Depression, Perceived Risk of COVID-19, Loneliness, and Perceived Social Support from Friends Among University Students in Poland, UK, and India
Anna Bokszczanin,1 Marek Palace,2 William Brown,3 Olga Gladysh,4 Rakhi Tripathi,5 Divya Shree6 1Institute of Psychology, University of Opole, Opole, Poland; 2School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK; 3School of Psychology, University of Bedfordshire, Luton, UK; 4Institut...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Dove Medical Press
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Psychology Research and Behavior Management |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.dovepress.com/depression-perceived-risk-of-covid-19-loneliness-and-perceived-social--peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-PRBM |
| _version_ | 1811155616643678208 |
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| author | Bokszczanin A Palace M Brown W Gladysh O Tripathi R Shree D |
| author_facet | Bokszczanin A Palace M Brown W Gladysh O Tripathi R Shree D |
| author_sort | Bokszczanin A |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Anna Bokszczanin,1 Marek Palace,2 William Brown,3 Olga Gladysh,4 Rakhi Tripathi,5 Divya Shree6 1Institute of Psychology, University of Opole, Opole, Poland; 2School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK; 3School of Psychology, University of Bedfordshire, Luton, UK; 4Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland; 5Information Technology Area, FORE School of Management, New Delhi, India; 6School of Criminology and Behavioural Sciences, Rashtriya Raksha University Lavad, Dahegam, IndiaCorrespondence: Anna Bokszczanin, University of Opole, Institute of Psychology, 45-052 Opole, Plac Staszica 1, Opole, Poland, Email abok@uni.opole.plBackground: The study examines the prevalence of depression among university students in Poland, the UK and India in the face of the second pandemic wave of COVID-19. The paper also examines the protective role of perceived social support, the hypothesis being that social support from friends would reduce depression. Methods: The data from university students (N=732) in Poland (N=335), UK (N= 198), and India (N=199) were collected online during of the fall/winter 2021. Participants completed measures of depression (CES-D), COVID-19 risk perception index, loneliness (DJGLS), and perceived social support (MSPSS).Results: Almost 52% of all participants (58.5% in Poland, 62.6% in the UK, and 29.1% in India) met the criteria for major depression. The higher levels of depression symptoms were associated with a higher perceived risk of COVID-19, greater loneliness, female gender, younger students’ age, and the lower levels of perceived social support. The greater family support predicted lower levels of depression symptoms in the Polish and Indian samples. Structural equation analyses (SEM) revealed the indirect effect of perceived social support from friends on the association between social loneliness and depression and between age and depression. This result shows that the support from friends significantly reduced depression, regardless of age, the level of social loneliness, and the perceived risk of COVID-19.Conclusion: Our conclusions link to university specialists’ enhancement of psychological help for students with depression. We also recommend information campaigns on depression and treatment options.Keywords: depression, perceived risk of COVID-19, loneliness, perceived social support, university students |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:37:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6e8094101e3e49edb9a341fdb22032a7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1179-1578 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T04:37:27Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Dove Medical Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Psychology Research and Behavior Management |
| spelling | doaj.art-6e8094101e3e49edb9a341fdb22032a72023-03-09T16:47:04ZengDove Medical PressPsychology Research and Behavior Management1179-15782023-03-01Volume 1665166382132Depression, Perceived Risk of COVID-19, Loneliness, and Perceived Social Support from Friends Among University Students in Poland, UK, and IndiaBokszczanin APalace MBrown WGladysh OTripathi RShree DAnna Bokszczanin,1 Marek Palace,2 William Brown,3 Olga Gladysh,4 Rakhi Tripathi,5 Divya Shree6 1Institute of Psychology, University of Opole, Opole, Poland; 2School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK; 3School of Psychology, University of Bedfordshire, Luton, UK; 4Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland; 5Information Technology Area, FORE School of Management, New Delhi, India; 6School of Criminology and Behavioural Sciences, Rashtriya Raksha University Lavad, Dahegam, IndiaCorrespondence: Anna Bokszczanin, University of Opole, Institute of Psychology, 45-052 Opole, Plac Staszica 1, Opole, Poland, Email abok@uni.opole.plBackground: The study examines the prevalence of depression among university students in Poland, the UK and India in the face of the second pandemic wave of COVID-19. The paper also examines the protective role of perceived social support, the hypothesis being that social support from friends would reduce depression. Methods: The data from university students (N=732) in Poland (N=335), UK (N= 198), and India (N=199) were collected online during of the fall/winter 2021. Participants completed measures of depression (CES-D), COVID-19 risk perception index, loneliness (DJGLS), and perceived social support (MSPSS).Results: Almost 52% of all participants (58.5% in Poland, 62.6% in the UK, and 29.1% in India) met the criteria for major depression. The higher levels of depression symptoms were associated with a higher perceived risk of COVID-19, greater loneliness, female gender, younger students’ age, and the lower levels of perceived social support. The greater family support predicted lower levels of depression symptoms in the Polish and Indian samples. Structural equation analyses (SEM) revealed the indirect effect of perceived social support from friends on the association between social loneliness and depression and between age and depression. This result shows that the support from friends significantly reduced depression, regardless of age, the level of social loneliness, and the perceived risk of COVID-19.Conclusion: Our conclusions link to university specialists’ enhancement of psychological help for students with depression. We also recommend information campaigns on depression and treatment options.Keywords: depression, perceived risk of COVID-19, loneliness, perceived social support, university studentshttps://www.dovepress.com/depression-perceived-risk-of-covid-19-loneliness-and-perceived-social--peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-PRBMdepressionperceived risk of covid-19lonelinessperceived social supportuniversity students |
| spellingShingle | Bokszczanin A Palace M Brown W Gladysh O Tripathi R Shree D Depression, Perceived Risk of COVID-19, Loneliness, and Perceived Social Support from Friends Among University Students in Poland, UK, and India Psychology Research and Behavior Management depression perceived risk of covid-19 loneliness perceived social support university students |
| title | Depression, Perceived Risk of COVID-19, Loneliness, and Perceived Social Support from Friends Among University Students in Poland, UK, and India |
| title_full | Depression, Perceived Risk of COVID-19, Loneliness, and Perceived Social Support from Friends Among University Students in Poland, UK, and India |
| title_fullStr | Depression, Perceived Risk of COVID-19, Loneliness, and Perceived Social Support from Friends Among University Students in Poland, UK, and India |
| title_full_unstemmed | Depression, Perceived Risk of COVID-19, Loneliness, and Perceived Social Support from Friends Among University Students in Poland, UK, and India |
| title_short | Depression, Perceived Risk of COVID-19, Loneliness, and Perceived Social Support from Friends Among University Students in Poland, UK, and India |
| title_sort | depression perceived risk of covid 19 loneliness and perceived social support from friends among university students in poland uk and india |
| topic | depression perceived risk of covid-19 loneliness perceived social support university students |
| url | https://www.dovepress.com/depression-perceived-risk-of-covid-19-loneliness-and-perceived-social--peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-PRBM |
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