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Nida Akhtar Mohd Sadiq S. Zarger

Abstract

The outbreak of coronavirus diseases (COVID-19) has been substantially influencing the life and living of people across the world, especially after the declaration of a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in the second week of March 2020. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of depression and anxiety among female students of University College in Al-Diar, Jazan University, Saudi Arabia, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our objective was to assess the prevalence of depression and anxiety in college students during pandemic. A total of 137 female students of University College of Al- Diar, living in Jazan, Saudi Arabia, participated in this web-based study.


A standardized e-questionnaire was designed using the Google form, and the link was shared through the WhatsApp groups and E-mail. We had collected sociodemographic information of the participants and assessed their COVID-19-related knowledge assessment. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) were used to assess depression and anxiety. The anxiety level, using GAD-7 Scale, was found highest value moderate in 49% cases, moderately severe anxiety in 10.21% while severe anxiety 11.67%. Depression level, using PHQ-9 scale was found same like anxiety highest value moderate type 43.06%, moderately severe 14.59 % and severe depression 9.5% cases. The statistical prediction for depression showed a good fit. This depression could be related both directly and positively by fear of COVID-19 and stress, and indirectly, as a result of these two factors, positively mediated by anxiety. Our study concludes by highlighting the important role that the complex relationships between fear, stress, and anxiety can play in the development of depression symptoms and how they can be taken into account in programs aimed at preventing and alleviating this disorder. Results of our study suggest that specific programs should be designed to control and overcome anxiety and depression among college students. Researchers are encouraged to focus their future studies on how to develop strategies to boost students’ resilience and enhance their adaptability skills for similar disasters in the future.

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Keywords

Anxiety; Depression; COVID-19; GAD-7; PHQ-9

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