Impact of COVID-19 lockdown in depression, anxiety and stress among students in polytechnic of Santarem and Leiria

Background The context of coronavirus on higher education caused upsetting consequences on students' lives. The restrictions on social mobility and the consequent reduction of interpersonal contacts brought them unprecedented stressful situations. The extent and quality of adaptation to these situations, due to the uniqueness of each person's resources, needs to be early known preventing eventual and serious psychological disorders. This study aimed to assess stress, anxiety, and depression among undergraduate students from both Santarém and Leiria Polytechnic Institutes. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional correlational study was performed in the period immediately after the first lockdown. Participants were 775 students (females = 73.5%), aged between 17 and 55 years. All of them completed measures of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21;in the Portuguese version EADS, by Pais-Ribeiro, Honrado e Leal, 2004). Collected data were analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows software, Version 27.0. Results According to DASS-21 scoring instructions (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995), results showed that most participants had experienced a normal level of depression (72.5%), anxiety (79.7%) and stress (87.6%). However, about 4.7% and 1.8% of respondents, respectively, report a severe or extremely severe level of anxiety or depression. We also found significant differences for the three dimensions in terms of polytechnic institute attended, gender, age categories, and marital status. Conclusions The findings suggest that higher education institutions must understand this phenomenon experienced and develop strategies for improving students' mental health, especially in vulnerable groups. The importance of a transdisciplinary approach is emphasized and the involvement of all educational stakeholders is encouraged.

Quality of life of students in polytechnic higher education at the Santarem and Leiria: the impact of COVID-19

Background The epidemic of COVID-19 caused by the Coronavirus -SARS-CoV-2, was declared by the World Health Organization an International Public Health Emergency. The 2019–2020 coronavirus pandemic has affected educational systems worldwide, leading to the closure of educational institutions. This situation kept students socially distant, with little adaptation time, interfering with their quality of life. Methods The aim of this study is to evaluate the quality of life of higher education students in the face of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 775 students were selected by convenience sampling. Study with a quantitative, descriptive, correlational approach. The WHOQOL-bref instrument adapted from WHO was applied. Data analysis was undertaken using the IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 27.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp. Results Students' self-assessment about Quality of Life is globally superior to the self-assessment with their satisfaction with health, where the female students have lower average values than the male students. The WHOQOL-bref domains referring to Quality of Life with higher values were the Physical and the Environment ones, with the Social Relations and Psychological domains having the lowest values. Conclusions The development of this study made it possible to achieve the objective set. The domain of social relations has low average values, with students from IPSantarem standing out, with lower self-assessment of QoL in this domain, compared to those from IPLeiria. In the psychological domain, the low average values in both institutes stand out, especially in IPLeiria, where the average is less than 50%, in both genders.

Impact of COVID-19 lockdown in psychological well-being among students in polytechnic of Santarem and Leiria

Background The social restraints during the COVID-19 mandatory lockdown led young and undergraduate adults living remarkable changes in their daily lives, challenging the feeling of loneliness and the own perception of social isolation. This study aimed to assess and compare the levels of psychological well-being among students from both Santarém and Leiria Polytechnic Institutes. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional correlational study was performed in the period immediately after the first lockdown. Participants were 775 students (females = 73.5%), aged between 17 and 55 years. All of them completed measures of the Psychological Well-Being Manifestation Scale (PWBMS;or EMMBEP, in the Portuguese version, by Monteiro, Tavares e Pereira, 2012) measuring six dimensions, components of the eudaimonic model of well-being. Collected data were analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows software, Version 27.0. Results The results obtained revealed differences of quality in the scores of the six measured dimensions. If subjective experiences on Mental Balance and Sociability are the best indicators of the well-being, the perception of the lack of Social Involvement and low Happiness appear to be limitative factors to the perceived well-being. We also found significant differences in terms of polytechnic institute attended, gender, age categories, and marital status. Conclusions The obtained results provide the basis to design and develop a targeted intervention main program focused on the empowerment of higher education students. Build a literacy program with health education strategies, starting from their own perceptions and responses to the experienced situations, allows their easy engagement in the promotion of the psychological well-being.

Higher Physical Activity Levels May Help Buffer the Negative Psychological Consequences of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.

