Mental health of college students during the COVID-19 epidemic in China

Fu, Wenning; Yan, Shijiao; Zong, Qiao; Anderson-Luxford, Dan; Song, Xingyue; Lv, Zhiyue; Lv, Chuanzhu

Objectives: To assess the psychological status of college students in China during the COVID-19 outbreak, and offer some theoretical evidence for psychological intervention of college students. Methods: An online survey was conducted from May 10, 2020 to June 10, 2020. Anxiety symptoms were measured by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale (GAD-7). Categorical data were reported as number and percentage, while continuous data were reported as mean ± SD. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between different factors and anxiety symptoms. Results: A total of 89,588 college students participated in the current study, among which 36,865 students (41.1%) reported anxiety symptoms. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the risk factors for anxiety symptoms included the age of 26-30 (OR=1.456), sophomore (OR=1.038), junior (OR=1.087) and senior grades (OR=1.161), a higher paternal education level (OR=1.055), low economic status (OR=1.520), and low social support (OR=1.542). Conclusions: About two-fifths of Chinese college students experienced anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 epidemic. Timely and appropriate psychological interventions for college students should be implemented to reduce the psychological harm caused by COVID-19 epidemic.