ABSTRACT
Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected college students’ mental health and caused post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Event centrality is thought to play a key role in the development of PTSS, but it is not yet clear by what mechanism. Theoretically, event centrality may affect the retrieval of traumatic memories and further prompt post-traumatic cognitions to understand events, and so may in turn be associated with PTSS in college students. However, few empirical studies have examined the mediating role of post-traumatic cognitions in the relationship between event centrality and PTSS, especially among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the mediating roles of post-traumatic cognitive factors (e.g. attention to negative information, catastrophizing, and rumination) in the relationship between event centrality and PTSS among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We recruited 1153 college students who completed the pandemic experiences scale, the centrality of event scale, the attention to positive and negative information scale, the cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire, and the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 during the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020. Results: In this sample of college students, event centrality directly predicted PTSS, and PTSS was also indirectly predicted by event centrality through attention to negative information, catastrophizing, and rumination. Conclusions: These findings support the existing literature on the relationship between event centrality, proposed cognitive variables, and PTSS, and shed light on the mechanisms underlying PTSS. Our findings also highlight the importance and applicability of targeted cognitive interventions for PTSS in college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. HIGHLIGHTS The COVID-19 pandemic has caused post-traumatic stress symptoms among college students. Event centrality is a risk factor of post-traumatic stress symptoms among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Attention to negative information, catastrophizing and rumination mediate the relationship between event centrality and post-traumatic stress symptoms.
ABSTRACT
Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected college students' mental health and caused post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). Event centrality is thought to play a key role in the development of PTSS, but it is not yet clear by what mechanism. Theoretically, event centrality may affect the retrieval of traumatic memories and further prompt post-traumatic cognitions to understand events, and so may in turn be associated with PTSS in college students. However, few empirical studies have examined the mediating role of post-traumatic cognitions in the relationship between event centrality and PTSS, especially among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the mediating roles of post-traumatic cognitive factors (e.g. attention to negative information, catastrophizing, and rumination) in the relationship between event centrality and PTSS among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We recruited 1153 college students who completed the pandemic experiences scale, the centrality of event scale, the attention to positive and negative information scale, the cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire, and the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 during the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020. Results: In this sample of college students, event centrality directly predicted PTSS, and PTSS was also indirectly predicted by event centrality through attention to negative information, catastrophizing, and rumination. Conclusions: These findings support the existing literature on the relationship between event centrality, proposed cognitive variables, and PTSS, and shed light on the mechanisms underlying PTSS. Our findings also highlight the importance and applicability of targeted cognitive interventions for PTSS in college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. HIGHLIGHTS: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused post-traumatic stress symptoms among college students.Event centrality is a risk factor of post-traumatic stress symptoms among college students during the COVID-19 pandemic.Attention to negative information, catastrophizing and rumination mediate the relationship between event centrality and post-traumatic stress symptoms.
Antecedentes: La pandemia de enfermedad coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) ha afectado la salud mental de los estudiantes universitarios y causado síntomas de estrés postraumático (PTSS por sus siglas en ingles). Se cree que la centralidad del evento juega un rol importante en el desarrollo de PTSS, pero aún no está claro por qué mecanismo. Teóricamente, la centralidad del evento podría afectar la recuperación de los recuerdos traumáticos y estimular cogniciones postraumáticas para comprender los eventos y así su vez, podría estar asociada con PTSS en estudiantes universitarios. Sin embargo, pocos estudios empíricos han examinado el rol mediador de las cogniciones postraumáticas en la relación entre centralidad del evento y PTSS, especialmente entre estudiantes universitarios durante la pandemia de COVID-19.Objetivos: El objetivo de este estudio fue examinar los roles mediadores de los factores cognitivos postraumáticos (ej.: atención a información negativa, catastrofización y rumiación) en la relación entre centralidad del evento y PTSS entre los estudiantes universitarios durante la pandemia de COVID 19. Método: Reclutamos 1.153 estudiantes universitarios que completaron la escala de experiencias pandémicas, la escala de centralidad del evento, la escala de atención a la información positiva y negativa, el cuestionario de regulación cognitiva de las emociones y la lista de chequeo de TEPT para el DSM-5 durante la pandemia de COVID-19 en mayo del 2020.Resultados: En esta muestra de estudiantes universitarios, la centralidad del evento predijo directamente PTSS, y PTSS fueron tambien predichos indirectamente tambien por la centralidad del evento través de la atención a la información negativa, catastrofización y rumiación.Conclusiones: Estos hallazgos apoyan la literatura existente en la relación entre centralidad del evento, las variables cognitivas propuestas y PTSS y arrojan luz sobre los mecanismos subyacentes a PTSS. Nuestros hallazgos destacan tambien la importancia y aplicabilidad de las intervenciones cognitivas dirigidas a los PTSS en estudiantes universitarios durante la pandemia de COVID-19.