This study explored the associations between physical activity (PA) anxiety levels, and the perception of satisfaction of basic psychological needs (BPN), during Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown. Thus, 1,404 participants (977 women, 426 men, and one respondent preferred not to answer) ranging from 18 to 89 years old (36.4 ± 11.7 year-old) completed a questionnaire in the period between 1st and 15th April 2021. The survey included sociodemographic data and the following validated instruments: the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), the Basic Need General Satisfaction Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The Kruskal-Wallis test was performed to examine variation in anxiety levels and BPN satisfaction according to PA category (low, moderate, and high). Spearman's Rho correlations coefficients were used to determine the association between anxiety levels and psychological needs. Individuals presenting a higher level of PA revealed lower levels of anxiety-state (H = 20.14; p < 0.01). Differences between elements from different levels of PA were found for the autonomy (H = 23.52; p < 0.001), competence (H = 18.89; p < 0.001), and relatedness (H = 24.42; p < 0.001) psychological needs, suggesting that those who feel their BPN as more satisfied have higher levels of PA. The study found statistically significant correlations between anxiety-state and the satisfaction of the needs for autonomy (p = 0.01; r = -0.46), competence (p = 0.01; r = -0.40), and relatedness (p = 0.01; r = -0.21). These findings support the importance that PA has in the anxiety levels during social isolation, emphasizing the importance of multidisciplinary teams in an individual-based approach.

The Relationship Between Anxiety Levels, Sleep, and Physical Activity During COVID-19 Lockdown: An Exploratory Study.

Nowadays and worldwide, the attention is focused on coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and its consequences on mental health are yet to be fully understood. It is important to capture differences in anxiety levels among populations, groups, and the gender-related variation. Therefore, the present study had two main purposes: (1) to characterize the levels of state anxiety and trait anxiety by examining gender-related, sleep-related, and physical activity-related variations in a nonrepresentative sample of the Portuguese population during the first weeks of lockdown; and (2) to explore the possible relationship between trait anxiety and state anxiety and the possible role of gender as a moderator. This cross-sectional study comprised 1,332 Portuguese adults (aged 18-55 years old) recruited online during COVID-19 outbreak measures. Participants answered to sociodemographic data and the Portuguese version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Gender differences were found in both state anxiety (p = < 0.001; d = 0.385) and trait anxiety (p = < 0.001; d = 0.467) with females presenting higher values. People reporting doing more physical activity than usual during COVID-19 lockdown presented lower levels of state anxiety (p = < 0.001; d = 0.200). People reporting more satisfaction with the quality of sleep presented lower levels of both state anxiety (p = < 0.001; d = 0.701) and trait anxiety (p = < 0.001; d = 0.899). Variation associated with the physical activity level (low, moderate, and high) was significantly different among groups in both state anxiety (p = < 0.001) and trait anxiety (p = < 0.001). When analyzing in more detail separating the levels of physical activity, participants performing moderate and high physical activity showed lower values of state and trait anxiety compared to participants with low physical activity. Participants performing high physical activity also showed lower values of state anxiety compared to participants performing moderate physical activity. Higher levels of trait anxiety were related to higher levels of state anxiety, but this association was not moderated by gender. Interventions aiming to support people psychologically during this outbreak should consider anxiety as well as gender and possible behavioral changes in sleep and physical activity, for example. Health professionals should not only consider the anxiety related to the situation we are living but also address trait anxiety to help overcome COVID-19 psychological consequences.

Exploring Lifestyle Habits, Physical Activity, Anxiety and Basic Psychological Needs in a Sample of Portuguese Adults during COVID-19.

This cross-sectional study aimed to characterize the lifestyle habits, anxiety levels and basic psychological needs (BPN), in Portuguese adults during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, including a comparison between genders and age groups. In total, 1404 adults (36.4 ± 11.7 years; 69.6% female) answered sociodemographic data and three instruments: the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, the Basic Need General Satisfaction Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Males revealed higher values for the total energy expenditure (z = -2.26; p = 0.024; η 2 = 0.004) and for the level of satisfaction of competence (z = -2.62; p = 0.009; η 2 = 0.005). Females showed higher scores for the anxiety state (z = -7.87; p ≤ 0.001; η 2 = 0.044) and anxiety trait (z = -6.49; p ≤ 0.001; η 2 = 0.030). Regarding age, higher values for the anxiety trait (p ≤ 0.001; η H 2 = 0.030) were found in the 18-34 years-old group compared to all the other age groups, also presenting significantly higher values of total energy expenditure (χ² = 13.93; p = 0.008; η H 2 = 0.007) when compared to the 35-44 years-old group. Significant differences were observed between the 18-34 years-old group and the other age groups for the satisfaction of competence (χ² = 40.97; p ≤ 0.001; η H 2 = 0.026), except for the >65 years-old group. Strategies for promoting well-being during periods of social isolation should consider the role of psychological dimensions and lifestyle habits according to the gender or age group.