The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Students’ Mental Health and Sleep in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Mental health problems are prevalent among university students in Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students’ mental health and sleep in Saudi Arabia. Method: A total of 582 undergraduate students from Saudi Arabia aged between 18 and 45 years old (M = 20.91, SD = 3.17) completed a cross-sectional online questionnaire measuring depression, anxiety, stress, resilience, and insomnia during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020). Analysis included an independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Hierarchical regression analysis. Results: Undergraduate students reported high levels of depression, anxiety, and perceived stress and low levels of resilience (p < 0.001) during the pandemic. In addition, students reported experiencing insomnia. A hierarchical regression analysis indicated that lower resilience, high levels of insomnia, having a pre-existing mental health condition, and learning difficulties (such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, or dyscalculia) were significantly associated with high levels of depression and stress. In addition, lower resilience, a high level of insomnia, and pre-existing mental health conditions were significantly associated with high levels of anxiety. Finally, a lower level of psychological resilience and a high level of insomnia were significantly associated with increased levels of depression, anxiety and stress within university students. Conclusion: This study has provided evidence that a lower level of psychological resilience and insomnia were associated with mental health problems among undergraduate students in Saudi Arabia, thus enhancing psychological resilience and interventions to support sleep and mental health are vital to support student well-being outcomes throughout the pandemic.

Evaluation of Sleep Habits, Generalized Anxiety, Perceived Stress, and Research Outputs Among Postgraduate Research Students in Hong Kong During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

“…Past medical history, country of stay during the outbreak of COVID 19, and sleep hygiene scores were subsequently entered at the third step. 46 The strengths of associations were estimated by the beta coefficient. Additionally, effect sizes of regression analyses (ie, Cohen’s f 2 ) were calculated using an R 2 value to identify clinically significant associated factors.…”

The Psychological Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic among Emerging Adults: An Observational Cross-Sectional Study

“…Earlier in the pandemic, COVID-19 had similar psychological impacts, particularly an increase in the proportion of persons reporting moderate to severe psychological impact among Saudi Arabia's populace as assessed using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) [6]. Emerging adults are particularly at risk of mental health disorders as has been shown in prior studies done in 15 countries preceding the COVID-19 pandemic [7], and the risk is exacerbated during the pandemic due to the disruption of their day-to-day lives as reported in many studies [8,9]. Additionally, students have reported challenges with the shift from in-person classes to remote learning [10].…”

Assessment of The Incidence of Insomnia In The Group of Poles Aged 18-25 Years During The Covid-19 Pandemic

“…Based on a meta-analysis from studies conducted in 2020 and 2021, 34% of patients with COVID-19 experienced sleep disorders of varying severity [8]. A similar study of 582 students in Saudi Arabia found that 22% of them had problems falling asleep, 17.9% woke up in the night, 8.8% woke up early in the morning, 25.9% had poor sleep quality, 22.7% felt tired during the day, and about 10% had nightmares [9]. The results of multicenter studies demonstrated that insomnia was found in 36.7% of the subjects, and these ndings were about twice as high during the rst wave of the pandemic as the prevalence rates typically reported in nonpandemic times [10].…”