Mental health of student population during the COVID-19 pandemic

In 2019, the world public was confronted with the disease Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) for the first time, when the new Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The pandemic of this viral infection has led to the biggest public...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mirilović Nikola, Janković Janko
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Belgrade, Medical Faculty 2023-01-01
Series:Medicinski Podmladak
Subjects:
Online Access:https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0369-1527/2023/0369-15272302038M.pdf
_version_ 1827801311624560640
author Mirilović Nikola
Janković Janko
author_facet Mirilović Nikola
Janković Janko
author_sort Mirilović Nikola
collection DOAJ
description In 2019, the world public was confronted with the disease Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) for the first time, when the new Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The pandemic of this viral infection has led to the biggest public health crisis at the global level in the last hundred years, while a special challenge has been set for professionals dealing with mental health protection. Students were also particularly affected due to the movement restriction measures caused by the closure of higher education institutions. The disease COVID-19 is a systemic disease with pronounced problems of a respiratory nature, and SARS-CoV-2 is a virus from the family of RNA viruses. The incubation period of the viral infection is between two and fourteen days, and transmission by aerosol, respiratory droplets, and direct contact is very easy and fast. The most common symptom of this disease is fever. The COVID-19 disease pandemic had a negative effect on the mental health of the student population around the world, and female students rated their mental health worse than male students. The main problems with mental health can be classified above all the increased levels of depression, anxiety, and stress in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Depression is more common in students who care more about their health, in female students, and those with a lower socio-economic status. Also, persons who were, at some point, in contact with infected persons, without knowing about their illness, have more serious depressive reactions compared to those who haven't had such contact. Regarding anxiety reactions, students at the beginning of their studies experience anxiety reactions more often and those reactions are more intense compared to students in the last years of studies. The student population also showed high levels of stress reactions, which occur more often in female students, as well as in those students who come from urban areas. However, mental health problems can be overcome if the student population is provided with some form of social support or peer or expert consultation, depending on how much their mental health is impaired. The aim of this paper is to present the mental health of the student population around the world based on a review of the literature on the COVID-19 disease pandemic and to offer recommendations to reduce and prevent such reactions.
first_indexed 2024-03-11T20:23:32Z
format Article
id doaj.art-a5004e7e1554480fa4c7eaec83abda51
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 0369-1527
2466-5525
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-11T20:23:32Z
publishDate 2023-01-01
publisher University of Belgrade, Medical Faculty
record_format Article
series Medicinski Podmladak
spelling doaj.art-a5004e7e1554480fa4c7eaec83abda512023-10-02T22:17:58ZengUniversity of Belgrade, Medical FacultyMedicinski Podmladak0369-15272466-55252023-01-01742384310.5937/mp74-407780369-15272302038MMental health of student population during the COVID-19 pandemicMirilović Nikola0Janković Janko1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2387-6596Univerzitet u Beogradu, Medicinski fakultet, Beograd, SerbiaUniverzitet u Beogradu, Medicinski fakultet, Institut za socijalnu medicinu, Beograd, SerbiaIn 2019, the world public was confronted with the disease Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) for the first time, when the new Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The pandemic of this viral infection has led to the biggest public health crisis at the global level in the last hundred years, while a special challenge has been set for professionals dealing with mental health protection. Students were also particularly affected due to the movement restriction measures caused by the closure of higher education institutions. The disease COVID-19 is a systemic disease with pronounced problems of a respiratory nature, and SARS-CoV-2 is a virus from the family of RNA viruses. The incubation period of the viral infection is between two and fourteen days, and transmission by aerosol, respiratory droplets, and direct contact is very easy and fast. The most common symptom of this disease is fever. The COVID-19 disease pandemic had a negative effect on the mental health of the student population around the world, and female students rated their mental health worse than male students. The main problems with mental health can be classified above all the increased levels of depression, anxiety, and stress in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Depression is more common in students who care more about their health, in female students, and those with a lower socio-economic status. Also, persons who were, at some point, in contact with infected persons, without knowing about their illness, have more serious depressive reactions compared to those who haven't had such contact. Regarding anxiety reactions, students at the beginning of their studies experience anxiety reactions more often and those reactions are more intense compared to students in the last years of studies. The student population also showed high levels of stress reactions, which occur more often in female students, as well as in those students who come from urban areas. However, mental health problems can be overcome if the student population is provided with some form of social support or peer or expert consultation, depending on how much their mental health is impaired. The aim of this paper is to present the mental health of the student population around the world based on a review of the literature on the COVID-19 disease pandemic and to offer recommendations to reduce and prevent such reactions.https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0369-1527/2023/0369-15272302038M.pdfmental healthdepressionanxietystresscovid-19students
spellingShingle Mirilović Nikola
Janković Janko
Mental health of student population during the COVID-19 pandemic
Medicinski Podmladak
mental health
depression
anxiety
stress
covid-19
students
title Mental health of student population during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_full Mental health of student population during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_fullStr Mental health of student population during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_full_unstemmed Mental health of student population during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_short Mental health of student population during the COVID-19 pandemic
title_sort mental health of student population during the covid 19 pandemic
topic mental health
depression
anxiety
stress
covid-19
students
url https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0369-1527/2023/0369-15272302038M.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT mirilovicnikola mentalhealthofstudentpopulationduringthecovid19pandemic
AT jankovicjanko mentalhealthofstudentpopulationduringthecovid19pandemic