Abstract
BackgroundThe outbreak of COVID-19 began in 2019 and is expected to impact the psychological health of college students. Few studies have investigated the associations among health risk communication, social media, and psychological symptoms during a major pandemic.ObjectiveThe aim of this research was to assess the prevalence of psychological symptoms among college students and explore their associations with health risk communication and social media.MethodsA web-based survey was distributed through the Wenjuanxing platform among Chinese college students from March 3-15, 2020. In addition to demographics, information on health risk communication and social media was collected, and the Symptom Checklist 90 Phobia and Health Anxiety Inventory subscale was used to assess psychological symptoms among 1676 college students in China. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to examine these independent risk factors.ResultsThe prevalence of panic and health anxiety was 17.2% (288/1676) and 24.3% (408/1676), respectively. Regarding risk communication, understanding the risk of COVID-19 (odds ratio [OR] 0.480, 95% CI 0.367-0.627) was a protective factor against panic. Knowledge of prognosis (OR 0.708, 95% CI 0.551-0.910), preventive measures (OR 0.380, 95% CI 0.195-0.742), and wearing face masks (OR 0.445, 95% CI 0.230-0.862) were shown to be protective factors in predicting health anxiety. Perceived lethality (OR 1.860, 95% CI 1.408-2.459), being affected by the global spread (OR 1.936, 95% CI 1.405-2.669), and impact on social contacts (OR 1.420, 95% CI 1.118-1.802) were identified as significant risk factors associated with health anxiety. In terms of social media, trust in mainstream media (OR 0.613, 95% CI 0.461-0.816) was considered to be a protective factor against health anxiety.ConclusionsThere was a high prevalence of psychological symptoms among college students. Health risk communication and social media use were important in predicting psychological symptoms, especially health anxiety. Scientific and evidence-based information should be reported by social media platforms. Web-based consultation and intervention measures should be the focus of future studies.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health threat [1]
There was a high prevalence of psychological symptoms among college students
Health risk communication and social media use were important in predicting psychological symptoms, especially health anxiety
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health threat [1]. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the COVID-19 outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern [2]. The pandemic is leading to rapidly increasing numbers of confirmed cases and deaths but is having a psychological impact on patients and health care workers who are exposed to COVID-19 [5]. Panic and anxiety are two common psychological symptoms experienced during the outbreak; this is likely related to the limited knowledge about COVID-19 and its highly infectious nature [8,9,10,11]. These psychological symptoms may cause adverse events and further contribute to social instability and racism [12]. Few studies have investigated the associations among health risk communication, social media, and psychological symptoms during a major pandemic
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
