Mental Health of University Students When Returning to Face-to-Face Classes: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Depression, anxiety and stress are multifactorial affective disorders that could manifest through a set of symptoms, both physical and psychological, that affect the quality of life and performance of people who suffer from them. In this sense, the present research had the objective of evaluating depression, anxiety and stress in students of the Faculty of Engineering of a Peruvian public university when returning to face-to-face classes. The research was developed under a quantitative approach and is of a non-experimental design of the descriptive cross-sectional type. The sample consisted of 244 students who responded to the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, an instrument with adequate psychometric properties. According to the results, the students presented low levels of depression and anxiety. However, they showed moderate levels of stress. On the other hand, it was found out that the three variables were directly and significantly related. In the same way, it was found that there were statistically significant differences regarding the levels of depression, anxiety and stress related to gender, age group, family responsibilities and professional career. Finally, it was concluded that there were symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress in students of the Faculty of Engineering of a Peruvian public university when returning to face-to-face classes.