Stressors met by quarantined French students during the covid-19 pandemic. Their links with depression and sleep disorders.

Abstract

Background: Quarantine during the covid-19 pandemic has been shown to be associated with poor psychological health in students. However, no study has systematically examined the stressors perceived by students during this quarantine and their link with psychological health. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aimed to examine the stressors perceived by French students during the Covid-19 quarantine and their links with students’ psychological health, i.e., depression and sleep disorders. Methods: First, based on the existing literature and interviews with students, we designed a 27-item scale. Then a sample of 2536 French students completed a questionnaire containing the 27 items along with two measures: the CES-D to measure depression and the Jenkins Sleep Scale to assess sleep disorders. Results: The statistical analyses (EFA and CFA) revealed six factors that were correlated with depression and/or sleep disorders. However, regression analyses revealed that among them, “ inactivity and idleness ” and “ academic worries ” were the most associated with depression and sleep disorders. To a lesser extent, “ Precariousness ”, “ Lack of trust in information ” and “ Missing the people one care's about ” but not “ fear of the virus ”, were also associated with depression and/or sleep disorders. Limitations: The cross-sectional nature of our data limits the extent to which causal inferences can be made. All the data in this study was collected through online questionnaire. Conclusion: Our results highlight the stressors most strongly associated with depression and sleep disorders, that is those that must be tackled as a priority.

Tracking perceived stress, anxiety, and depression in daily life: a double-downward spiral process

“…Prior studies on the relationship between stress, anxiety, and depression have mostly focused on participants who met those clinical diagnostic criteria ( Price et al, 2019 ; Tolin et al, 2021 ; Truchot et al, 2021 ). However, daily prevention is more practical and effective than treatment alone.…”

Need Satisfaction and Depressive Symptoms Among University Students in Hong Kong During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Moderating Effects of Positive Youth Development Attributes

“…There are studies suggesting mental health problems of university students under the pandemic are alarming. Yu et al ( 9 ) showed that 56.8% of Chinese students had moderate or severe levels of depression; Luo et al ( 10 ) showed that 26.0% of Chinese students were at-risk of depression; Truchot et al ( 11 ) showed that 52% of the French female students and 49% of French male students displayed depressive symptoms.…”

Prevalence of mental health problems among stranded international students during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…They found that academic satisfaction was a stronger predictor of mental health than COVID-19, primarily used to predict stress and anxiety [ 48 ]. Furthermore, A recent study on a different population showed similar results, such as health authorities and the administration did not deliver accurate information, causing depression among the participants [ 49 ]. Additionally, according to another study on the prevalence of anxiety during the pandemic, 37.8% of participants reported worrying thoughts occasionally, while 23.8 percent said they had them all of the time [ 4 ], which is consistent with our findings.…”