ABSTRACT
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented social and health emergency worldwide. Cross-cultural research on mental health during this situation is needed to better understand its consequences. Objective: To evaluate the different psychological impacts of the crisis and lockdown situation during the first six weeks of COVID emergency measures in samples of the Spanish and Russian populations. Design: A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online survey (NSpain = 1041;NRussia = 743). The prevalence of loneliness, depression, anxiety, perceived discrimination (PD), internalized stigma (IS), and perceived social support (PSS) was evaluated. Chi-square tests and t-tests were administered. The Enter Method were used to identify the predictors of the mental health impact. Results: Differences were found between the Russian and the Spanish populations. While the degrees of anxiety and depression did not differ significantly, loneliness, the alienation dimension of IS, and PD were more pronounced in the Russian respondents. In Spain, the predictor of less negative impact was PSS from various sources, while in Russia we only found PSS from the family. Conclusion: Although in both countries the impact at the clinical level seemed to be similar, differences were found at the psychosocial level. Variables with a strong cultural component may be key to determining the means of alleviating the effects of the crisis, with PSS being a fundamental protective factor. More cross-sectional studies are needed to understand the impact of the pandemic in depth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
Amid the spread of COVID-19, a study of mental health in university students from different regions of Russia (n = 3057) was undertaken during the period from April 9 to April 20, 2020. The results were compared to studies conducted earlier within a large-scale research project examining student mental health. Mental health indicators were analyzed during three different periods: long before the onset of the pandemic (period 1); in the early days of the spread of COVID-19 in Russia, though prior to the implementation of containment measures (period 2); during tough measures to contain the first wave of the pandemic (period 3). The comparison of indicators showed no differences in the levels of psychological well-being (F = 0.918; p = .4), significantly lower levels of depression, anxiety and stress during the period 1 compared to the periods 2 and 3 (p < .001), and the highest levels of anxiety and stress during the period 2. We also established a higher increase in the levels of depression (F = 6.883; p = .001), anxiety (F = 11.868; p < .001) and stress (F = 10.384; p < .001) in young men compared to the changes in the same indicators in young women during the pandemic. However, both before and during the pandemic, these indicators showed better mental health in young men than in young women. Thus, when studying the impact of the pandemic on students' mental health, it is crucial to take into account the possible dynamics of their mental state within relatively short periods of time and to pay particular attention to gender differences.