IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i21p14282-d960362.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Estimation of Psychological Impairment and Coping Strategies during COVID-19 Pandemic among University Students in Saudi Arabia: A Large Regional Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Tauqeer Hussain Mallhi

    (Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka 72341, Saudi Arabia
    The authors contributed equally to the manuscript.)

  • Naveed Ahmad

    (Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka 72341, Saudi Arabia
    The authors contributed equally to the manuscript.)

  • Muhammad Salman

    (Institute of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical and Allied Health Sciences, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore 54000, Pakistan)

  • Nida Tanveer

    (Institute of Molecular Cardiology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USA)

  • Shahid Shah

    (Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan)

  • Muhammad Hammad Butt

    (Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Uppsala University, 75123 Uppsala, Sweden)

  • Ahmed D. Alatawi

    (Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka 72341, Saudi Arabia)

  • Nasser Hadal Alotaibi

    (Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka 72341, Saudi Arabia)

  • Hidayat Ur Rahman

    (Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka 72341, Saudi Arabia)

  • Abdulaziz Ibrahim Alzarea

    (Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka 72341, Saudi Arabia)

  • Abdullah Salah Alanazi

    (Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka 72341, Saudi Arabia)

  • Mohammad Saeed Alzahrani

    (Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia)

  • Sameer Alshehri

    (Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia)

  • Ahmed Aljabri

    (Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 22254, Saudi Arabia)

  • Yusra Habib Khan

    (Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka 72341, Saudi Arabia)

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictive measures have substantially affected educational processes around the globe, resulting in psychological distress among students. The mental health of students in higher education is of paramount importance, and the COVID-19 pandemic has brought this vulnerable population into renewed focus. In this context, the evaluation of students‘ mental health at educational institutes has gained invaluable popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to ascertain the psychological health and coping strategies among students from a higher education institute in Saudi Arabia. Methods: An online study instrument was used to assess anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, GAD-7), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9, PHQ-9), post-traumatic stress disorder—PTSD (Impact of Event Scale-Revised, IES-R) and coping strategies (Brief-COPE). The severity of the psychological distress was classified as per the scoring criteria and correlated with demographics using appropriate statistical methods. Results: Of 1074 students (age 21.1 ± 2.1 years), 12.9% and 9.7% had severe anxiety and depression, respectively. The mean anxiety and depression scores were 7.50 ± 5.51 and 9.31 ± 6.72, respectively. About one-third (32%) of students reported suicidal ideation, with 8.4% students having such thoughts nearly every day. The average PTSD score was 21.64 ± 17.63, where avoidance scored higher (8.10 ± 6.94) than intrusion and hyperarousal. There was no association of anxiety, depression and PTSD score with the demographics of the study participants. Religious/spiritual coping (5.43 ± 2.15) was the most adoptive coping mechanism, followed by acceptance (5.15 ± 2.10). Male students were significantly ( p < 0.05) associated with active copings, instrumental support, planning, humor, acceptance and religious coping. Substance use was the least adopted coping strategy but practiced by a considerable number of students. Conclusions: The long-lasting pandemic situation, onerous protective measures and uncertainties in educational procedures have resulted in a high prevalence of psychological ailments among university students, as indicated in this study. These findings accentuate the urgent need for telepsychiatry and appropriate population-specific mental health services to assess the extent of psychological impairment and to leverage positive coping behaviors among students.

