Abstract
The article attempts to analyze the experiences of female pedagogy students during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The topic is extremely important and currently gaining attention. The main objective of the study was to analyze narrative texts and to select risk factors as well as protective factors of female students’ mental health during the pandemic. The study included two groups of full-time (10 persons) and part-time (10 persons) female students of pedagogy at Carpathian State University in Krosno. The analysis of the subjects’ narrative texts revealed that enforced social isolation leads to a disruption of relational needs and negative emotional states (including anxiety, fear of illness, and anger) characteristic of the group of female students in early and middle adulthood. The article is addressed to those who are interested in and analyze the impact on an individual of life experiences resulting from social changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.