One‐year changes in the prevalence and positive psychological correlates of depressive symptoms during the COVID‐19 pandemic among medical science students in northeast of Iran

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Abstract

Objectives

The COVID‐19 pandemic has imposed a significant psychological burden on many across society especially students studying medical sciences. This study intended to investigate the one‐year changes in the prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms during the COVID‐19 pandemic among medical science students.

Methods

A cross‐sectional study in Shahroud, Iran administering a convenience sampling method (January to February 2021). Online self‐reported questionnaires included Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale, Paloutzian‐Ellison Spiritual Well‐Being Questionnaire, Diener's Satisfaction with Life Scale and the University Student Depression Inventory. Data analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (Independent t‐test and Multiple Regression Analysis).

Results

A total of 306 medical science students were investigated in this study. The mean scores 1 year after the outbreak of COVID‐19 were for depression (81.25 ± 26.04), spiritual well‐being (80.98 ± 18.06), self‐esteem (26.89 ± 2.20), and life satisfaction (19.68 ± 6.81). The results indicated that depression mean score was significantly higher in post outbreak assessment (71.92 ± 22.94 vs 81.25 ± 26.04) ( P < .001). Fifty percentage of changes in depression can be predicted by studied variables. A high score of depression was directly associated with a higher level of self‐esteem. Moreover, increased interest in the field, scores of spiritual well‐being, and life satisfaction were inversely and significantly associated with depression.

Conclusions

Iran's education system has been significantly affected, with the addition to the COVID‐19 pandemic imposing a psychological burden such as depression, exacerbating this within medical science students compared to a year ago. Spiritual well‐being and life satisfaction as positive psychology constructs were recognized as protective factors against depression during the pandemic. Spiritual and social support should be integrated in psychological interventions within university settings for medical science students.

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Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors during the Initial Stage of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Epidemic among the General Population in China

Cuiyan Wang, Riyu Pan, Xiaoyang Wan … (2020)

Background: The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic is a public health emergency of international concern and poses a challenge to psychological resilience. Research data are needed to develop evidence-driven strategies to reduce adverse psychological impacts and psychiatric symptoms during the epidemic. The aim of this study was to survey the general public in China to better understand their levels of psychological impact, anxiety, depression, and stress during the initial stage of the COVID-19 outbreak. The data will be used for future reference. Methods: From 31 January to 2 February 2020, we conducted an online survey using snowball sampling techniques. The online survey collected information on demographic data, physical symptoms in the past 14 days, contact history with COVID-19, knowledge and concerns about COVID-19, precautionary measures against COVID-19, and additional information required with respect to COVID-19. Psychological impact was assessed by the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and mental health status was assessed by the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). Results: This study included 1210 respondents from 194 cities in China. In total, 53.8% of respondents rated the psychological impact of the outbreak as moderate or severe; 16.5% reported moderate to severe depressive symptoms; 28.8% reported moderate to severe anxiety symptoms; and 8.1% reported moderate to severe stress levels. Most respondents spent 20–24 h per day at home (84.7%); were worried about their family members contracting COVID-19 (75.2%); and were satisfied with the amount of health information available (75.1%). Female gender, student status, specific physical symptoms (e.g., myalgia, dizziness, coryza), and poor self-rated health status were significantly associated with a greater psychological impact of the outbreak and higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression (p < 0.05). Specific up-to-date and accurate health information (e.g., treatment, local outbreak situation) and particular precautionary measures (e.g., hand hygiene, wearing a mask) were associated with a lower psychological impact of the outbreak and lower levels of stress, anxiety, and depression (p < 0.05). Conclusions: During the initial phase of the COVID-19 outbreak in China, more than half of the respondents rated the psychological impact as moderate-to-severe, and about one-third reported moderate-to-severe anxiety. Our findings identify factors associated with a lower level of psychological impact and better mental health status that can be used to formulate psychological interventions to improve the mental health of vulnerable groups during the COVID-19 epidemic.

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The Satisfaction With Life Scale.

