Literature review
this section reviews relevant literature and previous studies on mental health of university students
during the covid 19 pandemic and its impact on academic life of the students (William E et al.
2021) and the physical stress and academic pressure it caused, this section is trying to understand
how coronavirus affects the mood behaviors of the students during the pandemic (Tianhua & Mike.
2022) and the mental health states, anxiety, and depression levels (Rajib et al. 2021). this study
also highlights the factors that linked and affected students’ mental health and wellbeing as the
role of social media in that time and its negative impact upon students. it also investigates the role
of family ties and connections and how it reduces depression and the feeling of social isolation.
the study (William E et al. 2021) shows a result that students who experience wellness
environmental program coped better and had healthy habits and mood than those who didn’t. also,
a study made to measure the depression levels on students’ mental health during the pandemic in
Bangladesh shows that 72.1% showed signs of depression
mental health
mental health has been a growing concern through the recent years especially since the
coronavirus pandemic hit and therefore there have been many studies trying to explain the links
between mental health problems, anxiety, and depression during the time of pandemic. Many
groups were vulnerable to being affected by mental health problems especially university students.
and even before the pandemic increasing numbers of students experienced mental health problems.
a community survey done in England showed that mental health problems, depression, and anxiety
generally affect one in six people in a given week in England (McManus S. 2016). and after the
pandemic, a survey made by the National Union Of Students found that: 52% of undergraduates
reported worsening in mental health, while 35% felt the same, and only 8% felt better (National
Union Of Student [nus]. 2020). To mention that previous studies highlight that outbreak of
infectious diseases not only coronavirus had always a negative impact on mental health among
students, like what happens in last SARS outbreak (Akam et al. (2010); Perosillo et al. (2020).
Mood behaviors:
Mood behaviors have played a significant role in the student lives during the pandemic; students
have experienced different mood shifts that have a big impact on their academic life. Both mood
and wellness were negatively affected by COVID. Previous studies highlight how undergraduate
students experienced different levels of mood shifts that represented in increasing anxiety
depression. A survey conducted in a one university in north England completed by 1173 students
find high levels of anxiety and depression with more than 50% experiencing levels higher than the
clinical cut offs. And to mention females shows a higher level than men (Tianhua & Mike. 2022).
As A Results: Mood of different segments in society was significantly affected during the covid-
pandemic with a noticeable increase in depression and anxiety especially among adults which
showed that 21% of adults experienced depression while 43% of younger women were especially
impacted. While many students reported their need for mental health support or they said that they
receive this kind of support, and to mention their quality of life didn’t match their emotional
struggle and the mood shifts which suggest that low mood, depression and anxiety might be a
temporary situation (Tianhua & Mike. 2022).
The measures that have been used to measure the levels of mood behaviors; anxiety and depression
were: PHQ-9 and GAD7. GAD-7 scale is a seven-item instrument that is used to measure or assess
the severity of generalized anxiety disorder. Each item asks the individual to rate the severity of
his or her symptoms over the past two weeks. While PHQ-9 scale is the depression module, which
scores each of the nine DSM-IV criteria as “0” (not at all) to “3” (nearly every day). It has been
validated for use in primary care.
Academic life and Academic pressure
Academic life of the students has been effected in all ways possible since covid-19 hit. Starting
with online study, not interacting with other students or being present on campus and reducing
on-the-ground interaction between students and teachers, and the absence of joint social and
sports activities. All this led to academic pressure, which may be considered the most factor that
affects the mental well-being of college students. A study investigated the impact of academic
stress and well-being of 843 showed a strong connection between higher academic stress and
lower mental health (Georgia et al. 2022).
Using PAS (perception of academic stress scales) and SWEMWBS (short Warwic-Edinburgh
mental well-being) as a measure on in both genders and different ethnicity (Georgia et al. 2022).
The results showed that men had lowest academic stress and highest mental well-being, and that
academic stress varied by the year of the study. (Georgia et al. 2022).
Physical stress
Physical stress played a big role in the lives of students in the period of pandemic. Generally
physical stress refers to the body’s phycological response when there is an external factor
causing this feeling (stressors). A study made through 30 different universities across Egypt
during covid-19 (Merna et al. 2022) a questionnaire was made among 1467 student tried to
examine the causes and symptoms of physical stress.
The results showed that stress levels were particularly high among females and married students,
and those who experienced a health condition before. These physical stress symptoms were
highly common with headaches, chronic fatigue, and musculoskeletal pain.
Conclusion
Previous studies have investigated student mental health, particularly during the COVID-19
pandemic, in several regions around the world, from China to the United States and Italy,
Bangladesh, and Egypt. These studies have identified common factors that negatively and
positively impact on students and lead to influence directly on mood behaviors (William E et al.
2021) and increased anxiety and stress (Rajib et al. 2021) and academic pressure, including long
exposure to social media and the problems of e-learning and the lack of direct interaction with
students and their teachers and the increasing in the social gathering all this with weak family
relationships played a significant role in the present of mental health of college students.
This research examines the relationship between these different factors and mental health, and it
shows as following:
Mood behaviors and shifts are connected negatively with levels of depression and anxiety
(Tianhua & Mike. 2022), while higher academic pressure was noticed in a negative relationship
with lower mental health (Georgia et al. 2022). And also, physical stress a study showed a
strange relationship between higher levels of physical stress and females and married students or
students who experienced a health problem before (Merna et al. 2022). And Taking about family
relationships, studies highlight those students who have a strong connection with their family
usually had a positive relationship with mental health.
However, all of these studies have gaps that need to be examined more: most of them were
recent, as they occurred between the start of the pandemic and the present day. Therefore, to
solve this gap, there must be extensive and ongoing scientific research to study the long-term
impact of this phase on students' lives. And also, many of the steadies represents females as the
gender which suffers more with mental health problems during pandemic without going through
the reasons of that.
