The mental health impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on college students in India.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Verma K
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7458048 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
The mental health impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on college students in India.
Asian journal of psychiatry 20200831
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Project description:Background/aimIn the beginning of 2020, the novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, became a public health emergency in the U.S. and rapidly escalated into a global pandemic. Because the SARS-CoV-2 virus is highly contagious, physical distancing was enforced and indoor public spaces, including schools and educational institutions, were abruptly closed and evacuated to ensure civilian safety. Accordingly, educational institutions rapidly transitioned to remote learning. We investigated the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on domestic U.S. college students, ages 18-24 years.MethodsThrough Pollfish®'s survey research platform, we collected data from 200 domestic U.S. college students in this age range (N = 200) regarding the physical, emotional, and social impacts of COVID-19 as well as key background information (e.g. whether or not they are first-generation or if they identify with the LGBTQIA+ community).ResultsOur results indicate that students closer to graduating faced increases in anxiety (60.8%), feeling of loneliness (54.1%), and depression (59.8%). Many reported worries for the health of loved ones most impacted their mental health status (20.0%), and the need to take care of family most affected current and future plans (31.8%). Almost one-half of students took to exercising and physical activity to take care of their mental health (46.7%). While a third did not have strained familial relationships (36.5%), almost one half did (45.7%). A majority found it harder to complete the semester at home (60.9%), especially among those who had strained relationships with family (34.1%). Seventy percent spent time during the pandemic watching television shows or movies. Significantly more men, first-generation, and low-income students gained beneficial opportunities in light of the pandemic, whereas their counterparts reported no impact. First-generation students were more likely to take a gap year or time off from school.ConclusionsAlthough students found ways to take care of themselves and spent more time at home, the clear negative mental health impacts call for schools and federal regulations to accommodate, support, and make mental health care accessible to all students.
| S-EPMC8185692 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic is currently one of the biggest public health threats for people's mental health. A particularly endangered group were students, who became highly affected by measures of social distance due to their active lifestyle. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to assess the level of self-reported stress, anxiety and depression of the student population in Serbia, in relation to demographic characteristics, living and studying conditions, students' activities during the epidemic, potential coronavirus infection and general, mental and physical health.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study of 580 undergraduate medical students from the University of Belgrade during the 2020/2021 school year. Mental health data were collected using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). Both bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to examine the association between independent variables with the dependent variable mental health.ResultsWomen made up the majority of the sample with 80.3%. A total of 64.5%, 66.8% and 66.7% of students between the ages of 21 and 30 had severe depressive symptoms, severe degree of anxiety, and a severe degree of stress, respectively. Women almost twice as often (OR = 1.89) assessed their anxiety as severe and almost two and a half times more (OR = 2.39) perceived stress as severe compared to men. Students who lived with their families during studies two and a half times (OR = 2.57) more often assessed their stress as severe, compared to students who lived alone. Fifth- and sixth-year students were less likely to rate depression and anxiety as serious than the first-year students.ConclusionsMedical students reported their health as severely impaired in terms of depression, anxiety and stress reactions. The results indicate the need to launch a mental health program in the form of counseling and emotional support to students affected by the pandemic.
| S-EPMC9499216 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background: We aimed to: (1) analyze differences in both general (in terms of psychological well-being/discomfort, social functioning and coping, and psychological distress) and specific (depression, trait-anxiety, negative alcohol-related consequences, and suicidal risk) mental health state (MHS) in college students, residing in four different Argentinean regions (center, north, south, and the most populated) exposed to different spread-rates of the COVID-19; (2) analyze between-group differences in both general and specific MHS indicators at four quarantine sub-periods (twice prior, and twice following the first quarantine extension). Methods: We used a cross-sectional design with a convenience sample including 2,687 college students. Data was collected online during the Argentinean quarantine. We calculated one-way between-groups ANOVA with Tukey's post hoc test. Results: Regionally, the center and the most populated area differed in psychological well-being/discomfort and negative alcohol-related consequences, but not in the remaining MHS indicators. According to the quarantine sub-periods, there were differences in psychological well-being/discomfort, social functioning and coping, psychological distress, and negative alcohol-related consequences. Negative alcohol-related consequences were the only MHS indicator improving over time. For all of the remaining MHS indicators, we found a similar deterioration pattern in the course of time, with mean scores decreasing from the first to the 2nd week of the quarantine pre-extensions, then increasing toward the 1st week of the quarantine post-extension (with some MHS indicators reaching mean scores worse than the start), and then continued to increase. Conclusion: A worsened mean MHS during quarantine suggests that quarantine and its extensions contribute to negative mental health impacts.
