The Psychological Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on College Students in Mumbai

Abstract

A COVID-19 pandemic has been spreading all over the world since December 2019. The pandemic has brought not only the risk of death from infection but also unbearable psychological pressure. The COVID 19 pandemic has created a mental health crisis among college students all over the world due to lockdown restrictions, overwhelming numbers of COVID-19 cases, financial difficulty, etc. This mental health crisis has led to high degrees of fear, anxiety, and depression among college students.

The objective of this study was to estimate the psychological condition of college students during a pandemic and explore factors that prompt their anxiety. This cross-sectional web-based study was conducted using a Google Forms questionnaire. The Google Form included a questionnaire on GAD-7(7 - item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale) and those inquiring about the participant’s basic information. Thus, both qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed in the study.  It is suggested that the mental health of college students should be monitored during a pandemic. The estimates of the strengths of associations were demonstrated by the odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI), which was used to evaluate the association.