Abstract

A COVID-19 epidemic has been spreading in China and other parts of the world since December 2019. The epidemic has brought not only the risk of death from infection but also unbearable psychological pressure. We sampled college students from Changzhi medical college by using cluster sampling. They responded to a questionnaire packet that included the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and those inquiring the participants' basic information. We received 7,143 responses. Results indicated that 0.9% of the respondents were experiencing severe anxiety, 2.7% moderate anxiety, and 21.3% mild anxiety. Moreover, living in urban areas (OR = 0.810, 95% CI = 0.709 - 0.925), family income stability (OR = 0.726, 95% CI = 0.645 - 0.817) and living with parents (OR = 0.752, 95% CI = 0.596 - 0.950) were protective factors against anxiety. Moreover, having relatives or acquaintances infected with COVID-19 was a risk factor for increasing the anxiety of college students (OR = 3.007, 95% CI = 2.377 - 3.804). Results of correlation analysis indicated that economic effects, and effects on daily life, as well as delays in academic activities, were positively associated with anxiety symptoms (P < .001). However, social support was negatively correlated with the level of anxiety (P < .001). It is suggested that the mental health of college students should be monitored during epidemics.

Keywords

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)China2019-20 coronavirus outbreakSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)PsychologyPandemicVirologyMedicineGeographyOutbreakInfectious disease (medical specialty)Internal medicine

MeSH Terms

Activities of Daily LivingAdultAnxietyAnxiety DisordersBetacoronavirusCOVID-19ChinaCoronavirus InfectionsEpidemicsFemaleHumansMaleMental HealthPandemicsPneumoniaViralRisk FactorsSARS-CoV-2Social SupportStudentsMedicalSurveys and QuestionnairesUniversitiesYoung Adult

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Publication Info

Year
2020
Type
article
Volume
287
Pages
112934-112934
Citations
5857
Access
Closed

Social Impact

Social media, news, blog, policy document mentions

Citation Metrics

5857
OpenAlex
398
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3777
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Cite This

Wenjun Cao, Ziwei Fang, Guoqiang Hou et al. (2020). The psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on college students in China. Psychiatry Research , 287 , 112934-112934. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112934

Identifiers

DOI
10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112934
PMID
32229390
PMCID
PMC7102633

Data Quality

Data completeness: 90%