Student mental health in higher education has been a rising concern. The COVID-19 pandemic situation has brought this vulnerable population into renewed focus. Objective: Our study aims to conduct a timely assessment of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of college students. Methods: We conducted survey-interviews with 195 students at a large public university in the United States, to understand the effects of the pandemic on their mental health and wellbeing. The data were analyzed through quantitative and qualitative methods. Results: Multiple stressors were identified that contribute to the increased levels of stress, anxiety and depressive thoughts among students. These include fear and worry about their own health and of their loved ones, difficulty of concentrating, disruptions to sleeping patterns, decreased social interactions due to physical distancing, and increased concerns on academic performance. To cope with stress and anxiety, participants have sought support from others and helped themselves by adopting either negative or positive coping mechanisms. Conclusions: Due to the long-lasting pandemic situation and onerous measures such as lockdown and stay-at-home orders, the COVID-19 pandemic brings negative impacts on higher education. The findings of our study highlight the urgent need to develop interventions and preventive strategies to address mental health of college students.Article Effects of COVID-19 on College Students Mental Health in the...
I have not heard of any sex difference in fear of the virus. The only sex difference we found was in fear of persons with mental illness:
As a bonus I can attach our paper on COVID
Prevalence and correlations of depression and anxiety among Slovak college students, Objectives: The objective of the study was to evaluate prevalence of depression and anxiety among college students studying at Comenius University in Bratislava. The secondary aim was to evaluate the impact of depression and anxiety on various domains of social functioning. Methods: The data were collected through a cross-sectional online survey. The sample consisted of 1,331 students. We administered scales measuring the depression, anxiety, satisfaction with life, and social functioning as part of a larger survey. Results: When using a customary cut‑off score for PHQ-9 and GAD-7, a proportion of 35.5 % and 25.5 % of students were above the threshold for depression and anxiety, respectively. When using more stringent criteria, the prevalence rates for depression and anxiety were 16.4 % and 9.3 %, respectively. Both conditions co‑occur in 6.8 % of students. Symptom domains were related to satisfaction with life and social functioning. Conclusion: Depression and anxiety are prevalent among college students. We found that symptoms of mood and anxiety disorders were associated with lower satisfaction with life and lower level of functioning at school as well as in social and family lives. The implications for mental health policies at universities are discussed (Tab. 2, Ref. 27).Article Prevalence and correlations of depression and anxiety among ...
Article Depression and Anxiety among Iranian Medical Students during...
Objective: COVID-19 has spread throughout the world and has become a global pandemic. This situation can cause psychological distress among people, especially health care workers. This study aimed to determine depression and anxiety levels among Iranian medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: In this cross sectional study, we designed an online survey of Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) questionnaires. The survey link was sent to 500 medical clerks and interns studying at Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS). Results: A total of 64.6% of the students completed the survey. The prevalence of mild to severe anxiety and depression among them was 38.1% and 27.6%, respectively. Anxiety and changes in sleep patterns were the most common symptoms. Higher levels of anxiety were related to female gender, lower grade point average (GPA), and experience of COVID-19 symptoms. Students with lower GPA and prior experience of COVID-19 symptoms were more likely to feel depressed.
Conclusion: Depression and anxiety did not significantly differ among Iranian medical students before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. Somatic symptoms of depression are more common during this pandemic and need particular attention in future similar situations. A higher GPA is related to lower anxiety and depression among medical students.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a surge in mental health problems across the United States, and some reports suggest a more severe impact for racial and ethnic minorities. The present study was conducted to gain a preliminary understanding of the mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic specifically for dreamers, i.e., undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. as minors. A population of about 150 dreamers currently enrolled at a public university in Delaware were invited to participate in an online survey. The survey contained questions about demographics, mental health, academics, immigration, COVID-19 infection, and unemployment, in addition to mental health screens for anxiety (GAD-7), depression (PHQ-9), and stress (PSS-10). In total, 109 dreamers completed the survey. We observed remarkably high clinical levels of anxiety and depression: 47% of the dreamers met the clinical cutoff for anxiety, 63% met the cutoff for depression, and 67% (2 in 3) met the cutoff for anxiety and/or depression. Rates of anxiety and depression in our sample were significantly higher than those recently reported for college students overall, suggesting that dreamers may be experiencing a more severe mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also found that pandemic-induced concerns about finances, COVID-19 infection, immigration, and unemployment (among other factors) were associated with greater anxiety, stress, and depression among the dreamers in our sample. The present findings are consistent with recent predictions by social scientists that the COVID-19 pandemic would have a disproportionately negative impact on the mental health of undocumented immigrants.Preprint Mental Health of Undocumented College Students During the CO...
