Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Among Undergraduate Students in Jordan: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: Psychopathology could be brought on by an immune system disruption triggered by an infection. Psychiatric residual effects have been noted following prior coronavirus outbreaks.

Method: This study is a cross-sectional study that examined the psychopathological influence of the COVID-19 pandemic among survivor students compared to students who have never been diagnosed as positive COVID-19 patients (i.e., healthy students). Further, the study identified the relationship between sociodemographic profiles and mental health. To examine the significance of psychological health differences we used the DASS-21, to measure depression, anxiety, and stress scales. There were seven questions to assess each dimension within the psychological scales. The respondents were selected randomly via online sources and completed the online self-reporting questionnaire between August 23 and October 2, 2021.

Results: A total of 750 students completed the online questionnaire, with 677 participants (90.27% of those originally surveyed) included in the final analysis of this study. The mean score of the stress scale for healthy students ( = 16.88, SD = 12.3,  = 537) demonstrated a significantly lower mean compared to COVID-19 survival students ( = 21.7, SD = 11.01,  = 140), (675) = -4.22,  < 0.001. The mean of the depression scale for healthy students ( = 16.18, SD = 11.94) demonstrated significantly lower mean compared to COVID-19 survival students ( = 20.91, SD = 11. 90), (675) = -4.18,  < 0.001. The mean of the anxiety scale for healthy students ( = 12.50, SD = 10.72) demonstrated significantly lower mean compared to COVID-19 survival students ( = 19.43, SD = 11. 25), (675) = -6.74,  < 0.001.

Conclusion: University students who were infected with COVID-19 had a traumatic experience, and thus developed psychological symptoms greater than students with no history of this infection.