The Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic and the Well-Being of Polish Students: The Risk Factors of the Emotional Distress during COVID-19 Lockdown
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has a significant impact on both physical and mental health. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to (1) evaluate depression, anxiety, and stress levels among students from Polish universities during the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic and (...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/10/5/944 |
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| author | Dariusz Juchnowicz Jacek Baj Alicja Forma Kaja Karakuła Ryszard Sitarz Jacek Bogucki Hanna Karakula-Juchnowicz |
| author_facet | Dariusz Juchnowicz Jacek Baj Alicja Forma Kaja Karakuła Ryszard Sitarz Jacek Bogucki Hanna Karakula-Juchnowicz |
| author_sort | Dariusz Juchnowicz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has a significant impact on both physical and mental health. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to (1) evaluate depression, anxiety, and stress levels among students from Polish universities during the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) assess the risk factors of the higher intensity of emotional distress. We conducted an online survey using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) to assess well-being. The study included 2172 respondents (73% female, 27% male) with a mean age of 22.1 ± 2.2. Moderate to extremely severe scores of depression, anxiety, and stress were reported by 43.4%, 27.3%, and 41.0% of the respondents, respectively. Higher scores of DASS-21 were related to female sex (odds ratio (OR) = 3.01), studying sciences (OR = 2.04), co-residence with the roommates (OR = 1.25), suffering from a mental disorder (OR = 5.88), loneliness (OR = 293.30), the usage of psychiatric support before pandemic (OR = 8.06), poor economic situation (OR = 13.49), and the lower scores were found for being currently employed (OR = 0.4). This study highlights an urgent need for (1) crisis-oriented psychological and psychiatric support for students during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) preparing appropriate psychological interventions to improve the mental health of students for a possible similar situation in the future. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:07:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cada10996dd0460ea13bbdd8d59b04f3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0383 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:07:38Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-cada10996dd0460ea13bbdd8d59b04f32023-12-03T12:02:14ZengMDPI AGJournal of Clinical Medicine2077-03832021-03-0110594410.3390/jcm10050944The Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic and the Well-Being of Polish Students: The Risk Factors of the Emotional Distress during COVID-19 LockdownDariusz Juchnowicz0Jacek Baj1Alicja Forma2Kaja Karakuła3Ryszard Sitarz4Jacek Bogucki5Hanna Karakula-Juchnowicz6Department of Psychiatric Nursing, Medical University of Lublin, 20-093 Lublin, PolandChair and Department of Anatomy, Medical University of Lublin, 20-090 Lublin, PolandStudent Research Group Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Lublin, 20-090 Lublin, PolandPsychiatry Student Research Group I Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Early Intervention, Medical University of Lublin, 20-439 Lublin, PolandChair and I Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Early Intervention, Medical University of Lublin, 20-439 Lublin, PolandChair and Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy Medical University of Lublin, 20-093 Lublin, PolandChair and I Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Early Intervention, Medical University of Lublin, 20-439 Lublin, PolandThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has a significant impact on both physical and mental health. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to (1) evaluate depression, anxiety, and stress levels among students from Polish universities during the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) assess the risk factors of the higher intensity of emotional distress. We conducted an online survey using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) to assess well-being. The study included 2172 respondents (73% female, 27% male) with a mean age of 22.1 ± 2.2. Moderate to extremely severe scores of depression, anxiety, and stress were reported by 43.4%, 27.3%, and 41.0% of the respondents, respectively. Higher scores of DASS-21 were related to female sex (odds ratio (OR) = 3.01), studying sciences (OR = 2.04), co-residence with the roommates (OR = 1.25), suffering from a mental disorder (OR = 5.88), loneliness (OR = 293.30), the usage of psychiatric support before pandemic (OR = 8.06), poor economic situation (OR = 13.49), and the lower scores were found for being currently employed (OR = 0.4). This study highlights an urgent need for (1) crisis-oriented psychological and psychiatric support for students during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) preparing appropriate psychological interventions to improve the mental health of students for a possible similar situation in the future.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/10/5/944COVID-19SARS-CoV-2pandemicpsychological well-beingDASS-21depression |
| spellingShingle | Dariusz Juchnowicz Jacek Baj Alicja Forma Kaja Karakuła Ryszard Sitarz Jacek Bogucki Hanna Karakula-Juchnowicz The Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic and the Well-Being of Polish Students: The Risk Factors of the Emotional Distress during COVID-19 Lockdown Journal of Clinical Medicine COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 pandemic psychological well-being DASS-21 depression |
| title | The Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic and the Well-Being of Polish Students: The Risk Factors of the Emotional Distress during COVID-19 Lockdown |
| title_full | The Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic and the Well-Being of Polish Students: The Risk Factors of the Emotional Distress during COVID-19 Lockdown |
| title_fullStr | The Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic and the Well-Being of Polish Students: The Risk Factors of the Emotional Distress during COVID-19 Lockdown |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic and the Well-Being of Polish Students: The Risk Factors of the Emotional Distress during COVID-19 Lockdown |
| title_short | The Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic and the Well-Being of Polish Students: The Risk Factors of the Emotional Distress during COVID-19 Lockdown |
| title_sort | outbreak of sars cov 2 pandemic and the well being of polish students the risk factors of the emotional distress during covid 19 lockdown |
| topic | COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 pandemic psychological well-being DASS-21 depression |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/10/5/944 |
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