Suggested Citation

  • Tauqeer Hussain Mallhi & Naveed Ahmad & Muhammad Salman & Nida Tanveer & Shahid Shah & Muhammad Hammad Butt & Ahmed D. Alatawi & Nasser Hadal Alotaibi & Hidayat Ur Rahman & Abdulaziz Ibrahim Alzarea &, 2022. "Estimation of Psychological Impairment and Coping Strategies during COVID-19 Pandemic among University Students in Saudi Arabia: A Large Regional Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-16, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:21:p:14282-:d:960362
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/21/14282/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/21/14282/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rachael H. Dodd & Kevin Dadaczynski & Orkan Okan & Kirsten J. McCaffery & Kristen Pickles, 2021. "Psychological Wellbeing and Academic Experience of University Students in Australia during COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-12, January.
    2. Azizah Alyoubi & Elizabeth J. Halstead & Zoe Zambelli & Dagmara Dimitriou, 2021. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Students’ Mental Health and Sleep in Saudi Arabia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-16, September.
    3. Sunhae Kim & Hye-Kyung Lee & Kounseok Lee, 2021. "Which PHQ-9 Items Can Effectively Screen for Suicide? Machine Learning Approaches," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-10, March.
    4. Karuthan Chinna & Sheela Sundarasen & Heba Bakr Khoshaim & Kamilah Kamaludin & Mohammad Nurunnabi & Gul Mohammad Baloch & Syed Far Abid Hossain & Areej Sukayt & Nevi Dalina & Usha Rajagopalan & Ramesh, 2021. "Psychological impact of COVID-19 and lock down measures: An online cross-sectional multicounty study on Asian university students," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(8), pages 1-12, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Preeta Hinduja & Razia Fakir Mohammad & Sohni Siddiqui & Shahnaz Noor & Altaf Hussain, 2023. "Sustainability in Higher Education Institutions in Pakistan: A Systematic Review of Progress and Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-19, February.
    2. Tauqeer Hussain Mallhi & Nimra Aslam Khan & Amina Siddique & Muhammad Salman & Syed Nasir Abbas Bukhari & Muhammad Hammad Butt & Faiz Ullah Khan & Mohammad Khalid & Zia Ul Mustafa & Nida Tanveer & Nav, 2023. "Mental Health and Coping Strategies among University Staff during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross–Sectional Analysis from Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-21, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Seema Mihrshahi & Putu Novi Arfirsta Dharmayani & Janaki Amin & Alexandra Bhatti & Josephine Y. Chau & Rimante Ronto & Diana Turnip & Melanie Taylor, 2022. "Higher Prevalence of Food Insecurity and Psychological Distress among International University Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Australian Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-14, October.
    2. Robert Tholen & Koen Ponnet & Guido Van Hal & Sara De Bruyn & Veerle Buffel & Sarah Van de Velde & Piet Bracke & Edwin Wouters, 2022. "Substance Use among Belgian Higher Education Students before and during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-13, April.
    3. Hidayah Karuniawati & Nila Sari & Md. Sanower Hossain & Wan Ismahanisa Ismail & Aniq Hudiyah Bil Haq & Tri Yulianti & Taufik Taufik & Gardhika Rizky Sudarsono, 2022. "Assessment of Mental Health and Quality of Life Status of Undergraduate Students in Indonesia during COVID-19 Outbreak: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-14, September.
    4. Gülsen Erden & Asil Ali Özdoğru & Sami Çoksan & Hale Ögel-Balaban & Yakup Azak & İlkiz Altınoğlu-Dikmeer & Aysun Ergül-Topçu & Yeşim Yasak & Gözde Kıral-Uçar & Seda Oktay & Pelin Karaca-Dinç & Ezgi Di, 2022. "Social Contact, Academic Satisfaction, COVID-19 Knowledge, and Subjective Well-being Among Students at Turkish Universities: a Nine-University Sample," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(4), pages 2017-2039, August.
    5. Hanif Abdul Rahman & Areekul Amornsriwatanakul & Khadizah H. Abdul-Mumin & Denny Agustiningsih & Surasak Chaiyasong & Michael Chia & Supat Chupradit & Le Quang Huy & Katiya Ivanovitch & Ira Nurmala & , 2022. "Prevalence of Health-Risk Behaviors and Mental Well-Being of ASEAN University Students in COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-15, July.
