Mental health disorders among students from rural areas three months after returning to school: a cross-sectional study among Polish students (12-13 y.o.)

Abstract

Background: All over the world, the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on children and adolescents’ mental health is observed. The conducted research aims to verify whether returning to schools, to the education inside the classroom in the company of their peers, improved or undermined the students’ mental health. Metods: The study was carried out on a sample of students inhabiting rural areas in a borderland region. The research sample was collected using purposive sampling and consisted of 552 respondents from 7th and 8th grades of primary school. An auditorium questionnaire was used to gather the research material. Results: Three months after returning to school, the students are in a bad mental condition. 61% of the respondents are satisfied with their lives, 52% of the respondents show symptoms of depression measured with the WHO-5 index, whereas 85% of them have average and high stress levels as measured with the PSSC scale. Higher levels of mental disorders was observed among females, the students inhabiting villages and evaluating their financial status as worse. Conclusions: Returning to schools failed to have a positive impact on the students’ mental health. Disorders occurring at a large scale will have a negative influence on the students’ performance and hinder their re-adaptation to school. Educational authorities shall immediately provide the students with support and monitor the situation in the next months.