Perceived discrimination, anxiety and mood disorders among university students during the COVID-19 era: evidence from a cross-sectional survey in a Ghanaian public university
IntroductionBefore 2020 and the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental disorders, including anxiety and mood disorders, were considered the leading causes of the global disease burden. There is evidence from multiple countries and social contexts that suggest the high risk of anxiety and mood disor...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1274585/full |
| _version_ | 1797356990052171776 |
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| author | Eugene K. M. Darteh Jerry Paul K. Ninnoni Joshua Okyere Joshua Okyere Joshua Okyere Florie Darteh Johannes John-Langba Kwamena Sekyi Dickson |
| author_facet | Eugene K. M. Darteh Jerry Paul K. Ninnoni Joshua Okyere Joshua Okyere Joshua Okyere Florie Darteh Johannes John-Langba Kwamena Sekyi Dickson |
| author_sort | Eugene K. M. Darteh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionBefore 2020 and the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental disorders, including anxiety and mood disorders, were considered the leading causes of the global disease burden. There is evidence from multiple countries and social contexts that suggest the high risk of anxiety and mood disorders among students. Yet, there is a knowledge gap concerning understanding the association between the experience of discrimination and the risk of anxiety and mood disorders. We examined the association between the experience of discrimination and the risk of anxiety and mood disorders among university students.MethodsThis study is a cross-sectional survey among university students in Ghana. A quota sampling technique was used to recruit 1,601 students. Data were collected using structured questionnaires. All data were analyzed using Stata. Binary logistic regression model was used to examine the significant association between the outcome variable and the explanatory variables.ResultsThe prevalence of anxiety disorder among the respondents was 67 per cent. Students who had experienced discrimination or had any member of their family experienced discrimination had higher odds (OR = 4.59, Cl = 2.64, 7.96) of anxiety and mood disorder compared to those who had not experienced any form of discrimination. Respondents aged 20–24 years had higher odds (OR = 1.47, Cl = 1.16, 1.85) of anxiety and mood disorder than those aged 15–19. Students with a high perceived risk of contracting COVID-19 had a higher odd (OR = 1.52, CI = 1.10, 2.10) compared to those with a low perceived risk.ConclusionThe findings underscore a need for university authorities to lay out clear initiatives that will reinforce and meet the mental health needs of university students during and after periods of crisis, such as returning from COVID-19 lockdown. There must be a conscious effort to advocate and raise students’ awareness of anxiety disorders. Also, it is imperative to create support groups within the university set up to address the mental health needs of all students. Younger students should be the primary focus of these interventions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:37:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fb837ef6f62f4a9e9c5c32b13d3a4e7e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T14:37:48Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-fb837ef6f62f4a9e9c5c32b13d3a4e7e2024-01-12T04:26:10ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782024-01-011410.3389/fpsyg.2023.12745851274585Perceived discrimination, anxiety and mood disorders among university students during the COVID-19 era: evidence from a cross-sectional survey in a Ghanaian public universityEugene K. M. Darteh0Jerry Paul K. Ninnoni1Joshua Okyere2Joshua Okyere3Joshua Okyere4Florie Darteh5Johannes John-Langba6Kwamena Sekyi Dickson7Department of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, GhanaDepartment of Mental Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, GhanaDepartment of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, GhanaSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Research and Advocacy, Challenging Heights, Winneba, GhanaInstitute of Education, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, GhanaSchool of Applied Human Sciences, University of Kwazulu-Natal, Durban, South AfricaDepartment of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, GhanaIntroductionBefore 2020 and the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental disorders, including anxiety and mood disorders, were considered the leading causes of the global disease burden. There is evidence from multiple countries and social contexts that suggest the high risk of anxiety and mood disorders among students. Yet, there is a knowledge gap concerning understanding the association between the experience of discrimination and the risk of anxiety and mood disorders. We examined the association between the experience of discrimination and the risk of anxiety and mood disorders among university students.MethodsThis study is a cross-sectional survey among university students in Ghana. A quota sampling technique was used to recruit 1,601 students. Data were collected using structured questionnaires. All data were analyzed using Stata. Binary logistic regression model was used to examine the significant association between the outcome variable and the explanatory variables.ResultsThe prevalence of anxiety disorder among the respondents was 67 per cent. Students who had experienced discrimination or had any member of their family experienced discrimination had higher odds (OR = 4.59, Cl = 2.64, 7.96) of anxiety and mood disorder compared to those who had not experienced any form of discrimination. Respondents aged 20–24 years had higher odds (OR = 1.47, Cl = 1.16, 1.85) of anxiety and mood disorder than those aged 15–19. Students with a high perceived risk of contracting COVID-19 had a higher odd (OR = 1.52, CI = 1.10, 2.10) compared to those with a low perceived risk.ConclusionThe findings underscore a need for university authorities to lay out clear initiatives that will reinforce and meet the mental health needs of university students during and after periods of crisis, such as returning from COVID-19 lockdown. There must be a conscious effort to advocate and raise students’ awareness of anxiety disorders. Also, it is imperative to create support groups within the university set up to address the mental health needs of all students. Younger students should be the primary focus of these interventions.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1274585/fulldiscriminationanxietymood disordersmental healthsocial determinants |
| spellingShingle | Eugene K. M. Darteh Jerry Paul K. Ninnoni Joshua Okyere Joshua Okyere Joshua Okyere Florie Darteh Johannes John-Langba Kwamena Sekyi Dickson Perceived discrimination, anxiety and mood disorders among university students during the COVID-19 era: evidence from a cross-sectional survey in a Ghanaian public university Frontiers in Psychology discrimination anxiety mood disorders mental health social determinants |
| title | Perceived discrimination, anxiety and mood disorders among university students during the COVID-19 era: evidence from a cross-sectional survey in a Ghanaian public university |
| title_full | Perceived discrimination, anxiety and mood disorders among university students during the COVID-19 era: evidence from a cross-sectional survey in a Ghanaian public university |
| title_fullStr | Perceived discrimination, anxiety and mood disorders among university students during the COVID-19 era: evidence from a cross-sectional survey in a Ghanaian public university |
| title_full_unstemmed | Perceived discrimination, anxiety and mood disorders among university students during the COVID-19 era: evidence from a cross-sectional survey in a Ghanaian public university |
| title_short | Perceived discrimination, anxiety and mood disorders among university students during the COVID-19 era: evidence from a cross-sectional survey in a Ghanaian public university |
| title_sort | perceived discrimination anxiety and mood disorders among university students during the covid 19 era evidence from a cross sectional survey in a ghanaian public university |
| topic | discrimination anxiety mood disorders mental health social determinants |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1274585/full |
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