Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Students at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has necessitated the implementation of public health measures including social distancing, quarantine, and lockdown. Nigerian public universities have been closed since March 2020 after the viral outbreak. This study was carried out in order to investigate the psychological impact of COVID-19 on undergraduate students.
 Methods: The study was carried out among students of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan. Study participants were recruited by snowballing sampling technique and data collection was via online self-administered questionnaires. The questionnaire was adapted from the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Revised Impact of Event Scale (IES-R) to determine scores for depression, anxiety, stress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
 Results: There were 322 participants with a median age of 22.4 (IQR = 20.5-24.2) years. Psychological impact was mild to moderate in 20.2%, and severe in 19.6%. Depression was mild to moderate in 19.3%, severe to extremely severe in 5.3%. Anxiety was mild to moderate in 10.3%, severe to extremely severe in 7.5%. Stress was mild to moderate in 16.4%, severe to extremely severe in 2.2%. Factors associated (p < 0.05) with increased levels of depression, anxiety, stress and PTSD include increase in time spent on social media, TV and movies, sleep duration, and decrease in physical activity.
 Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant changes for Nigerian university students. Two-fifth of them reported PTSD symptoms; one-fourth reported depression; about one-fifth reported anxiety and stress. Students need psychosocial support to help them cope with and to effectively adapt to the changes caused by the pandemic.

Predictors and prevalence of stress, anxiety, depression, and PTSD among university students during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey

“…PTSD is defined as an uncontrollable thought process about the event, unwanted distressing memories of the traumatic event, sleeping and concentrating problems, flashbacks, nightmares, memory problems, and a lack of interest in activities ( Kirkpatrick and Heller, 2014 ). Factors associated with increased levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and PTSD include an increase in time spent on social media, TV and movies, and sleep duration and a decrease in physical activities ( Adewale et al, 2021 ).…”

“…In another study, students showed 48.2% of an elevated perceived stress level, 37% of anxiety, and 31% of depression during the period of the COVID-19 in USA ( Aiyer et al, 2020 ). Two-fifth of students reported PTSD symptoms, one-fourth of students reported depression, and about one-fifth of students reported anxiety and stress in Nigeria ( Adewale et al, 2021 ). International students living far from their families have had higher psychiatric suffering that Chinese students studying in the USA had a prevalence of 49.4% anxiety, 39.8% depression, and 37.5% PTSD ( Song et al, 2020 ).…”

The Impact Analysis of Psychological Issues and Pandemic-Related Variables on Ecuadorian University Students during COVID-19

“…Additionally, Japan and China showed high levels of emotional issues during the pandemic [16,37]. China had an even higher proportion of psychological issues than in some other nondeveloped countries (36%), that is the case of Nigeria where around 20% of university students suffered from mild anxiety, stress, and depression problems and less than 10% with severe cases [16,38]. Furthermore, in the case of Latin America, a study based on a systematic review in 2021, where a total of 196,950 people participated in the studies, found that mental health symptoms are quite prevalent in the population of the continent, here, in average, 35% said they felt anxiety, 35% felt depression, and 32% felt distress.…”

COVID-19 and Students’ Mental Wellbeing: A Cross-Sectional Study across Selected Nigerian Universities

“…The pandemic lockdown created a spectrum of psychological consequences for Nigerian university students, ranging from anxiety, depression, and substance misuse to behavioural changes like stress-eating and difficulty in sleeping; also exposing some youths in abusive homes to increasing abuse [12] and this could have led to stress, social isolation, loneliness and depression. A study carried out among medical students at the University of Ibadan reported that students in their final academic year were more negatively affected by the lockdown that resulted in abrupt school closure due to delay in studies, graduation, and future employment prospects, with mild to moderate depression in around 19%, and severe to extremely severe depression in about 5% of students, and around 10% had mild to moderate anxiety, and 7.5% severe to extremely severe anxiety; approximately 16% had mild to moderate stress [13]. Increased levels of depression, stress, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related symptoms were associated with increased time on social media, movies, and television, as well as the duration of sleep and decrease in physical activity [13].…”

“…A study carried out among medical students at the University of Ibadan reported that students in their final academic year were more negatively affected by the lockdown that resulted in abrupt school closure due to delay in studies, graduation, and future employment prospects, with mild to moderate depression in around 19%, and severe to extremely severe depression in about 5% of students, and around 10% had mild to moderate anxiety, and 7.5% severe to extremely severe anxiety; approximately 16% had mild to moderate stress [13]. Increased levels of depression, stress, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related symptoms were associated with increased time on social media, movies, and television, as well as the duration of sleep and decrease in physical activity [13]. Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic is undoubtedly one of the most extensive global challenges, with a lack of certainty on the mental health status of students all around the world.…”