Impact of coronavirus disease 2019 on the mental health of university students in Sichuan Province, China: An online cross‐sectional study

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 is an emerging public health problem threatening not only the life but also the normal psychology of people. University students’ mental health is the focus in the field of higher education. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has brought into attention the mental health problems of this vulnerable group. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 on the mental health of university students in Sichuan Province, China. We conducted a cross‐sectional study from April 2020 to May 2020. The participants responded to an online questionnaire that included informed consent, basic information, 20‐item Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ‐20), and Self‐Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). We received 521 effective responses. The results included the following: 19.0% of respondents reported distress, and 31.5%, 8.1%, and 5.8% of them reported mild, moderate, and severe anxiety, respectively; respondents aged ≤ 22 years, medical students, and those who were in general health reported more distress than others; and medical students and those who paid more attention to pandemic information reported more anxiety than others. Findings suggest that the mental health of university students should be monitored during pandemic, especially for younger students, medical students, students in general health status, and those who paid too much attention to the news of the pandemic. Due to the limited sample representativeness, we must be cautious when generalizing these findings to other regions of China or other countries.

COVID-19 news consumption and distress in young people: A systematic review

“…The samples included mostly university students, with one study utilising primary and secondary school-aged students ( Radwan et al., 2020 ) and another utilising young adults who were not necessarily students ( Gill et al., 2021 ). The majority of sampled participants across all studies were females, with proportions ranging from 55.3% ( Ryerson, 2020 ) to 77.5% ( Yang et al., 2021 ). The majority of studies investigated relationships between COVID-19 related news consumption and mental health using statistical analyses, whereas one study ( Radwan et al., 2020 ) asked participants to indicate whether they were psychologically affected by the spread of panic regarding COVID-19 on social media.…”

Undergraduate nursing students’ resilience, challenges, and supports during corona virus pandemic

“…This finding is consistent with the study by Yang et al . (2021) where students who were in health‐related courses reported a higher level of distress and anxiety symptoms compared with other students.…”

“…Another study noted that while COVID‐19 pandemic has caused distress and anxiety symptoms among university students, this was higher in younger students and those in health‐related courses (Yang et al . 2021). It was, however, ascertained that mental health and well‐being related to COVID‐19 could be mitigated through resilience, adaptive coping strategies, and presence of social support (Ye et al .…”

Students’ Intention of Visiting Urban Green Spaces after the COVID-19 Lockdown in China

“…University students make up a significant part of mental-health victims due to the one-size-fits-all lockdown regulations in China [38][39][40]. The lockdown had led to the development of irregular daily routines when students are asked to self-isolate in their dormitory buildings, which undermined their mental health to a large extent.…”