School of Population Medicine and Public Health, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
School of Nursing, Jining Medical University, Jining, Shandong, China.
BMC Psychiatry. 2021 Oct 27;21(1):530. doi: 10.1186/s12888-021-03546-y.
An increasing number of undergraduate students in China have been reported to have psychological problems. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a series of preventive and control measures were implemented, which undoubtedly worsened their psychological health. Coping style and social support were probably important factors that affected the psychological well-being of undergraduate students during the pandemic. This study aimed to explore the effects of coping style and perceived social support on the psychological well-being of college students and relevant risk factors.
This cross-sectional study was performed in February and March of 2020 by distributing an online questionnaire among undergraduate students from seven geographical regions across China. The questionnaire included sociodemographic information; the 21-item Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21); the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS); and the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ). For the analyses, t-tests, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), the Kruskal-Wallis test and multiple linear regression were utilized. The level of significance was set at P < 0.05.
Among 3113 college students, the rates of anxiety, depression and stress symptoms were 13.3, 15.4 and 6.8%, respectively. Increased rates of current smoking and drinking (5.5 and 25.2%, respectively) among undergraduates were identified. The results indicated that the PSSS subscales and SCSQ subscales were significantly associated with DASS-21 scores (P < 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that active coping style and family support were protective factors while passive coping style could aggravate psychological problems among participants (P < 0.001).
A remarkable number of college students adopted passive coping strategies to cope with negative feelings, such as smoking and drinking, which were detrimental to their mental health. In contrast, active coping strategies helped improve their psychological well-being. Moreover, family support was particularly important for maintaining their mental health and ameliorating mental health challenges in this major health crisis. Consequently, suitable psychointervention, routine screening for risk behaviors, and provision of further social support are needed for undergraduate students in the COVID-19 pandemic or other emergency public health events.
越来越多的中国大学生被报道存在心理健康问题。针对 COVID-19 大流行，采取了一系列防控措施，这无疑恶化了他们的心理健康。应对方式和社会支持可能是大流行期间影响大学生心理健康的重要因素。本研究旨在探讨应对方式和感知社会支持对大学生心理健康的影响及其相关危险因素。
本横断面研究于 2020 年 2 月至 3 月期间通过在中国七个地理区域的大学生中在线发放问卷进行。问卷包括社会人口统计学信息；21 项抑郁、焦虑和压力量表（DASS-21）；感知社会支持量表（PSSS）；简化应对方式问卷（SCSQ）。对于分析，采用 t 检验、单因素方差分析（ANOVA）、Kruskal-Wallis 检验和多元线性回归。显著性水平设为 P < 0.05。
在 3113 名大学生中，焦虑、抑郁和压力症状的发生率分别为 13.3%、15.4%和 6.8%。发现大学生当前吸烟和饮酒的发生率分别增加了 5.5%和 25.2%。结果表明，PSSS 分量表和 SCSQ 分量表与 DASS-21 评分显著相关（P < 0.001）。多元线性回归分析显示，积极的应对方式和家庭支持是保护因素，而消极的应对方式会加重参与者的心理问题（P < 0.001）。
相当数量的大学生采用消极的应对策略来应对负面情绪，如吸烟和饮酒，这对他们的心理健康有害。相比之下，积极的应对策略有助于改善他们的心理健康。此外，家庭支持对于在重大卫生危机中维持大学生的心理健康和改善心理健康挑战尤为重要。因此，在 COVID-19 大流行或其他突发公共卫生事件中，需要为大学生提供适当的心理干预、常规的风险行为筛查和进一步的社会支持。
