Psychological Distress among Students in Higher Education: One Year after the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the psychological well-being of students. Several stressors (such as socioeconomic and education-related contexts) could influence mental health, as well as individual and relational dimensions. This study proposes to evaluate the predictive effect of these factors on anxiety and depressive symptoms among students in higher education one year after the beginning of the pandemic. A sample of 23,307 students (Mage = 20.89; SD = 1.96; 69.08% of women) was assessed through an online self-report questionnaire including adapted and validated measures. The main rates were as follows: 50.6% of students presented anxiety symptoms; 55.1% reported depressive symptoms; 20.8% manifested suicidal ideations; 42.4% saw their financial situation deteriorate; 39.1% felt they were dropping out of school. One year after the beginning of the pandemic, students in higher education are anxious and depressed, especially those who identify as women (for both anxiety and depression) and as a non-binary gender (only for anxiety), experience a deterioration in their financial situation, are dropping out of school, or manifest hostility (for both anxiety and depression). The degree of study affects the symptoms’ severity (Bachelor 2 and 3 for anxiety and Master for depression). Contact with family and friends (for both anxiety and depression) as well as regular physical activity (only for depression) should provide some protection against psychological distress. Policy-makers must make a long-term investment in the well-being and positive mental health of the student community.

Young age, student status and reported non-binary gender associate strongly with decreased functioning during Covid-19 pandemic in a university community

“…At the time of the present survey, university lockdown for preventing Covid-19 viral infections had sustained for about a year and a half. At this stage, NBGs reported more loneliness, fewer contacts with family members and, in line with other studies (Prout et al, 2020;de Graaf et al, 2021;Schmits et al, 2021) more psychic stress symptoms, than BGs did, and their FUNCT was poorer than that of BGs although effects of other factors were controlled.…”

“…However, detrimental effects of Covid-19 do not distribute evenly in the society. In population surveys young age, female and non-binary gender, working outside home, living with children and low resilience and assets have associated with psychological distress experiences, like depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress symptoms (Gómez-Salgado et al, 2020;Prout et al, 2020;Guldager et al, 2021;Hou et al, 2021aHou et al, , 2021bSchmits et al, 2021).…”

“…In a study of university students, 71% indicated increased stress and anxiety, 82% increased concerns on academic performance and 86% decreased social interactions due to the Covid-19 outbreak (Son et al, 2020). Students’ interaction and co-studying networks have become sparser; students have been more sedentary and reported increased loneliness, anxiety and depression (Elmer et al, 2020; Schmits et al, 2021). In a survey of medical and health science students, 39% reported academic stress due to Covid-19.…”

Intimate Partner Violence and Mental Health during Lockdown of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…These restrictive confinement measures put in place to counter the virus’ spread could have major consequences for mental health. Indeed, several studies conducted in China and in Europe have reported high levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms as well as poor sleep quality, and younger people have reported a significantly higher prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder and depression [ 7 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Furthermore, the restrictive measures are likely to increase the risk of family violence and reduce the options for support [ 15 , 16 ].…”

COVID-19 pandemic's impact on French Health Students: A cross-sectional study during the third wave

“…In Belgium, a study assessed psychiatric symptoms among higher education students one year after the pandemic. They found that 50.6% of students presented anxiety symptoms, 55.1% had depressive symptoms, 20.8% had suicidal thoughts, 42.4% felt their financial situation had deteriorated, and 39.1% had dropping out thoughts ( Schmits et al, 2021 ).…”