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Analysis on A Mental Health Study

Department of Health Science, University of the People

HS 4241: Psychopathology and Mental Health

Dr. Floyd Ogle

June 21, 2023

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Introduction of The Article

A research article that studies the mental condition of college students during COVID-19

was selected for the purpose of analysis. The study has a great value due to its contribution to

more understanding of the mental health of college students and their personal coping

mechanisms.

Topic Discussed by The Article

The focuses of the article are mental health, college students, and mental consequences of

COVID-19 outbreak. Beside mental health changes, triggers of these changes and common

coping mechanisms are also explored which is promising benefits for future researches.

Purposes And Authors of The Research

The authors knew from previous researches that college students are invariably suffering

increased anxiety and depression during COVID-19. But studies were not representative of

college students in US so that the research conducted a new study to study mental health of

students at Texas A&M University and identify their status of depression and anxiety while

exploring stressors, coping mechanisms, and barriers in handling stress. The research was

conducted by Xiaomei Wang and many colleagues supported by Farzan Sasangohar as

corresponding author (Wang et al., 2020).

Methods of The Research

The research was received approval to collect data from college students of Texas A&M,

and participant were invited to answer online survey delivered by email. The survey was started

on May4, 2020 and it take two days for data collection. And over 60000 students answered the

survey. To measure mental conditions, patient health questionnaire generalized anxiety disorder

screener, and other questions related to COVID-19 induced stress were used (Wang et al., 2020).
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Results of The Research

The study revealed that the rate of both depression and anxiety are increased in college

students during COVID-19. But the severity of these changes is varied with years of the colleges

and freshman students show highest scores. Reasons of increasing depression and anxiety

include academic uncertainty such as low grades and prolonged graduation, health uncertainty

such as poor personal health and poor sleeping habits, and lifestyle changes such as social

distension and unsatisfying working environment. On the other hand, certain population of

students feel reduction of their stress because of COVID-19 consequences. This is more

significant in students with social anxiety and those who want to save time by avoiding

commutes, extracurricular activities, and social interactions. Coping mechanism are also

revealed that exercises, diet maintenance, self-care activities, meditation, reading, and playing

with pets reduced their stress to some extent (Wang et al., 2020).

Conclusion of the study

According to the study, the most significant point is that percentage of students with

suicidal thoughts are higher than that of previous studies. Reasons of negative mental conditions

can also be categorized as academic related concerns, health related concerns, and lifestyle

related concerns. The study also suggested the potential benefits of mobile phone application that

included mental health care. But the study has limitations because of higher number of female

participants and inability to identify existing mental disorders. With the knowledges obtained

from the study, future researches can emphasize specific factors that predispose to increased

stress in freshman students especially during COVID-19. Moreover, specific evidence-based

interventions to reduced stress should be included in future studies because things are different

during era of COVID-19 outbreak (Wang et al., 2020).

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Opinion on The Study

I think the study clearly reflect conditions of students in my community. Even though

background conditions such as social status, finances, and family supports are different, factors

described in the study are quite reflective for me. Because the study includes various coping

mechanisms in addition to reasons of increased stress, they can be useful to practice personally.

But these mechanisms should be verified by health care persons and other responsible authorities

as negative coping mechanisms could accelerate negative mental consequences.

World Count: 607

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References

Wang, X., Hegde, S., Son, C., Keller, B., Smith, A., & Sasangohar, F. (2020). Investigating

mental health of US college students during the COVID-19 pandemic: Cross-sectional

survey study. Journal of medical Internet research, 22(9), doi:10.2196/22817