The COVID-19 health crisis has reached pandemic scale spreading globally. The present study examines the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on psychological and physical health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among university students in Turkey. A cross-sectional survey design was used for data collection. From May 11th to May 15th 2020, the study utilized snowball sampling techniques to gather data through an online survey. The pandemic's psychological effects on participants were measured by the Impact of Event Scale-Revised. Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 and the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey assess related HRQOL were used to make mental health assessments. 1120 university students were contacted to complete the survey. Of these, a total of 1095 completed the survey, translating to a participation rate of 97.7%. Overall, 64.6%, 48.6% and 45.2%, and 34.5% of all participants self-reported symptomatic signs of depression, anxiety, stress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), respectively. Female gender and poor family relationships were identified as risk factors for probably PTSD, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress as well. The mean scores of Physical Component Summary (PCS-12) and Mental Component Summary (MCS-12) were 66.99 ± 2.14 and 40.76 ± 2.31, respectively. Students suspected of a history with PTSD had considerably lower total scores for PCS-12 and MCS-12, when cross checked for similarity to those without such a history. The findings of this research suggest that evidence of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and stress is commonly apparent among university students during the period of the COVID-19 crisis. Prevention and intervention approaches to attenuate the psychosocial impact should be an integral component of crisis response during pandemic conditions.

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Purpose This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of problematic internet use (PIU) among high school students, to evaluate its potential risk factors, and to investigate its relation to self-esteem and health-related quality of life. Methods This cross-sectional study included 1,558 high school students in Turkey. Participants completed the Internet Addiction Test as well as the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and 12-item Short Form Health Survey. Demographics and internet usage patterns were also collected. Data analysis was conducted by descriptive and analytical statistics (Pearson chi-square tests, independent-samples t test, and binary logistic regression). Results The mean age of the participants was 16.20 ± 1.05 years. Nearly 21.1% of the participants exhibited PIU (Internet Addiction Test score ≥ 50). The findings indicated that PIU was associated with poor self-esteem and poor physical and mental health. The PIU was significantly higher among students using the internet for social networking. The chi-square analysis showed a significant correlation between the severities of PIU and the students' type of school, residence, perceived academic performance, and relationship with parents (p < .05). No significant correlation was found between PIU severity and age group, gender, number of siblings, paternal or maternal educational levels, self-reported family income, sleep duration, or whether or not they resided with parents (p > .05). Conclusions PIU was found to be a common problem among high school students, and it was significantly correlated with self-esteem and health-related quality of life. To alleviate this public health problem, at-risk groups should be identified and timely management strategies and effective prevention programs should be established.