The COVID-19 pandemic introduced significant disruptions in the learning environment for many post-secondary students. While emerging evidence suggest mental health has declined during the pandemic, little is known about how the pandemic has affected students academically. This study investigates how COVID-19 psychological distress impacts academic performance among a Canadian sample of post-secondary students (n = 496). Path analysis findings suggest that greater levels of COVID-19 distress was associated with lower self-reported predicted GPA. Metacognitive, motivational, and social and emotional challenges emerged as the most salient challenge areas that fully mediated the relationship between COVID-19 psychological distress and self-reported predicted GPA. Specifically, COVID-19 distress predicted greater levels of metacognitive and motivational challenges which, in turn, predicted lower self-reported GPA. Similarly, greater levels of COVID-19 distress predicted more social and emotional challenges but these challenges were associated to higher perceived GPA. Findings warrant future research to help students manage and cope with academic challenges that may be exacerbated under stressful conditions.

COVID-19 大流行对许多大专学生的学习环境造成了严重破坏。虽然新出现的证据表明在大流行期间心理健康有所下降，但人们对大流行如何影响学生的学业知之甚少。本研究调查了 COVID-19 心理困扰如何影响加拿大大专学生样本（n = 496）的学业成绩。路径分析结果表明，较高水平的 COVID-19 痛苦与较低的自我报告的预测 GPA 相关。元认知、动机以及社会和情感挑战成为最突出的挑战领域，充分调节了 COVID-19 心理困扰与自我报告的预测 GPA 之间的关系。具体来说，COVID-19 痛苦预示着更高水平的元认知和动机挑战，而这反过来又预示着较低的自我报告 GPA。同样，更大程度的 COVID-19 痛苦预示着更多的社会和情感挑战，但这些挑战与更高的 GPA 相关。研究结果保证了未来的研究，以帮助学生管理和应对在压力条件下可能加剧的学术挑战。