE\u2014Instituto Universit\u00e1rio de Lisboa, 1649-026 Lisbon, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"WHO\u2014World Health Organization (2020, April 27). 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