Abstract

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has affected not only physical health but also mental health and psychological wellbeing. This narrative review aimed to map the literature on the psychological impact on the young generation of the COVID-19 pandemic, social restrictions, and extraordinary measures to curb the spread of coronavirus. We performed a systematic search of MEDLINE through PubMed and Web of Science [Science Citation Index Expanded, SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), and Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)] of all scientific literature published from May 2020 until 15 March 2021. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 15 articles were included. We conducted a narrative review. The reviewed articles suggested the impact of the pandemic and lockdown measures on young persons for several mental symptoms as well as anxiety, stress, depression, event-specific distress, decrease in psychological wellbeing, and changes in sleep habits. Psychological symptoms were related to the experience of several stressors, such as risk for reduction of academic perspectives, massive e-learning adoption, economic issues, social restrictions, and implications for daily life related to the COVID-19 outbreak. This narrative review points out the negative psychological impact of the pandemic outbreak and the high vulnerability of the young in the development of psychological distress, highlighting the relevant focus on the mental health of young people during the pandemic and the need for structured and tailored psychological support and interventions focused to the improvement of Quality of Life of university students after the pandemic experience.

Highlights

  • The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is a highly infectious disease often including severe acute respiratory syndrome

  • The present study aimed to review the emerging literature on COVID-19 to investigate the psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, lockdown restriction, and extraordinary measures to curb the spread of coronavirus on mental health outcomes among youth

  • An additional eight studies that met criteria for inclusion were identified by checking all citations of eligible articles for supplementary references that were missed in the initial search

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Summary

Introduction

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is a highly infectious disease often including severe acute respiratory syndrome. Infection spread across other countries around the world as an emerging global health threat. In. March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a pandemic [2]. The clinical features of COVID-19 are varied, ranging from asymptomatic states to acute respiratory distress syndrome and multi-organ dysfunction. COVID-19 provoked significant challenges to curb the spread of the infection and maintain global health security. Due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus, many countries implemented a range of anti-epidemic measures, such as keeping physical distance, wearing face masks, quarantine, and lockdown restrictions to contain the transmission and avoid contact with others. The pandemic has had a devastating impact on the global economy and the health of communities across

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