COVID-19 Lockdown Stress and the Mental Health of College Students: A Cross-Sectional Survey in China

Abstract

To prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries around the world adopted varying degrees of lockdown. The lockdowns restricted the freedom of college students, which led to stress and mental health issues. This study constructed a mediating model to explore the relationship between COVID-19 lockdown stress and Chinese college students’ mental health; the mediating role of fear of missing out (FoMO) was also investigated. A 7-item COVID-19 student stress questionnaire (CSSQ), a 6-item mental health scale, and a 10-item FoMO scale were distributed among 695 college students who experienced lockdown in China. The results showed that COVID-19 lockdown stress was significantly and negatively correlated with mental health, significantly and positively correlated with FoMO, and FoMO was significantly and negatively correlated with mental health. COVID-19 lockdown stress significantly and negatively influenced Chinese college students’ mental health directly and indirectly via the complementary partial mediating effect of FoMO. The results intensify our comprehension of the influence of COVID-19 lockdown stress and mental health problems in Chinese college students and also provide practical suggestions for college educators to address such scenarios.