Psychological intervention for negative emotions aroused by COVID-19 pandemic in university students: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has been suggested to cause psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, panic, and insomnia. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to assess the efficacy of psychological interventions (including CBT, DBT, and mindfulness based interventions) in reducing distressing feelings in college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on psychological interventions for reducing negative emotions among college students during the COVID-19 epidemic were searched in databases Web of Science, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Scopus, PsychInfo, CNKI, WanFang, and VIP. We utilized Cochrane risk of bias assessment technique to assess the quality of included RCTs. The data were analyzed using RevMan 5.4. Eight RCTs were finally included involving 1,496 participants. According to the meta-analysis results, psychotherapies could significantly alleviate anxiety, depression, and stress symptoms among university students, [MD = -0.98, 95%CI (-1.53, -0.43), p<0.001] [SMD = -0.47, 95%CI (-0.77, -0.16), p = 0.003] [MD = -1.53, 95%CI (-2.23, -0.83), p <0.001]. The difference in attenuation of somatization symptoms between the two groups was not statistically significant [SMD = -0.42, 95%CI (-1.41, 0.56), p = 0.40]. Psychotherapy might effectively alleviate anxiety, depression, and stress in university students caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It could be considered the preferred strategy for reducing negative emotions and improving the quality of life of university students.