Li Mengyao, Liu Li, Yang Yilong, Wang Yang, Yang Xiaoshi, Wu Hui
China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
J Med Internet Res. 2020 Nov 18;22(11):e20656. doi: 10.2196/20656.
The 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.
The 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.
A 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.
The 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.
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. 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.
2019年新冠疫情爆发，预计会对大学生的心理健康产生影响。很少有研究调查在重大疫情期间健康风险沟通、社交媒体与心理症状之间的关联。
本研究旨在评估大学生心理症状的患病率，并探讨其与健康风险沟通和社交媒体的关联。
2020年3月3日至15日，通过问卷星平台对中国大学生进行了一项基于网络的调查。除了人口统计学信息外，还收集了健康风险沟通和社交媒体方面的信息，并使用症状自评量表90中的恐惧症和健康焦虑量表子量表对1676名中国大学生的心理症状进行评估。采用多变量逻辑回归分析这些独立风险因素。
恐慌和健康焦虑的患病率分别为17.2%（288/1676）和24.3%（408/1676）。在风险沟通方面，了解新冠疫情风险（比值比[OR]0.480，95%置信区间0.367-0.627）是预防恐慌的保护因素。预后知识（OR 0.708，95%置信区间0.551-0.910）、预防措施（OR 0.380，95%置信区间0.195-0.742）和佩戴口罩（OR 0.445，95%置信区间0.230-0.862）被证明是预测健康焦虑的保护因素。感知致死率（OR 1.860，95%置信区间1.408-2.459）、受全球传播影响（OR 1.936，95%置信区间1.405-2.669）以及对社交接触的影响（OR 1.420，95%置信区间1.118-1.802）被确定为与健康焦虑相关的显著风险因素。在社交媒体方面，对主流媒体的信任（OR 0.613，95%置信区间0.461-0.816）被认为是预防健康焦虑的保护因素。
大学生心理症状的患病率较高。健康风险沟通和社交媒体的使用在预测心理症状尤其是健康焦虑方面很重要。社交媒体平台应报道科学且基于证据的信息。基于网络的咨询和干预措施应成为未来研究的重点。
