Prevalence and its associated factors of depressive symptoms among Chinese college students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Yu, Mingli; Tian, Fangqiong; Cui, Qi; Wu, Hui

doi:10.1186/s12888-021-03066-9

Cited by 64 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 43 publications

(52 reference statements)

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“…The present results emphasize the importance of strong social support to prevent mental health disorders, which has been previously demonstrated (22,30,31). Positive social support can not only buffer the effect of uncertainty and stress related to the pandemic on depressive symptoms (30,32), but also increase the feeling of social connectedness, which could protect students against depressive symptoms (12).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…A previous review shows that support from parents was the most important factor protecting against depression in Western children and adolescents (29). During the pandemic, this protective effect of social support on depression was consistently found in college students (15,22,(30)(31)(32). Furthermore, due to the strategy of staying at home, time spent on electronic devices increased markedly (33).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Prevalence of and Factors Associated With Depressive Symptoms Among College Students in Wuhan, China During the Normalization Stage of COVID-19 Prevention and Control

Yang

et al. 2021

Front. Psychiatry

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Objectives: The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic has led to persistent negative psychological effects on the general public, especially on college students, who are highly susceptible to psychological difficulties, such as fear, anxiety, and depression. Little information is known about depressive symptoms among college students during the normalization stage of COVID-19 prevention and control in China. This study aimed to understand the prevalence of and factors associated with depressive symptoms after a long quarantine time and online learning at home among college students in Wuhan, China.Materials and Methods: A web-based survey was conducted from July to August 2020 during the Chinese summer holiday to collect data on sociodemographic variables, depressive symptoms, and their potential associated factors using an electronic questionnaire among college students in Wuhan, China. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used to measure depressive symptoms. Binary logistic regression was used to explore the factors associated with depressive symptoms.Results: A total of 9,383 college students were included in the analysis. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 15.8% (1,486/9,383) among college students. The binary logistic regression showed that the experience of being quarantined for observation or treatment, family members or friends dying of COVID-19, rarely or never seeking help from others, fewer supportive relatives or friends, less support from family in the past month, a worse relationship with parents at home, a longer time spent daily on electronic devices except for online learning, and feeling anxious in the face of returning to school were independently associated with a higher risk of depressive symptoms. Academic stress and concern about the epidemic were the main reasons for their anxiety.Conclusions: Targeted psychological intervention measures are recommended for college students to improve their mental health during the normalization stage of COVID-19 prevention and control.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Prevalence of and Factors Associated With Depressive Symptoms Among College Students in Wuhan, China During the Normalization Stage of COVID-19 Prevention and Control

Yang

et al. 2021

Front. Psychiatry

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“…During the pandemic of COVID-19, previous related studies showed that 22.4–35.5% medical students reported depressive symptoms ( 24 , 25 ) and 22.1–28% reported anxiety symptoms ( 24 , 26 ). Among general University students, depressive symptoms ranged from 12.2 to 56.8% ( 27 , 28 ), and anxiety symptoms ranged from 7.7 to 15.43% ( 27 , 29 ). An online mental survey targeting different populations showed the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress-related symptoms was 50.7, 44.7, and 73.4%, respectively ( 30 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Influencing Mental Health Among Chinese Medical and Non-medical Students in the Early Stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Xiong

Ming

Zhang

et al. 2021

Front. Public Health

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Background: The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is a public health emergency of international concern. This study aimed to assess the psychological outcomes and their influencing factors among medical and non-medical University students during the COVID-19 pandemic in China.Methods: A cross-sectional online survey using structured questionnaires was conducted from February 20 to March 20, 2020. Psychological outcomes were assessed according to the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Influencing factors were assessed by COVID-19 knowledge, mindful coping scale, and sense of control scale.Results: Our sample is comprised of 563 University students (male = 172, mean age = 21.52). Among them, 382 are medical students. Among the participants, 12.26, 18.47, and 8.53% have moderate to severe levels of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms, respectively. Compared with the non-medical students, the medical students had a higher knowledge level of COVID-19, a higher sense of awareness, and fewer mental health symptoms. After controlling the covariance, perceived constraints of sense of control were negatively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress among both medical and non-medical students. Prevention of negative emotions by mindful coping was negatively associated with depression and anxiety among non-medical students. Knowledge of COVID-19 is not associated with mental distress among medical and non-medical students.Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic in China, the mental health of University students was affected. Our findings suggested that a sense of control is a protective factor for both medical and non-medical students, while mindful coping is a protective factor for only non-medical students.

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“…Previous research has shown that the large number of stressors related to infectious disease is a risk factor in predicting individual psychological symptoms during SARS (9). In addition, the risk perception of being infected with COVID-19 disease is the common response by general population during the pandemic (10,11). The risk perception model of health suggests that stressful events related with infectious disease have indirect negative effects on individual mental health by increasing individuals' perceived risk of being infected with diseases (12).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19-Related Stressors and Mental Health Among Chinese College Students: A Moderated Mediation Model

Han

Tang

et al. 2021

Front. Public Health

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This study aims to examine the relation between COVID-19-related stressors and mental health among Chinese college students during the pandemic outbreaks, and the possible mediator or moderator between them. Five hundred and fifty Chinese college students were invited to complete an anonymous survey, and the data were analyzed with SPSS 16.0 software. The results shows that the number of stressors has a negative direct and indirect (through risk perception of being infected with COVID-19 disease) impacts on college students' mental health. Adaptive coping is a protective factor of students' mental health, and could be regarded as a buffer that attenuates the negative effect of the COVID-19-related stressors on risk perception of being infected with COVID-19 disease (or mental health). With regard to demographic variables, females, junior and senior students, or students whose family residence was worst hit by the pandemic tend to report poorer mental health during the pandemic outbreak. These findings enrich our understanding about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on college population and have implications for university counseling services during times of acute, large-scale infective disease outbreaks.

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Prevalence and its associated factors of depressive symptoms among Chinese college students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Cited by 64 publications

References 43 publications

Prevalence of and Factors Associated With Depressive Symptoms Among College Students in Wuhan, China During the Normalization Stage of COVID-19 Prevention and Control

Prevalence of and Factors Associated With Depressive Symptoms Among College Students in Wuhan, China During the Normalization Stage of COVID-19 Prevention and Control

Factors Influencing Mental Health Among Chinese Medical and Non-medical Students in the Early Stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19-Related Stressors and Mental Health Among Chinese College Students: A Moderated Mediation Model

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