EFFECT OF THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE MENTAL HEALTH OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS (Preprint)

Abstract

The continuous reporting of the latest confirmed COVID-19 cases in Saudi Arabia and globally, with the concomitant social distancing measures and university closures, is likely to affect the mental wellbeing of many university students. There have been many reports on the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the public, hospital staff, patients, children, and older adults [4,5]. However, to date, only a few studies on the mental health effects of COVID-19 and the wellbeing of college students have been conducted during the pandemic [6]. In this study, we aimed to estimate the mental health impact of COVID-19 on university students in Saudi Arabia. We conducted our study to learn more about the psychological status of university students through the pandemic for the following reasons: to evaluate the prevalence of stress, anxiety, and depression of university students during the pandemic; and to provide a basis for universities and governmental policies to support university students affected by the impact of COVID-19.

Objective: To estimate the psychological impact of COVID-19 on university students in Saudi Arabia.

Method: The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21 (DASS-21) questionnaire was distributed via the university students’ accounts. Of the 71,945 full-time undergraduate university students, 3,515 respondents completed the questionnaires. The study questionnaire also included demographic information, including age, gender, source of income, living arrangements, smoking status, and weekly physical exercise.

Results: Nearly half of participants had normal stress (40.5%, n = 1425) and anxiety (42.4%, n = 1492) levels. In terms of depression, nearly one-third of subjects were classified as ‘normal’ (29.3%, n = 1031); however, one-fourth of them were classified as ‘extremely severe’ (23.8%, n = 838). There were significantly higher levels of stress among female students. Also, a significantly higher rate of male students (50.4%, n = 667) had normal anxiety levels, compared with female students (37.7%, n = 825). Finally. significantly higher proportion of female students had symptoms of depression (72.66%, n = 1,592) compared with the degrees of depression among male students (67.37%, n = 892).

Conclusion: We detected that stress, anxiety, and depression increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and university students were at more risk of developing mental health issues. Ongoing follow-up and monitoring of psychological consequences and their potential negative impact on academic performance and mental wellbeing are needed.

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