Prevalence of common mental disorders in university students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1806-6976.smad.2023.196206

Keywords:

Mental Disorders, Students, Mental Health, Pandemics, COVID-19

Abstract

Objective: to verify the prevalence of common mental disorders among university students
at a public higher education institution in the south of Piauí, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methodology: this is a cross-sectional and descriptive-exploratory study with 303 university
students. Data were collected through online instruments, one on the sociodemographic and
school profile and the Self-Report Questionnaire. Associations between categorical variables were
tested using Pearson’s chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test, with a significance level of 5%.
Results: the prevalence of psychological distress was 58.7%. A predominance of symptoms
of common mental disorders was observed in female, young and single individuals. There was
a greater predominance of symptoms of anxious depressive mood, in which the majority
complained of feeling nervous, tense or worried. Conclusion: suspicion of psychological distress
is high among university students and, therefore, actions are needed to minimize the impacts on
the mental health of this population.

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Published

2023-06-21

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 3 (2023): SMAD, Revista Eletrônica Saúde Mental, Álcool e Drogas

Section

Original Article

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Copyright (c) 2023 SMAD Revista Eletrônica Saúde Mental Álcool e Drogas (Edição em Português)

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Carvalho, I. S. de, Araujo-Filho, A. C. A. ., Silva, A. P. da ., Ibiapina, A. R. de S. ., Cardoso, A. R. ., & Rocha, S. S. da. (2023). Prevalence of common mental disorders in university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. SMAD Revista Eletrônica Saúde Mental Álcool E Drogas (Edição Em Português), 19(3), 57-65. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1806-6976.smad.2023.196206