Abstract
Background: With the control of the epidemic, adolescents' mental outlook might have improved. However, little evidence existed with regard to the psychological status of adolescents in post-COVID-19 era. This present study aimed to explore the psychological status of high school students after the epidemic getting eased.Methods: A web-based cross-sectional survey was used to obtain data from three high schools, including the demographic information, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), the Self-Rating Scale of Sleep (SRSS), and self-designed general recent-status questionnaire. Correlation analysis was performed to explore potential associations between the depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and sleep status. The PHQ-9 and GAD-7 differences between nowadays data and the data enrolled 12 months before were also compared.Result: A total of 1,108 qualified questionnaires were obtained. The prevalence of depressive and anxious symptoms was 27.5 and 21.3%, respectively, from mild to severe in all students, while 11.8% of these high students got sleep disturbances. Both the rate and the severity of depression, anxiety and sleep problems of female students were higher than male students. Grade three students suffered higher prevalence and severer mental disturbances than the other two grades. There were significant correlations between the depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and sleep status. The psychological status has been improved in nowadays high school students compared with the sample enrolled 12 months before.Conclusion: As a supplement to our former study, this present research provided a perspective on the psychological status of high school students 1 year after the COVID-19 pandemic being well controlled. We should pay attention to the psychological status of high school students, and should also notice the progresses made by this special group after the epidemic.
Highlights
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has swiped around the world for nearly one and a half years, resulting in over 150 million confirmed cases together with 3,159,547 deaths globally as of April 30th, 2021, according to the data from the World Health Organization
Adolescents were more likely to report moderate to severe symptoms of depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, suicidal ideation or behavior, and sleep problems compared to adults since the COVID-19 pandemic [12]
We found that the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and the combination of depressive and anxiety symptoms of this special group was as high as 52.4, 31.4, and 26.8%, respectively, during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak
Summary
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has swiped around the world for nearly one and a half years, resulting in over 150 million confirmed cases together with 3,159,547 deaths globally as of April 30th, 2021, according to the data from the World Health Organization (https://covid19.who.int/). The potential effects of social isolation on mental health should not be ignored [5]. Isolation and distance learning during the epidemic might aggravate potential mental problems. Adolescents were more likely to report moderate to severe symptoms of depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, suicidal ideation or behavior, and sleep problems compared to adults since the COVID-19 pandemic [12]. Little evidence existed with regard to the psychological status of adolescents in post-COVID-19 era. This present study aimed to explore the psychological status of high school students after the epidemic getting eased
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