Abstract
To investigate the knowledge, preventive practices, and depression of Chinese university students living in South Korea and Mainland China during the COVID-19 outbreak and explore the determinants of depression among these students, an online cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted from 23 March to 12 April 2020. The online questionnaire included questions on knowledge and preventive practices related to COVID-19, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 was used to diagnose depressive symptoms. A total of 420 Chinese university students were finally included in the study (171 students from South Korea and 249 students from Mainland China). The majority of these students had a good level of knowledge of COVID-19. Students living in South Korea displayed better preventive practices than those living in Mainland China; however, the proportion of students (28.7%) with moderate-to-severe depression in this group was relatively higher than that (18.9%) of the Mainland Group (χ2 = 5.50, p < 0.05). More severe depression was related to high levels of concern about family members and contracting COVID-19 as well as suspecting themselves of having come into contact with patients. Displaying more preventive behaviors decreased the depressive symptoms in both groups. These data could be used as a reference for further studies in different regions to take measures (e.g., psychological counseling and encouragement for physical activities) to reduce depressive symptoms in university students.
Highlights
An increasing number of infectious diseases have recently led to serious economic and social consequences globally [1,2]
The present study investigated the knowledge, preventive practices, and depression symptoms of Chinese university students living in South Korea and Mainland China during the COVID-19 outbreak as well as explored the determinants of depression among both groups
The results showed that the majority of respondents had a satisfactory level of knowledge of COVID-19
Summary
An increasing number of infectious diseases have recently led to serious economic and social consequences globally [1,2]. These emergent public-health events result in physical pain and have a profound psychological impact [3,4], such as inducing panic, anxiety, and depression Psychological stress may lead to immune dysfunction, which has a negative impact on human health [8]. The SARS virus caused a series of psychological problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder in patients [9]. It is necessary to determine the population’s mental health status during a health emergency as early as possible as well as make recommendations and provide interventions
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