Zurlo Maria Clelia, Cattaneo Della Volta Maria Francesca, Vallone Federica
Dynamic Psychology Laboratory, Department of Political Science, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
Department of Humanities, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
Front Psychol. 2022 Jan 5;12:741332. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.741332. eCollection 2021.
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has broadly impacted university students' customary life, resulting in remarkable levels of stress and psychological suffering. Although the acute phase of the crisis has been overcome, it does not imply that perceived stress related to the risk of contagion and to the changes in the relational life experienced over more than 1 year of the pandemic will promptly and abruptly decrease. This study aims at comparing university students' psychological health conditions before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also at providing information on how psychological health conditions evolved over the 1 year of the pandemic. We analyzed data from a repeated cross-sectional survey on different samples of university students before the pandemic in 2017 ( = 545) and during the pandemic ( = 671). During the pandemic, data were collected at three stages (Stage 1, April 2020 = 197; Stage 2, November 2020 = 274; and Stage 3, April 2021 = 200). The COVID-19 Student Stress Questionnaire (CSSQ) and the Symptom-Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) were used to assess, respectively, COVID-19-related stressors (Relationships and Academic Life, Isolation, and Fear of Contagion) and the presence of psychological symptoms. Psychological health conditions were compared at baseline and during the pandemic, whereas both psychological health conditions and perceived levels of COVID-19-related stressors were compared over the three pandemic stages. In addition, Logistic Regression was used to explore the associations between COVID-19-related stressors and psychological symptoms. Findings revealed a significant increase in symptoms of Depression (DEP), Phobic-Anxiety (PHOB), Obsessive-Compulsive (O-C), and Psychoticism (PSY) from pre to during the pandemic. Perceived levels of COVID-19-related stress and specific psychological symptoms significantly increased as the pandemic was progressing. COVID-19-related stressors emerged as significantly associated with several psychopathological symptoms. Findings are discussed with the aim of providing tailored interventions to prevent mental disease and promote psychological adjustment in this specific stage of transition within this exceptional global emergency.
2019年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行广泛影响了大学生的日常生活，导致了相当程度的压力和心理痛苦。尽管危机的急性期已经过去，但这并不意味着与传染风险以及在大流行一年多来人际关系生活变化相关的感知压力会迅速且突然地降低。本研究旨在比较COVID-19大流行之前和期间大学生的心理健康状况，同时提供关于大流行一年期间心理健康状况如何演变的信息。我们分析了2017年大流行之前（n = 545）和大流行期间（n = 671）对不同大学生样本进行的重复横断面调查的数据。在大流行期间，分三个阶段收集数据（第1阶段，2020年4月 = 197；第2阶段，2020年11月 = 274；第3阶段，2021年4月 = 200）。使用COVID-19学生压力问卷（CSSQ）和症状自评量表90修订版（SCL-90-R）分别评估与COVID-19相关的压力源（人际关系和学术生活、隔离以及对传染的恐惧）和心理症状的存在情况。比较了基线时和大流行期间的心理健康状况，同时比较了三个大流行阶段的心理健康状况以及与COVID-19相关压力源的感知水平。此外，使用逻辑回归来探索与COVID-19相关的压力源和心理症状之间的关联。研究结果显示，从大流行前到期间，抑郁（DEP）、恐惧焦虑（PHOB）、强迫（O-C）和精神病性（PSY）症状显著增加。随着大流行的进展，与COVID-19相关的压力感知水平和特定心理症状显著增加。与COVID-19相关的压力源与几种精神病理症状显著相关。对研究结果进行了讨论，目的是在这一特殊的全球紧急情况的特定过渡阶段提供针对性干预措施，以预防精神疾病并促进心理调适。
