Psychological Distress among Italian University Students Compared to General Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Students (N = 478) | Workers (N = 478) | Test (df) | p | Effect Size | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Age (years) | 23.4 (2.7) | 33.3 (6.9) | t(617.21) = −29.13 | <0.001 | d = 2.07 |
Gender | χ2(1) = 11.13 | 0.001 | |||
Male | 108 (22.6%) | 154 (32.2%) | |||
Female | 370 (77.4%) | 324 (67.8%) | |||
Educational level | χ2(1) = 37.04 | <0.001 | |||
Primary/secondary/high school diploma | 206 (43.1%) | 117 (24.5%) | |||
B.Sc. or M.Sc. degree/postgraduate qualification | 272 (56.9%) | 361 (75.5%) | |||
Marital status | χ2(1) = 191.29 | <0.001 | |||
Not in a relationship | 458 (95.8%) | 278 (58.2%) | |||
In a relationship | 20 (4.2%) | 200 (41.8%) | |||
COVID-19 questions | |||||
Knowing of others who are positive (yes response) | 219 (45.8%) | 267 (55.9%) | χ2(1) = 9.64 | 0.002 | |
Knowing of others who died (yes response) | 59 (12.3%) | 88 (18.4%) | χ2(1) = 6.76 | 0.009 | |
Having had contact with others who tested positive (yes response) | 19 (4.0%) | 94 (19.7%) | χ2(1) = 56.45 | <0.001 | |
Psychological aspects | |||||
Health evaluation (VAS) * | 8.15 (1.5) | 8.2 (1.4) | t(954) = −0.11 | 0.910 | d = 0.01 |
Health concern (VAS) # | 5.4 (2.3) | 6.0 (2.3) | t(954) = −3.83 | <0.001 | d = 0.25 |
STAI Y1 | 49.8 (12.0) | 47.8 (13.0) | t(948.19) = 2.48 | 0.013 | d = 0.16 |
Scored above the STAI Y1 cutoff point (≥41) | 359 (75.1%) | 311 (65.1%) | χ2(1) = 11.50 | <0.001 | |
BDI-II | 12.5 (9.2) | 10.0 (8.8) | t(953) = 4.40 | <0.001 | d = 0.28 |
Scored above the BDI-II cutoff point (>13) | 180 (37.7%) | 137 (25.9%) | χ2(1) = 8.87 | 0.003 |
STAI Y1 | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Predictors | B | β | t | 95% CI | Adj R2 | F | ∆R2 | ∆F |
Model 1 | 0.059 | 8.420 ** | 0.066 | 8.420 ** | ||||
Age | 0.010 | 0.002 | 0.044 | −0.431; 0.451 | ||||
Gender | −7.001 | −0.244 | −5.421 ** | −9.539; −4.463 | ||||
Marital status | 2.571 | 0.043 | 0.948 | −2.761; 7.904 | ||||
Educational level | −2.568 | −0.106 | −2.129 * | −4.938 −0.198 | ||||
Model 2 | 0.242 | 26.377 ** | 0.185 | 58.215 ** | ||||
Age | −0.158 | −0.035 | 0.436 | −0.557; 0.241 | ||||
Gender | −4.412 | −0.153 | −3.720 ** | −6.742; −2.081 | ||||
Marital status | −3.028 | 0.050 | 1.242 | −1.763; 7.819 | ||||
Educational level | −2.009 | −0.083 | −1.853 | −4.140; 0.122 | ||||
Health evaluation | −2.273 | −0.273 | −6.763 ** | −2.933; −1.612 | ||||
Health concern | 1.766 | 0.341 | 8.382 ** | 1.352; 2.180 | ||||
Model 3 | 0.240 | 17.740 ** | 0.003 | 0.601 | ||||
Age | −0.166 | −0.037 | −0.817 | −0.565; 0.233 | ||||
Gender | −4.286 | −0.149 | −3.592 ** | −6.630; −1.941 | ||||
Marital status | 3.200 | 0.053 | 1.309 | −1.604; 8.004 | ||||
Educational level | −2.035 | −0.084 | −1.873 | −4.169; 0.100 | ||||
Health evaluation | −2.231 | −0.268 | −6.589 ** | −2.897; −1.566 | ||||
Health concern | 1.792 | 0.346 | 8.417 ** | 1.373; 2.210 | ||||
COVID-19_1 | −0.291 | −0.012 | −0.273 | −2.386; 1.804 | ||||
COVID-19_2 | 0.045 | 0.001 | 0.028 | −3.091; 3.180 | ||||
COVID-19_3 | −3.159 | −0.051 | −1.255 | −8.105; 1.787 |
BDI-II | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Predictors | B | β | t | 95% CI | Adj R2 | F | ∆R2 | ∆F |
Model 1 | 0.028 | 4.450 ** | 0.036 | 4.450 ** | ||||
Age | 0.084 | 0.025 | 0.480 | −0.260; 0.428 | ||||
Gender | −3.317 | −0.150 | −3.290 ** | −5.299; −1.336 | ||||
Marital status | 0.710 | 0.015 | 0.335 | −3.453; 4.873 | ||||
Educational level | −2.677 | −0.144 | −2.841 ** | −4.529 −0.826 | ||||
Model 2 | 0.143 | 14.230 ** | 0.117 | 32.598 ** | ||||
Age | −0.078 | −0.023 | −0.472 | −0.404; 0.247 | ||||
Gender | −2.494 | −0.113 | −2.573 * | −4.399; −0.589 | ||||
Marital status | 1.429 | 0.031 | 0.717 | −2.485; 5.343 | ||||
Educational level | −2.253 | −0.121 | −2.542 * | −3.995; −0.511 | ||||
Health evaluation | −2.198 | −0.343 | −7.994 ** | −2.739; −1.658 | ||||
Health concern | 0.196 | 0.049 | 1.135 | −0.143; 0.534 | ||||
Model 3 | 0.143 | 9.859 ** | 0.006 | 1.100 | ||||
Age | −0.088 | −0.026 | −0.533 | −0.414; 0.238 | ||||
Gender | −2.471 | −0.112 | −2.538 * | −4.385; −0.557 | ||||
Marital status | 1.521 | 0.033 | 0.763 | −2.398; 5.439 | ||||
Educational level | −2.287 | −0.123 | −2.579 * | −4.030; −0.544 | ||||
Health evaluation | −2.192 | −0.342 | −7.925 ** | −2.736; −1.649 | ||||
Health concern | 0.216 | 0.054 | 1.241 | −0.126; 0.558 | ||||
COVID-19_1 | 0.622 | 0.034 | 0.715 | −1.088; 2.332 | ||||
COVID-19_2 | 0.670 | 0.024 | 0.515 | −1.888; 3.228 | ||||
COVID-19_3 | −3.182 | −0.067 | −1.550 | −7.216; 0.853 |
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Romeo, A.; Benfante, A.; Castelli, L.; Di Tella, M. Psychological Distress among Italian University Students Compared to General Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 2503. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052503
Romeo A, Benfante A, Castelli L, Di Tella M. Psychological Distress among Italian University Students Compared to General Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(5):2503. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052503
Chicago/Turabian StyleRomeo, Annunziata, Agata Benfante, Lorys Castelli, and Marialaura Di Tella. 2021. "Psychological Distress among Italian University Students Compared to General Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 5: 2503. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052503