Psychological State and Subjective Environmental Perception of College Students Residing in Dormitories during Quarantine: A Case Study

ABSTRACT

Quarantine is one of the effective approaches to control the spread of COVID-19. However, prolonged isolation may harm the health of residents, especially students, who are quarantined in dormitories. This study surveyed students' behaviors, living environment, and psychological state through an online questionnaire. The results showed that during the isolation period, the participants' discomfort mainly came from high temperatures, high humidity, loud sounds, and dark lighting. Moreover, about half of the students experienced severe anxiety or depression, with poor sleep and an unclear mind being the most common problems. Additionally, this study focused on exploring the correlations between environmental perceptions and the psychological state of isolated students, that were identified to be significant. Furthermore, as isolation time was prolonged, the psychological state of isolated students worsened, and the most significant factor changed from thermal sensations to acoustic sensations. Interestingly, the psychological state of males was worse than females, and they were more easily affected by their thermal and acoustic environments. Therefore, keeping the environment comfortable has a positive influence on maintaining the good psychological condition of people in isolation. This study can provide suggestions for the improvement of indoor environments and for the mental health of people in isolation and in other similar situations.