Ed Diener, Robert A Emmons, Randy Larsen … (2010)

This article reports the development and validation of a scale to measure global life satisfaction, the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Among the various components of subjective well-being, the SWLS is narrowly focused to assess global life satisfaction and does not tap related constructs such as positive affect or loneliness. The SWLS is shown to have favorable psychometric properties, including high internal consistency and high temporal reliability. Scores on the SWLS correlate moderately to highly with other measures of subjective well-being, and correlate predictably with specific personality characteristics. It is noted that the SWLS is Suited for use with different age groups, and other potential uses of the scale are discussed.

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Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health in the General Population: A Systematic Review

Jiaqi Xiong, Orly Lipsitz, Flora Nasri … (2020)

Highlights • The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in unprecedented hazards to mental health globally. • Relatively high rates of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, psychological distress, and stress were reported in the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic in eight countries. • Common risk factors associated with mental distress during the COVID-19 pandemic include female gender, younger age group (≤40 years), presence of chronic/psychiatric illnesses, unemployment, student status, and frequent exposure to social media/news concerning COVID-19. • Mitigation of COVID-19 induced psychological distress requires government intervention and individual efforts.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Hossein Ebrahimi: ebrahimi@shmu.ac.ir

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Health Sci Rep

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Health Sci Rep

Journal ID (doi): 10.1002/(ISSN)2398-8835

Journal ID (publisher-id): HSR2

Title: Health Science Reports

Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Inc. (Hoboken )

ISSN (Electronic): 2398-8835

Publication date (Electronic): 12 January 2022

Publication date Collection: March 2022

Volume: 5

Issue: 1 ( doiID: 10.1002/hsr2.v5.1 )

Electronic Location Identifier: e490

Affiliations

[ ¹ ] Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center Mashhad University of Medical Sciences Mashhad Iran

[ ² ] Department of Psychiatric Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery Mashhad University of Medical Sciences Mashhad Iran

[ ³ ] Human Science Research Centre University of Derby Derby UK

[ ⁴ ] Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery Shahroud University of Medical Sciences Shahroud Iran

[ ⁵ ] Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences Yazd Iran

[ ⁶ ] Student Research Committee, School of Nursing and Midwifery Shahroud University of Medical Sciences Shahroud Iran

[ ⁷ ] Department of Nursing, Center for Health Related Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Shahroud University of Medical Sciences Shahroud Iran

Author notes

[*] [* ] Correspondence

Hossein Ebrahimi, Center for Health Related Social and Behavioral Sciences Research, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, 3614773955, Iran.

Email: ebrahimi@ 123456shmu.ac.ir

Author information

Seyedmohammad Mirhosseini https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2087-0164

Article

Publisher ID: HSR2490

DOI: 10.1002/hsr2.490

PMC ID: 8753494

PubMed ID: 35036582

SO-VID: 911c4d1d-d6f1-4bfb-b6ce-7c3d12e86fe2

License:

This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non‐commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

History

Date revision received : 07 December 2021

Date received : 16 November 2021

Date accepted : 12 December 2021

Page count

Figures: 1, Tables: 4, Pages: 10, Words: 7966

Funding

Funded by: Shahroud University of Medical Sciences , doi 10.13039/501100004305;

Award ID: 9985

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source-schema-version-number 2.0

cover-date March 2022

details-of-publishers-convertor Converter:WILEY_ML3GV2_TO_JATSPMC version:6.7.0 mode:remove_FC converted:12.01.2022

Keywords: covid‐19,depression,positive psychology,self‐esteem,spirituality

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Keywords: covid‐19, depression, positive psychology, self‐esteem, spirituality

One‐year changes in the prevalence and positive psychological correlates of depressive symptoms during the COVID‐19 pandemic among medical science students in northeast of Iran

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Novel Coronavirus Disease COVID-19

Most cited references 75

Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors during the Initial Stage of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Epidemic among the General Population in China

The Satisfaction With Life Scale.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health in the General Population: A Systematic Review

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