Changes in mental health during three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic: a repeated cross-sectional study among polish university students

BMC Psychiatry

Monika Jakubiak¹  Dominika Nowicka²  Marcin Podolak³  Maksymilian Grabarczyk³  Dominika Ochnik⁴  Maciej Tomasiewicz⁵  Cezary Kuśnierz⁶  Maria Paradowska⁷  Luiza Głazowska⁷  Dawid Bojarski⁷  Marek Kawka⁸  Karolina Chilicka⁹  Julia Fijołek^1,10  Aleksandra M. Rogowska^1,11  Zuzanna Babińska^1,12 

[1] Faculty of Economics, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin, Lublin, Poland;Faculty of History, University of Warsaw, Warszawa, Poland;Faculty of Medicine, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland;Faculty of Medicine, University of Technology, Katowice, Poland;Faculty of Medicine, Wroclaw Medical University, Wrocław, Poland;Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Opole University of Technology, Opole, Poland;Faculty of Psychology and Cognitive studies, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poznań, Poland;Faculty of “Artes Liberales”, University of Warsaw, Warszawa, Poland;Institute of Health Sciences, University of Opole, Opole, Poland;Institute of Psychology, University of Lodz, Łódź, Poland;Institute of Psychology, University of Opole, Opole, Poland;Institute of the Middle and Far East, Faculty of International and Political Studies, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland;

关键词: Anxiety;    Life satisfaction;    Logistic regression;    Perceived stress;    Physical health;    Prevalence;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12888-021-03615-2

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundResearch indicates that mental health worsened during the Coronavirus crisis, in particular among women and university students. However, few longitudinal studies have so far investigated the changes in mental health outcomes across three subsequent waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this study aims to examine changes in mental health among university students.MethodsA total of 1,961university students from Poland, at mean age 23.23 years (SD = 3.16, 57.47% of women) were included in this repeated cross-sectional study across three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic: W1 (n = 657), W2 (n = 654), and W3 (n = 650). They completed the online survey with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), General Self-Rated Health (GSRH), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), as well as sociodemographic variables.ResultsThe prevalence of people at high risk of anxiety and perceived stress, poorer physical health, and low life satisfaction changed significantly across three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the two-way ANOVA showed that both the wave (W1W2, W1>W3), and genders (menW3, W2>W3), and was significantly worse in women than in men. The level of life satisfaction also decreased significantly in W3 (W1>W3, W2>W3), but did not differ between men and women. High GAD risk was presented two times more frequently among women and people who subjectively assessed their health as poor, three times more likely in participants dissatisfied with their lives, and seven times more probably in persons with high-stress levels.ConclusionsThe results of this study consistently indicate (using parametric and non-parametric statistical analysis) that there are significant differences in mental health problems across three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. It suggests that pandemic waves should be considered in future review studies and meta-analyses. Furthermore, these findings indicate a potential role for prevention and intervention programs aimed at alleviating life satisfaction and subjective assessment of health and improving coping skills to reduce stress and anxiety.

【 授权许可】

CC BY