| S-EPMC7969711 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionSafeguarding college students' mental health and well-being poses a challenge for college administrators and clinicians because of the unique circumstances students face and the limited literature on their needs. Prior to the pandemic, depression and anxiety were already on the rise among college students, but the changes associated with it may have exacerbated these issues. Our study aimed to explore factors influencing college students' mental health and identify common trends in their experiences that could assist organizations and policymakers in the future.MethodsThe study participants (n = 571) were chosen using a convenience sample of undergraduate and graduate students attending a Central Texas university. We employed the Qualtrics survey platform to collect data on multiple demographic variables, behavioral health, and other health outcomes of students in the summer semester of 2021. Our objective in this study was to investigate the various factors that contribute to mental health conditions, particularly anxiety, and depression, independently and jointly, by employing two validated tools - Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9), which measures depression, and General Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7), which measures anxiety.ResultsBoth the tools displayed satisfactory internal consistency, with Cronbach's alpha coefficients (α) of 0.921 for the PHQ-9 (9-item) scale and 0.943 for the GAD-7 (7-item) scale. The prevalence of depression and anxiety among participants was 39.4% and 40.1%, respectively, with 31% of participants overall reporting both conditions. Among the explored factors, age, race, parent/guardian's level of education, campus residence status, and health insurance status were associated with depression (p < 0.05), whereas gender, age, race, and parent/guardian's level of education were associated with anxiety (p < 0.05). Academically, several factors related to learning difficulties (i.e., staying motivated to learn, finding a quiet place to learn) were associated with the severity of depression and anxiety severity, demonstrated through composite scores.ConclusionRobust longitudinal studies should be carried out to ascertain key influencers that affect students' mental health, and colleges and universities should create policies and protocols to provide support for students during major catastrophes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, taking into account these influencing factors.
| S-EPMC11608972 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundCollege students' mental health may be disproportionally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic because of the abrupt shift off campus and subsequent loss of a social network and potential long-term impact on job prospects.ObjectiveWe sought to assess the nature of COVID-19's mental health impact among a sample of undergraduates who were experiencing the pandemic as it occurred in real time.MethodsIn total, 140 college students completed smartphone-based ecological momentary assessments of anxiety and optimism related to COVID-19 and other generic mental health variables 6 times daily.ResultsParticipants completed >23,750 surveys. Overall, >75% of these surveys indicated at least some level of anxiety about COVID-19. On average, the proportion of responses each day at the highest levels of anxiety about COVID-19 was 7 times greater than the proportion of responses at the highest levels of non-COVID-19-specific anxiety. Structural change analyses indicated a significant downward trend in COVID-19 anxiety after the first week of June, but even at the lowest point, >15% of the participants in the sample still reported high levels of COVID-19 anxiety each day. Participants felt more anxious about COVID-19 on days when the number of new cases and deaths due to COVID-19 were higher. When participants felt anxious about COVID-19, they also felt sad, anxious (in general), and had a greater desire to drink and use drugs. Participants felt more optimistic about COVID-19 when they received more support from others and from their university.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated the widespread mental health impact that COVID-19 has had on college students.
| S-EPMC7744138 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has been spreading and brought unprecedented psychological pressure on people across the entire globe since December 2019.ObjectivesTo synthesize the existing evidence of the prevalence of mental health status during the epidemic and provide the basis for mental health education.Materials and methodsThe literature search was conducted in nine databases from December 2019 to October 2020. The risk of bias for each study was assessed, and the random-effects meta-analysis was used to estimate the prevalence of specific mental health problems. The review protocol was registered in PROSPERO with the registration number CRD42020208619.ResultsAbout 27 studies were included in the analysis with a total of 706,415 participants combined, and 14 mental health problems were gathered. Meta-analysis showed that the prevalence of depression was 39% (95% CI: 27-51%) and that of anxiety was 36% (95% CI: 26-46%). Subgroup analysis indicated that the prevalence of depression and anxiety varied among nations and due to the survey date. The prevalence of depression (60%, 95% CI: 46-74%) and anxiety (60%, 95% CI: 46-74%) in non-Chinese college students was higher than those in Chinese college students (26%, 95% CI: 21-30% and 20%, 95% CI: 14-26%). The proportion of depression (54%, 95% CI: 40-67%) and anxiety (37%, 95% CI: 26-48%) was higher after March 1 than before it (21%, 95% CI: 16-25% and 19%, 95% CI: 13-25%).ConclusionsThe meta-analysis results presented that the prevalence of depression (39%) or anxiety (36%) among college students greatly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the mental health of college students is affected by the nations and the survey date. It was necessary to take measures to reduce mental health risks during the pandemic.
