Chinese College Students' Stress and Anxiety Levels Under COVID-19

Abstract

The outbreak of COVID-19 at the end of 2019 has had a significant impact on people. While attention is paid to the immense physical harm it has caused, the psychological impact should not be underestimated. The main purpose of this study was to explore the stress, anxiety, and depression levels of different groups of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted an online questionnaire survey of college students by using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 items (PHQ-9), and the Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). A total of 1,586 questionnaires were collected and analyzed in R language. The results showed that students with moderate to severe stress (PSS-10 ≥ 14) accounted for 67.50%; the detection rate of depression (PHQ-9 ≥ 5) reached 43.77%; and 20.60% of students had anxiety (SAS standard score ≥ 50). There were significant differences in PSS-10/SAS among different genders, majors, whether returning to school or not, and those with different psychological experiences (negative or positive, P < 0.05). It is notable that the median of female, medical student, non-resumption of schooling, and negative experience was higher than that of positive experience (P < 0.05). The results of principal component analysis showed that there were significant differences in PHQ-9, PSS-10, and SAS between the resumption of schooling group and the non-resumption group. Therefore, it is inferred that the stress and anxiety level of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic is generally high, especially for those who have not yet resumed school. Long-term negative emotions can easily lead to serious mental diseases such as cognitive impairment. Education departments should attach great importance to the mental health of college students, and it is necessary to provide precise psychological interventions for groups experiencing greater pressure levels and marked anxiety and depression.

Keywords: COVID-19; anxiety; college student; returning to school; stress.

Figure 1

Principal component analysis of different groups. (A) Principal component analysis of different genders; (B) Principal component analysis of different grades; (C) Principal component analysis of different majors; (D) Principal component analysis of resuming-school or not.

Figure 2

The distribution maps of PHQ-9, PSS-10, and SAS scores of different genders. (A) Distribution of PHQ-9 scores in different genders; (B) Distribution of PSS-10 scores in different genders; (C) Distribution of SAS scores in different genders.

Figure 3

The distribution maps of PHQ-9, PSS-10, and SAS scores in different grades. (A) Distribution of PHQ-9 scores in different grades; (B) Distribution of PSS-10 scores in different grades; (C) Distribution of SAS scores in different grades.

Figure 4

The distribution maps of PHQ-9, PSS-10, and SAS scores in different majors. (A) Distribution of PHQ-9 scores in different majors; (B) Distribution of PSS-10 scores in different majors; (C) Distribution of SAS scores in different majors.

Figure 5

The distribution maps of PHQ-9, PSS-10, and SAS scores in resuming-school or not groups. (A) Distribution of PHQ-9 scores in the returned group and the non-returned group; (B) Distribution of PSS-10 scores in the returned group and the non-returned group; (C) Distribution of SAS scores in the returned group and the non-returned group.

Figure 6

The distribution maps of PHQ-9, PSS-10, and SAS scores of students with different psychological experiences (negative and positive). (A) Distribution of PHQ-9 scores in different psychological experiences; (B) Distribution of PSS-10 scores in different psychological experiences; (C) Distribution of SAS scores in different psychological experiences.