Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA.
Mindfulness Center at Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
Global Health. 2021 Jan 25;17(1):15. doi: 10.1186/s12992-021-00663-x.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made unprecedented impact on the psychological health of university students, a population vulnerable to distress and mental health disorders. This study investigated psychiatric symptoms (anxiety, depression, and traumatic stress) during state-enforced quarantine among university students in China (N = 1912) through a cross-sectional survey during March and April 2020.
Psychiatric symptoms were alarmingly prevalent: 67.05% reported traumatic stress, 46.55% had depressive symptoms, and 34.73% reported anxiety symptoms. Further, 19.56% endorsed suicidal ideation. We explored risk and protective factors of psychological health, including demographic variables, two known protective factors for mental health (mindfulness, perceived social support), four COVID-specific factors (COVID-19 related efficacy, perceived COVID-19 threat, perceived COVID-19 societal stigma, COVID-19 prosocial behavior) and screen media usage. Across symptom domains, mindfulness was associated with lower symptom severity, while COVID-19 related financial stress, perceived COVID-19 societal stigma, and perceived COVID-19 threat were associated with higher symptom severity. COVID-19 threat and COVID-19 stigma showed main and interactive effects in predicting all mental health outcomes, with their combination associated with highest symptom severity. Screen media device usage was positively associated with depression. Female gender and COVID-19 prosocial behavior were associated with higher anxiety, while COVID-19 self-efficacy associated with lower anxiety symptoms.
Findings suggest high need for psychological health promotion among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic and inform an ecological perspective on the detrimental role of stigma during an emerging infectious disease outbreak. Interventions targeting multi-level factors, such as promoting mindfulness and social support at individual and interpersonal levels while reducing public stigma about COVID-19, may be particularly promising. Attending to the needs of disadvantaged groups including those financially impacted by COVID-19 is needed.
COVID-19 大流行对大学生的心理健康产生了前所未有的影响，大学生是一个容易出现困扰和心理健康障碍的群体。本研究通过 2020 年 3 月至 4 月期间的横断面调查，调查了中国被强制隔离的大学生的精神症状（焦虑、抑郁和创伤后应激）（N=1912）。
精神症状非常普遍：67.05%的人报告创伤后应激，46.55%的人有抑郁症状，34.73%的人有焦虑症状。此外，19.56%的人有自杀意念。我们探讨了心理健康的风险和保护因素，包括人口统计学变量、心理健康的两个已知保护因素（正念、感知社会支持）、四个 COVID-19 特定因素（与 COVID-19 相关的功效、感知 COVID-19 威胁、感知 COVID-19 社会污名、COVID-19 亲社会行为）和屏幕媒体使用。在各个症状领域，正念与症状严重程度呈负相关，而与 COVID-19 相关的经济压力、感知 COVID-19 社会污名和感知 COVID-19 威胁与症状严重程度呈正相关。COVID-19 威胁和 COVID-19 污名在预测所有心理健康结果方面表现出主要和交互作用，其组合与最高的症状严重程度相关。屏幕媒体设备的使用与抑郁呈正相关。女性性别和 COVID-19 亲社会行为与更高的焦虑相关，而 COVID-19 自我效能与较低的焦虑症状相关。
研究结果表明，在 COVID-19 大流行期间，大学生对心理健康促进的需求很高，并为在新发传染病爆发期间污名的有害作用提供了生态视角。针对多层面因素的干预措施，例如在个人和人际层面促进正念和社会支持，同时减少对 COVID-19 的公众污名，可能特别有希望。需要关注包括受 COVID-19 经济影响的弱势群体的需求。
