Exposure to COVID-19 during the First and the Second Wave of the Pandemic and Coronavirus-Related PTSD Risk among University Students from Six Countries—A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

This study aimed to reveal differences in exposure to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during the first (W1) and the second (W2) waves of the pandemic in six countries among university students and to show the prevalence and associations between exposure to COVID-19 and coronavirus-related post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) risk during W2. The repeated cross-sectional study was conducted among university students from Germany, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Turkey, and Ukraine (W1: n = 1684; W2: n = 1741). Eight items measured exposure to COVID-19 (regarding COVID-19 symptoms, testing, hospitalizing quarantine, infected relatives, death of relatives, job loss, and worsening economic status due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Coronavirus-related PTSD risk was evaluated by PCL-S. The exposure to COVID-19 symptoms was higher during W2 than W1 among students from all countries, except Germany, where, in contrast, the increase in testing was the strongest. Students from Poland, Turkey, and the total sample were more frequently hospitalized for COVID-19 in W2. In these countries, and Ukraine, students were more often in quarantine. In all countries, participants were more exposed to infected friends/relatives and the loss of a family member due to COVID-19 in W2 than W1. The increase in job loss due to COVID-19 was only noted in Ukraine. Economic status during W2 only worsened in Poland and improved in Russia. This was due to the significant wave of restrictions in Russia and more stringent restrictions in Poland. The prevalence of coronavirus-related PTSD risk at three cutoff scores (25, 44, and 50) was 78.20%, 32.70%, and 23.10%, respectively. The prediction models for different severity of PTSD risk differed. Female gender, a prior diagnosis of depression, a loss of friends/relatives, job loss, and worsening economic status due to the COVID-19 were positively associated with high and very high coronavirus-related PTSD risk, while female gender, a prior PTSD diagnosis, experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, testing for COVID-19, having infected friends/relatives and worsening economic status were associated with moderate risk.

Prevalence and Sociodemographic Predictors of Mental Health in a Representative Sample of Young Adults from Germany, Israel, Poland, and Slovenia: A Longitudinal Study during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…However, gender was not a significant predictor of coronavirus-related PTSD in our study, which is in congruence with previous research among young adults during the first wave of the pandemic [57,58]. In contrast, the recent research among university students from six countries during the second wave of the pandemic revealed gender to be a significant risk factor for coronavirus-related PTSD [59]. The differences in the role of gender can be explained by the group characteristics and the course of the pandemic.…”

Longitudinal Predictors of Coronavirus-Related PTSD among Young Adults from Poland, Germany, Slovenia, and Israel

“…Symptoms may involve fear-based re-experiencing, behavioral and emotional changes, adverse effects on cognition, and dysphoric moods [ 24 ]. A discussion is ongoing as to whether exposure to COVID-19 can be treated as a traumatic experience and meet the PTSD criteria in the DSM-5 [ 25 ]. However, experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic have been recognized as a new type of traumatic stressor that has severe mental health effects, including PTSD [ 26 , 27 ].…”

“…The overall prevalence of PTSD during the pandemic was 17.68% [ 28 ]. The prevalence of coronavirus-related PTSD risk at the three cutoff scores of 25, 44, and 50 was 78.20%, 32.70%, and 23.10%, respectively, among young adults from six countries [ 25 ].…”

“…PTSD was more common in those who are younger, female, unmarried, less educated and unemployed during the pre-pandemic period [ 31 ], and less educated during the pandemic [ 10 ]. A recent cross-national study among university students showed that female sex, a prior diagnosis of depression, a loss of friends and/or relatives, job loss, and worsening economic status due to COVID-19 were positively associated with high and very high coronavirus-related PTSD risk [ 25 ]. In contrast, female sex, prior PTSD diagnosis, experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, testing for COVID-19, having infected friends and/or relatives, and worsening economic status were associated with moderate risk [ 25 ].…”

“…A recent cross-national study among university students showed that female sex, a prior diagnosis of depression, a loss of friends and/or relatives, job loss, and worsening economic status due to COVID-19 were positively associated with high and very high coronavirus-related PTSD risk [ 25 ]. In contrast, female sex, prior PTSD diagnosis, experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, testing for COVID-19, having infected friends and/or relatives, and worsening economic status were associated with moderate risk [ 25 ]. However, female sex, subjective socioeconomic status, and the number of COVID-19 cases were not found to be PTSD risk factors in a sample of Chinese university students [ 32 , 33 ].…”