Psychological impacts of returning home during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey among Iranian students

Tools

Shahrajabian, F, Emadi Chashmi, SJ, Hasani, J, Kuss, DJ ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8917-782X, Witthöft, M and Griffiths, MD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8880-6524, 2023. Psychological impacts of returning home during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey among Iranian students. International Journal of High Risk Behaviors and Addiction, 11 (4): e126385. ISSN 2251-8711

Preview

Text
1742426_Griffiths.pdf - Published version
Download (127kB) | Preview

Official URL: https://doi.org/10.5812/ijhrba-126385

Abstract

Background: In addition to its potentially harmful physical consequences, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can cause various negative psychological consequences for individuals. One cohort likely to have been affected is university students who have had to return and study from their home cities due to the physical closures of universities.

Objectives: The present study was conducted on students to assess psychological impacts (i.e., anxiety, depression, and stress) on predicting COVID-19 anxiety resulting from returning home and quarantining due to university closure.

Methods: The study sample comprised 715 Iranian students who were asked to complete the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 Items (DASS-21) and the Corona Disease Anxiety Scale.

Results: The mean scale scores for COVID-19 anxiety, stress, depression, and anxiety were 13.75 (out of 54), 6.68 (out of 21), 5.54 (out of 21), and 4.74 (out of 21), respectively. Significantly higher levels of COVID-19 anxiety were observed among students who had been infected with the virus or had family/friends infected with the virus (compared to individuals who had not). Moreover, students who lived with their friends reported significantly higher COVID-19 anxiety than those who lived with their families.

Conclusions: The study also showed a positive association between psychological distress and COVID-19 anxiety among students who returned to their homes during the pandemic. The findings suggest that mental health interventions are needed for students and should be implemented in the early stages of future pandemics.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	International Journal of High Risk Behaviors and Addiction
Creators:	Shahrajabian, F., Emadi Chashmi, S.J., Hasani, J., Kuss, D.J., Witthöft, M. and Griffiths, M.D.
Publisher:	Briefland
Date:	2023
Volume:	11
Number:	4
ISSN:	2251-8711
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.5812/ijhrba-126385 DOI 1742426 Other
Rights:	Copyright © 2023, Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits copy and redistribute the material just in non commercial usages, provided the original work is properly cited.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	21 Mar 2023 12:16
Last Modified:	21 Mar 2023 12:16
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/48569