An Evaluation on the Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of University Students

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has been affecting the world for about two years, is causing unprecedented global effects in the history. The COVID-19 pandemic process has brought the concept of "new normal" to the agenda in the world and has led to radical changes in all areas of life. With the concept of new normal, measures have been taken in the social, economic, political and health fields worldwide. Since the first days of the pandemic in order to prevent the spread of infection, measures such as compulsory quarantine, restriction, physical distance rules and social isolation have been included in the life. Among these measures are the termination of face-to-face education and the rapid transition to the distance education system. This rapid transformation of the education system required both educators and students to adapt to the new life situations that brought by the pandemic process and to be included in the system in a short time. It is inevitable that this transformation will affect university students spiritually. The prolongation of the duration of these measures, uncertainty and the limitation of freedom cause psychological symptoms such as anxiety, depressive mood, difficulty in attention and focus, sleep and eating disorders due to stress and anxiety in the students. In this review article, it is aimed to reveal the current information about the psychological effects of the pandemic, the psychological effects of university students who are a vulnerable group, and to examine possible solution proposals with the light of current literature.