    6. Chiara Lorini & Veronica Velasco & Guglielmo Bonaccorsi & Kevin Dadaczynski & Orkan Okan & Patrizio Zanobini & Luca P. Vecchio, 2022. "Validation of the COVID-19 Digital Health Literacy Instrument in the Italian Language: A Cross-Sectional Study of Italian University Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-17, May.
    7. Elisabeth Noehammer, 2022. "Students and Staff in Lockdown: Mental and Social Health in the Austrian Tertiary Education Sector," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-12, December.
    8. Carmem M. Cunha & Nathalie Dens & Georg D. Granic, 2023. "University Students’ Well-Being and Engagement in Activities in the Early Days of Covid-19," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(1), pages 279-303, February.
    9. Nam Hoang Tran & Nhien Thi Nguyen & Binh Thanh Nguyen & Quang Ngoc Phan, 2022. "Students’ Perceived Well-Being and Online Preference: Evidence from Two Universities in Vietnam during COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-14, September.
    10. Mohannad Hawamdeh & Thamer A. Altaim & Amjad Shallan & Riziq Allah Gaowgzeh & Sakher M. Obaidat & Saad Alfawaz & Saad M. Al-Nassan & Ziyad Neamatallah & Owis Eilayyan & Umar M. Alabasi & Majed Albadi, 2022. "Low Back Pain Prevalence among Distance Learning Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-10, December.
    11. Stefano Quarta & Annalisa Levante & María-Teresa García-Conesa & Flavia Lecciso & Egeria Scoditti & Maria Annunziata Carluccio & Nadia Calabriso & Fabrizio Damiano & Giuseppe Santarpino & Tiziano Verr, 2022. "Assessment of Subjective Well-Being in a Cohort of University Students and Staff Members: Association with Physical Activity and Outdoor Leisure Time during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-26, April.
    12. Priyanka Das & Santosh Shukla & Vipin Shrivastav & Saurabh Purohit & Deepika Sharma & Sanjay Dhir & Sushil & Harkabir Singh Jandu & Meenal Kukreja & Mehak Bhatia & Nitin Kothari & Saurabh Sharma & Shy, 2024. "The role of community mobilization in people’s healthcare-seeking behavior during the COVID-19 vaccination journey: select case studies from Madhya Pradesh," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-11, December.
    13. Maria Clelia Zurlo & Federica Vallone & Maria Francesca Cattaneo Della Volta, 2022. "Perceived Past and Current COVID-19-Stressors, Coping Strategies and Psychological Health among University Students: A Mediated-Moderated Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-19, August.
    14. Sabina Potra & Adrian Pugna & Mădălin-Dorin Pop & Romeo Negrea & Luisa Dungan, 2021. "Facing COVID-19 Challenges: 1st-Year Students’ Experience with the Romanian Hybrid Higher Educational System," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-15, March.
    15. William E. Donald & Denise Jackson, 2022. "Subjective Wellbeing among University Students and Recent Graduates: Evidence from the United Kingdom," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-17, June.
    16. Wandeep Kaur & Vimala Balakrishnan & Yoke Yong Chen & Jeyarani Periasamy, 2022. "Mental Health Risk Factors and Coping Strategies among Students in Asia Pacific during COVID-19 Pandemic—A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-15, July.
    17. Begoña Serrano & Antonia Moreno & Fernando Díez & Elene Igoa-Iraola, 2024. "Analysis of Brand Positioning in Online Course Companies to Change Consumption Patterns—A Case Study in the Personal Wellbeing Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-17, June.
    18. Fatemah Alghamdi & Amal Ashour & Lola Adeyemi & Paula Bamidele & Blessing Nwambo-Logan & Maha Alsharif & Amal M. Sindi & Nada Binmadi, 2022. "The Psychological Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic among Emerging Adults: An Observational Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-12, January.
    19. Yulu Zhao & Xinye Xu & Gangwei Cai & Zhetao Hu & Yan Hong, 2022. "Promoting Strategies for Healthy Environments in University Halls of Residence under Regular Epidemic Prevention and Control: An Importance—Performance Analysis from Zhejiang, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-19, November.
    20. Carsten K. Bak & Jeanne Ø. Krammer & Kevin Dadaczynski & Okan Orkan & Jesper von Seelen & Christina Prinds & Lene M. Søbjerg & Heidi Klakk, 2022. "Digital Health Literacy and Information-Seeking Behavior among University College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study from Denmark," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-14, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:21:p:14282-:d:960362. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.