The Link between Subjective Religiosity, Social Support, and Mental Health among Young Students in Eastern Europe during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study of Poland and Ukraine

Abstract

Religiousness has a positive effect on the mental health of an individual and social groups in many difficult situations. In the conducted research, we wanted to check, inter alia, whether religiosity and social support are positively related to the mental health of students during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland and Ukraine. The research was conducted at a time (August 2021) when the very contagious Delta variant was spreading over Europe, and numerous pandemic-related personal restrictions and obligations (such as using facemasks in selected places, social distancing, and obligatory self-isolation of the ill or those who had contact with the pathogen) were in force in both countries. For this purpose, a representative survey was carried out using the CAPI technique on a sample of 1000 students in Poland (50% boys and 50% girls in the age range 10–19) and 1022 in Ukraine (51% boys and 49% girls in the age range 10–18). The results of the research shows that depression measured by the PHQ-9 scale was experienced by 20% of students in Poland, and 13% in Ukrainian. Anxiety, measured with the GAD-7 scale, was experienced by 9% of the Polish and 6% of the Ukrainian students. The performed regression analysis showed that religiosity had no effect on the mental health of students. The main risk factor for mental disorders was the lack of social support.

Social support and psychosocial well-being among older adults in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

“…The same study reported that the risk of depressive symptoms and poor sleep quality were, respectively, 63% and 52% lower among individuals who reported higher levels of social support compared with those with low perceived social support 26. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, receiving social support was reported to be inversely associated with mental health problems in several countries including China,27 Spain,28 Poland and Ukraine 29…”

“… 26 In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, receiving social support was reported to be inversely associated with mental health problems in several countries including China, 27 Spain, 28 Poland and Ukraine. 29 …”

Related factors for health behaviors among young students during the pandemic of COVID-19

“…Durante a pandemia da COVID-19, identificou--se a falta de suporte social como o principal fator de risco para transtornos mentais com estudantes jovens (24) . Nesse sentido, quanto maior a autoestima dos adolescentes, melhor será seu comportamento de promoção da saúde, consequentemente, quanto maior o senso de habilidade interpessoal, mais eles serão capazes de implementar o comportamento de apoio social (11) .…”

Pre- and Post-Pandemic Religiosity and Mental Health Outcomes: A Prospective Study

“…The unprecedented stressors associated with COVID-19, including the illness and death of loved ones, coworkers, and acquaintances, fear of becoming ill or dying from COVID-19, and the unpredictability of the pandemic produced a marked behavioral response that involved religious coping both globally and in the United States (US) [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. In addition, self-isolation and shelter-in-place mandates, the re-arrangement of work environments and schedules, and the shutting down of social and recreational venues also had potentially serious implications for individuals at risk for mental disorders [14][15][16][17].…”