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Abstract
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BACKGROUND:
Subject of interest is the status of mental health of college students around the globe as they are undergoing a lot of mental stress and depression during the pandemic lockdown.
Aims and Objectives:
The aim of this survey is to evaluate the prevalence of depression, its determinants, and association with coping mechanisms among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
Methodology:
A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based e-survey among college students in North India using Snowball sampling technique was done. A total of 920 responses (calculated sample size) were collected for a period of 25 days from 6th to 30th October 2020. A questionnaire regarding sociodemographic characteristics, COVID-19-related experiences along with Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Carver Brief-coping orientation to the problem experienced-28 was adapted to Google Forms and distributed to college students. Chi-square test, independent t-test, Pearson's correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis were used to investigate the determinants of depression and its association with coping mechanisms.
Results:
On analysis of 884 qualified participants, it was revealed that 402 (45.5%) participants have depressive symptoms ranging from moderate to severe level. The mean score of PHQ-9 was 9.82 ± 6.61. Nearly 85% thought that they were lagging behind in studies. The main determinants of depression in this study were age group of 21-24 years thought of lagging behind in studies and family members/friends/relatives diagnosed with COVID-19. Adaptive coping mechanisms (emotional support, religion, and humor) were significantly associated with lower depressive symptoms and maladaptive coping mechanisms (self-distraction, denial, behavioral disengagement, and venting) were significantly associated with higher depressive symptoms among students.
Conclusions:
This survey revealed multiple determinants of depression, mainly including academic worries among college students. The college staff should provide a well-structured pedagogical framework to encourage them and alleviate the unpleasant psychological effects of pandemic on students.
Language: en |