Students under lockdown: Comparisons of students' social networks and mental health before and during the COVID-19 crisis in Switzerland
Students under lockdown: Comparisons of students' social networks and mental health before and during the COVID-19 crisis in Switzerland
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DOI：
10.1371/journal.pone.0236337
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发表时间：
2020-07-23
期刊：
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Stadtfeld, Christoph
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Elmer, Timon;Mepham, Kieran;Stadtfeld, Christoph
这项研究使用自2018年以来收集的纵向数据进行了研究，调查了2020年4月COVID-19大流行时的学生社交网络和心理健康。我们分析了社交网络多个维度的变化（互动，友谊，社会支持，CO，CO - 研究）和心理健康指标（抑郁，焦虑，压力，孤独）在两个瑞士的本科生中，经历了危机（n = 212），并增加与没有经历危机的早期队列进行比较（n = 54）。在人身比较中，我们发现互动和共同研究网络变得更加稀疏，越来越多的学生独自学习。此外，与危机前的措施相比，学生的压力，焦虑，孤独和抑郁症状的水平变得更糟。压力源从对失去社交生活的恐惧转变为对健康，家人，朋友和他们的未来的担忧。探索性分析表明，Covid-19的特定烦恼，社交网络中的隔离，缺乏互动和情感支持以及身体隔离与负面的心理健康轨迹有关。在控制不同水平的社会融合和COVID-19相关压力源时，女学生的心理健康轨迹似乎更糟。随着大学和研究人员讨论如何将现场教学与在线课程相结合的未来策略，我们的结果表明，考虑学生心理健康中的社交联系的重要性，并提供起点以识别和支持具有更高社会隔离风险和负面风险的学生19009年大流行期间的心理影响。
This study investigates students' social networks and mental health before and at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, using longitudinal data collected since 2018. We analyze change on multiple dimensions of social networks (interaction, friendship, social support, co-studying) and mental health indicators (depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness) within two cohorts of Swiss undergraduate students experiencing the crisis (N = 212), and make additional comparisons to an earlier cohort which did not experience the crisis (N = 54). In within-person comparisons we find that interaction and co-studying networks had become sparser, and more students were studying alone. Furthermore, students' levels of stress, anxiety, loneliness, and depressive symptoms got worse, compared to measures before the crisis. Stressors shifted from fears of missing out on social life to worries about health, family, friends, and their future. Exploratory analyses suggest that COVID-19 specific worries, isolation in social networks, lack of interaction and emotional support, and physical isolation were associated with negative mental health trajectories. Female students appeared to have worse mental health trajectories when controlling for different levels of social integration and COVID-19 related stressors. As universities and researchers discuss future strategies on how to combine on-site teaching with online courses, our results indicate the importance of considering social contacts in students' mental health and offer starting points to identify and support students at higher risk of social isolation and negative psychological effects during the COVID-19 pandemic.