Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant psychological impact on vulnerable groups, particularly students. The present study aims to investigate the mental and psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated factors in a sample of Portuguese higher education students. An online cross-sectional study was conducted among 1522 higher education students selected by convenience sampling. The survey assessed mental health symptoms as well as sociodemographic variables, health-related perceptions, and psychological factors. Results were fitted to binary and multivariable logistic regression models. The overall prevalences of stress, anxiety, and depression were 35.7%, 36.2%, and 28.5%, respectively. Poor mental health outcomes were related with being female, having no children, living with someone with chronic disease, facing hopelessness, and lacking resilient coping. Future studies focusing on better ways to promote mental health and wellbeing among students are warranted. It is necessary to gather more evidence on the post-pandemic mental health using robust study designs and standardized assessment tools.
Highlights
On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the CoronavirusDisease 2019 (COVID-19) as a public health emergency of international concern, calling on all countries to prepare for containment of the disease [1]
The virus rapidly spread throughout the globe and, on 11 March 2020, the WHO declared the novel coronavirus outbreak as a global pandemic [2]
Our results provide useful insights into the predictors of mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the CoronavirusDisease 2019 (COVID-19) as a public health emergency of international concern, calling on all countries to prepare for containment of the disease [1]. Quarantine, and social distancing were vital to prevent the spread of the virus, protect peoples’ physical health, and manage medical resources, they may have led to long-lasting negative consequences, on mental health and wellbeing [4,5,6]. These preventive measures may have increased the levels of depression and/or anxiety by inducing separation of significant relatives and increasing the perception of isolation and loneliness [7]
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