Assessing the Psychological Impact of COVID-19 among College Students: An Evidence of 15 Countries

Abstract

Mental health issues among college students is a leading public health concern, which seems to have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. While previous estimates related to psychological burden among college students are available, quantitative synthesis of available data still needs to be performed. Therefore, this meta-analysis endeavors to present collective evidence discussing the psychological impact of COVID-19 among college students. Bibliographical library databases, including Embase, Medline, CINAHL, Scopus, and PsycINFO, were systematically searched for relevant studies. Titles, abstracts, and full articles were screened, and two reviewers extracted data. Heterogeneity was assessed by I2 statistic. The random-effects model was utilized to obtain the pooled estimates of psychological indicators among college students. Location, gender, level of severity, and quality scores were used as moderator variables for subgroup analyses. Funnel plot and Egger linear regression test was used to assess publication bias. Twenty-seven studies constituting 90,879 college students met the inclusion criteria. The results indicated 39.4% anxiety (95% CI: 28.6,51.3; I2 = 99.8%; p-value < 0.0001) and 31.2% depression (95% CI: 19.7,45.6; I2= 99.8%, p < 0.0001) among college students. The pooled prevalence of stress (26.0%), post-traumatic stress disorder (29.8%), and impaired sleep quality (50.5%) were also reported. College students bear a disproportionate burden of mental health problems worldwide, with females having higher anxiety and depression levels than males. This study’s findings underscore the need to develop appropriate public health interventions to address college students’ emotional and psychosocial needs. The policies should be reflective of demographic and socioeconomic differentials.

Meta-analytical evidence on mental disorder symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America

“…Based on the evidence of individual studies, our study found a higher prevalence of mental health symptoms among frontline healthcare workers (37%, p<0.001) and university students (36%, p>0.001) than the general population and second-line responders (Batra et al, 2021; All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.…”

“…The vulnerabilities of frontline healthcare workers are often attributed to higher risk of infection, burnout, fear of COVID-19 transmission to their family members, and job loss (Bhandari et al, 2021;Xiang et al, 2020). The greater prevalence of mental health symptoms among the university students can be explained by the uncertainties surrounding the course of the pandemic and the sudden transition to online education (Adedoyin & Soykan, 2020;Batra et al, 2021).…”

The Psychological Symptoms of College Student in China during the Lockdown of COVID-19 Epidemic

“…In this survey, 62.64% students had anxiety symptoms during the epidemic. Batra et al assessed the psychological impact of COVID-19 among college students and found that the prevalence of anxiety in China was 25.5% compared with 58.7% in other regions [27]. The government strengthened the management of information released, the frequency of news release conferences increased and information or knowledge acquisition methods were also added.…”

Psychological Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Portuguese and Swiss Higher-Education Students: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study

“…One meta-analysis of 27 studies from 15 countries, analyzing the psychological impact of COVID-19 among college students, showed a disproportionate burden of mental health problems among participants, with females having higher anxiety and depression levels than males. Increased stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms were seen as a result of changes and uncertainty in university education, technological concerns about online courses, being far from home, social isolation, decreased family income, and future employment [32]. These impacts were also observed in universities across the world [33][34][35][36].…”

“…The eight items are as follows: [45]. The total depression subscale score was divided into scores for normal depression (0-9), mild depression (10-12), moderate depression (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20), severe depression (21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27), and extremely severe depression (28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41)(42). The total anxiety subscale score was divided into five score categories: normal (0-6), mild anxiety (7-9), moderate anxiety (10-14), severe anxiety (15)(16)(17)(18)(19), and extremely severe anxiety .…”