Article COVID-19 related depression and anxiety among quarantined respondents
Article Impact of lockdown following COVID-19 on the gaming behavior...
Background: The uncertainty about the impact of the lockdown in wake of COVID-19 on their future academic and carrier prospects, besides other concerns; makes college students, particularly vulnerable to stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gaming has been recognized as a coping mechanism against stress in the previously published literature. Objectives: The current study aimed to assess the gaming behavior of college students during the lockdown following COVID-19. Methods: Data were collected from a cohort of students that constituted the sampling frame of an ongoing project. A total of 393 college students were enrolled. All the eligible students were subsequently contacted through E-mail and WhatsApp messenger and invited to share the details. Results: About half (50.8%) of the participants reported that their gaming behavior had increased, whereas 14.6% reported a decrease in their gaming during the lockdown period. In binary logistic regression analysis, hours of gaming per day (odds ratio [OR] 1.75 [1.29-2.36]), increase in gaming due to examination related stress (OR 4.96 [1.12-21.98]), and belief that gaming helps managing stress (OR 4.27 [1.65-11.04]), were found to be independently associated with gaming behavior during lockdown period. Conclusion: In the lockdown period following COVID-19 pandemic, the increase in gaming behavior was associated with examination-related stress and the belief that gaming helps combat stress. These observations highlight the need to focus on the coping style of the students to ascertain the likelihood of them engaging in gaming behavior as a coping mechanism against stress.
The rapid, ongoing and worldwide coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic represents a global public health emergency. Our objective was to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on somatic symptoms among Chinese college and primary school students, to provide reference data pertaining to the mental health of this population in the context of a public health emergency. In February and March 2020, we explored the somatic symptoms and concerns regarding COVID-19 of 399 college and primary school students in Sichuan Province using the Somatic Self-rating Scale (SSS) and a novel questionnaire, respectively. Logistic regression analysis and non-parametric tests were used to analyze the data. The incidence of somatic symptoms among college students was 34.85 (mild, 26.26%; moderate, 8.59%). The incidence of somatic symptoms in primary school students was 2.39% (all mild). Among the entire cohort, concern regarding COVID-19 was positively correlated with the occurrence of somatic symptoms. Somatic symptoms were more likely among college students expressing greater concern regarding the threat to life and health posed by COVID-19, and the efficacy of prevention and control measures. Among primary school students, only the concern for life and health was associated with a higher likelihood of somatic symptoms. Our data indicate that governments and other relevant agencies should implement different measures to prevent and control mental health disorders diseases in primary school and college students.Article Somatic symptoms and concern regarding COVID-19 among Chines...
While necessary from a public health standpoint, Covid-19 confinement strategies are often contrary to evidence-based therapies used to treat mental disorders. University students may be particularly vulnerable to mental health problems, but recent studies have indicated only a negligible impact of confinement strategies. French respondents to a World Mental Health survey of university students completed questions concerning Covid-19 confinement. The sample experienced increased anxiety as well as moderate to severe stress during confinement. Respondents who did not relocate to live with parents were disproportionately affected. Knowledge of confinement effects may be used to reduce its negative impact in vulnerable populations.Article Stress and anxiety among university students in France durin...
The outbreak of COVID-19 has brought unprecedented psychological pressure to people across China and more widely across the entire globe. The aim of this study was to assess the immediate perceptions of COVID-19 among college students in Guangdong Province, China, and to assess the psychological impact of the outbreak. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of college students via online questionnaires between February 13th and February 22nd, 2020. A total of 304,167 students completed the Impact of Event Scale 6 (IES-6) and other items. The results showed that 155,077 (50.9%) of the students reported stress symptoms, 1,565 (0.5%) reported poor mental health, and 9,752 (3.2%) reported poor sleep quality. Analysis indicated that the students’ perceptions of COVID-19 were correlated with psychological stress, self-perceived mental health and sleep quality. Moreover, the analysis revealed that the relationship between types of perception and levels of stress symptoms varied according to the students’ demographic characteristics. These findings allow us to better understand psychological stress among students and the factors influencing stress during the COVID-19 outbreak. Understanding these factors will help us to design intervention programs with the aim of alleviating stress among students and reducing the potential for developing psychological disorders.Article COVID-19 in Guangdong: Immediate Perceptions and Psychologic...
