Prevalence and Predictors of PTSD During the Initial Stage of COVID-19 Epidemic among Female College Students in China.
Inquiry
; 58: 469580211059953, 2021.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1598094
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
College students are vulnerable and may experience high stress due to COVID-19, especially girls. This study aims to identify posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related factors among the target population during the initial phases of the COVID-19 pandemic.METHODS:
In the initial phase of COVID-19 epidemic (February 23 to March 5, 2020), 2205 female college students from six provinces in mainland China were enrolled in this study and completed the online survey about the cognitive status of COVID-19, including the Impact of Event Scale-6, the Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale and a self-developed 10-item Perceived threat scale. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were performed using SPSS software to explore the determinants of PTSD symptoms.RESULTS:
PTSD symptoms were prevalent in female college students, and 34.20% met the cut-off for PTSD. Self-reported fair or poor health (AOR = 1.78, 95% CI 1.22-2.59), high concern about COVID-19 (AOR = 1.66, 95% CI 1.35-2.03), beliefs that "COVID-19 can cause a global outbreak" (AOR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.02-1.56), the perception of "risk of infection" (AOR = 2.46, 95% CI 2.16-2.81), beliefs that "closed management" and "COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern" would have an impact, and the fear of "impact on life planning" were all positively associated with PTSD (AOR = 1.37, 1.22, and 1.29, respectively); however, perceived social support from family (AOR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.70-0.93) was negatively associated with PTSD. Among the significant variables at the bivariate level, multivariate logistic regression revealed that the greatest protector for PTSD was the high knowledge score (AOR = 0.73, 95% CI 0.60-0.90), while had confirmed cases among relatives and friends (AOR = 7.70, 95% CI 1.28-46.25) was the strongest predictor of PTSD.CONCLUSIONS:
In summary, PTSD symptoms were prevalent among female college students in China during the COVID-19 epidemic. Targeting vulnerable populations to improve their knowledge about COVID-19 and create an atmosphere of social support would be beneficial. Moreover, the joint efforts from family, school administrators, and policymakers are essential to improve the mental health of the female students during the COVID-19 epidemic.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
Inquiry
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
00469580211059953
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