| S-EPMC8316976 | biostudies-literature
Project description:When the COVID-19 pandemic began, U.S. college students reported increased anxiety and depression. This study examines mental health among U.S college students during the subsequent 2020-2021 academic year by surveying students at the end of the fall 2020 and the spring 2021 semesters. Our data provide cross-sectional snapshots and longitudinal changes. Both surveys included the PSS, GAD-7, PHQ-8, questions about students' academic experiences and sense of belonging in online, in-person, and hybrid classes, and additional questions regarding behaviors, living circumstances, and demographics. The spring 2021 study included a larger, stratified sample of eight demographic groups, and we added scales to examine relationships between mental health and students' perceptions of their universities' COVID-19 policies. Our results show higher-than-normal frequencies of mental health struggles throughout the 2020-2021 academic year, and these were substantially higher for female college students, but by spring 2021, the levels did not vary substantially by race/ethnicity, living circumstances, vaccination status, or perceptions of university COVID-19 policies. Mental health struggles inversely correlated with scales of academic and non-academic experiences, but the struggles positively correlated with time on social media. In both semesters, students reported more positive experiences with in-person classes, though all class types were rated higher in the spring semester, indicating improvements in college students' course experiences as the pandemic continued. Furthermore, our longitudinal data indicate the persistence of mental health struggles across semesters. Overall, these studies show factors that contributed to mental health challenges among college students as the pandemic continued.
| S-EPMC10176088 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesTo estimate the effect of student status on mental health condition during COVID-19 general lockdown in France.DesignCross-sectional analysis comparing students and non-students recruited in the same study.SettingParticipants of the web-based CONFINS study implemented during the general lockdown in France in spring 2020.Participants2260 participants (78% women) including 1335 students (59%).Primary and secondary outcome measuresThrough an online questionnaire, participants declared if they have experienced suicidal thoughts, coded their perceived stress on a 10-points scale and completed validated mental health scales (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 for depressive symptoms, Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 for anxiety symptoms) during the last 7 days. The effect of college student status on each mental health condition was estimated using multivariate logistic regression analyses. Stratified models for students and non-students were performed to identify population-specific factors.ResultsStudent status was associated with a higher frequency of depressive symptoms (adjusted OR (aOR)=1.58; 95% CI 1.17 to 2.14), anxiety symptoms (aOR=1.51; 95% CI 1.10 to 2.07), perceived stress (n=1919, aOR=1.70, 95% CI 1.26 to 2.29) and suicidal thoughts (n=1919, aOR=1.57, 95% CI 0.97 to 2.53). Lockdown conditions that could be potentially aggravating on mental health like isolation had a higher impact on students than on non-students.ConclusionsCollege students were at higher risk of mental health disturbances during lockdown than non-students, even after taking into account several potential confounding factors. A close follow-up and monitoring of students' mental health status is warranted during lockdown periods in this vulnerable population.
| S-EPMC8380475 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveThe COVID-19 pandemic has been a period of upheaval for college students. The objective of this study was to assess the factors associated with the increased levels of mental health burden among a sample of undergraduate college students in Northern New Jersey, the region of the U.S. severely impacted by the outbreak of COVID-19.MethodsCollege students (N = 162) enrolled in an introductory core curriculum course completed a cross-sectional survey. The survey collected information on demographics, knowledge levels and sources of COVID-19 information, behavior changes, academic and everyday difficulties, and mental health measurements (depression, anxiety, somatization, and stress). Multivariable regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with mental health outcomes.ResultsDescriptive findings indicate that students have a fundamental knowledge of COVID-19 transmission and common symptoms. Students tend to use and trust the official sources and have changed their behaviors in accordance with public health recommendations (i.e., increased hand washing, wearing mask). However, students reported a number of academic and everyday difficulties and high levels of mental health distress. High levels of depression were associated with difficulties in focusing on academic work and with employment losses, while higher levels of anxiety were more likely to be reported by students other than freshmen and those who spend more than one hour per day looking for information on COVID-19. Inability to focus on academic work and an elevated concern with COVID-19 were more likely to be associated with higher levels of somatization, while trusting news sources was associated with lower levels of somatization. Those with higher levels of perceived stress were more likely to be females, unable to focus on academic work, and report difficulties in obtaining medications and cleaning supplies.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic is making a significant negative impact on mental health of college students. Proactive efforts to support the mental health and well-being of students are needed.
| S-EPMC7526896 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveThis study examines the effects of a scalable psychoeducation intervention to improve students' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.ParticipantsIn a sample of racially diverse undergraduates from a highly selective university (N = 66), students in the control group (mostly women) participated in courses as usual and students in the intervention group (only women) participated in a psychoeducation course on evidence-based strategies for coping, designed for college students living through the pandemic.MethodsRates of psychological distress were measured through online surveys at baseline and follow-up assessments.ResultsStudents in both the intervention and control groups had clinically elevated depressive symptoms. Consistent with hypotheses, students in the intervention group had lower levels of academic distress and more positive perceptions regarding mental healthcare at the follow-up assessment than students in the control group. Contrary to hypotheses, students in both groups had similar levels of depressive symptoms, feelings of being overwhelmed, and coping. Preliminary findings suggest that the intervention primarily improved help-seeking and may have reduced stigma.ConclusionsPsychoeducation in an academic setting may be one means by which to decrease academic distress and reduce mental health stigma at highly selective institutions.
| S-EPMC10807235 | biostudies-literature