Unlike shorter duration events like natural disasters or other trauma, the COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t involve a “clean break” to indicate it’s over, making it difficult for many people to make sense of what they’ve experienced. This is especially true for first-year college students, who were getting accustomed to the college environment in spring 2020 just as the COVID-19 pandemic caused many colleges to temporarily shut down, said Jordan Booker at the University of Missouri.