A COVID-19 epidemic has been spreading in China and other parts of the world since December 2019. The epidemic has brought not only the risk of death from infection but also unbearable psychological pressure. We sampled college students from Changzhi medical college by using cluster sampling. They responded to a questionnaire packet that included the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and those inquiring the participants’ basic information. We received 7,143 responses. Results indicated that 0.9% of the respondents were experiencing severe anxiety, 2.7% moderate anxiety, and 21.3% mild anxiety. Moreover, living in urban areas (OR = .810, 95% CI = .709 - .925), family income stability (OR = .726, 95% CI = .645 - .817) and living with parents (OR = .752, 95% CI = .596 - .950) were protective factors against anxiety. Moreover, having relatives or acquaintances infected with COVID-19 was a risk factor for increasing the anxiety of college students (OR = 3.007, 95% CI = 2.377 - 3.804). Results of correlation analysis indicated that economic effects, and effects on daily life, as well as delays in academic activities, were positively associated with anxiety symptoms (P < .001). However, social support was negatively correlated with the level of anxiety (P < .001). It is suggested that the mental health of college students should be monitored during epidemics.Article The psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on college...
Student mental health in higher education has been a rising concern. The COVID-19 pandemic situation has brought this vulnerable population into renewed focus. Objective: Our study aims to conduct a timely assessment of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of college students. Methods: We conducted survey-interviews with 195 students at a large public university in the United States, to understand the effects of the pandemic on their mental health and wellbeing. The data were analyzed through quantitative and qualitative methods. Results: Multiple stressors were identified that contribute to the increased levels of stress, anxiety and depressive thoughts among students. These include fear and worry about their own health and of their loved ones, difficulty of concentrating, disruptions to sleeping patterns, decreased social interactions due to physical distancing, and increased concerns on academic performance. To cope with stress and anxiety, participants have sought support from others and helped themselves by adopting either negative or positive coping mechanisms. Conclusions: Due to the long-lasting pandemic situation and onerous measures such as lockdown and stay-at-home orders, the COVID-19 pandemic brings negative impacts on higher education. The findings of our study highlight the urgent need to develop interventions and preventive strategies to address mental health of college students.Article Effects of COVID-19 on College Students Mental Health in the...
Objective At the end of 2019, the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan was a serious threat to public health. This study aimed to evaluate the risk perception of COVID-19 among college students in China during the quarantine, explore its related factors, and provide reference for future study. Methods This study invited college students from various provinces of China to participate in the survey through the Internet, and a total of 1,461 college students were included. T-test and analysis of variance were used to explore the relationship between demographic characteristics, social pressure, knowledge and risk perception. Multiple linear regression was used to identify factors associated with risk perception. Results This study shows that college students in China have high risk perception of COVID-19. Female college students (p
Article The Psychological Impacts of a COVID-19 Outbreak on College ...
Article Knowledge and attitudes towards the novel coronavirus (Covid...
Preprint Psychological Impacts of COVID-19 among College Students in ...
The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruption during the spring of 2020. Many college students were told to leave campus at spring break and to complete the semester remotely. This study evaluates effects of this disruption on student well-being. A sample of 148 students (86.5% female, 49.3% White) completed measures of psychological symptoms, perceived stress, and alcohol use during the spring 2020 semester at a university in the southeastern U.S. Their results were compared to those of 240 students (87.9% female, 64.2% White) who completed the same measures in the fall 2019 semester. Participants in spring 2020 reported more mood disorder symptoms, perceived stress, and alcohol use than did pre-pandemic participants. Worry about COVID-19 was negatively associated with well-being in multiple domains. Additionally, White students reported a greater effect of the pandemic on well-being than did African American students. Young adults appear to be less vulnerable to the most serious medical complications associated with COVID-19 but nonetheless experience psychological effects from the pandemic. Universities and practitioners who work with college students can help young adults manage their symptoms and avoid behaviors like risky alcohol use when confronted with stressors such as the COVID-19 pandemic.Preprint Increased mood disorder symptoms, perceived stress, and alco...
Article The Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Epidemic on Guangdo...
Article Knowledge, preventive behavior and risk perception regarding...
Article COVID-19 anxiety among front-line nurses: Predictive role of...
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