Psychological Disturbances due to COVID-19 Pandemic and Coping Strategies Adopted by Undergraduates of Selected Faculties of University of Ruhuna

Abstract

Background: University undergraduates are a vulnerable group for psychological problems. The COVID-19 pandemic, quarantine, and new normalcy had a significant impact on the psychological health of the undergraduates as reported in the literature. Hence, different coping strategies were adopted by undergraduates and have been practiced globally. Objective: To assess psychological disturbances (stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms) and coping strategies encountered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, by undergraduates of selected five faculties at the University of Ruhuna Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted conveniently among 359 undergraduates of the randomly selected five faculties: Allied Health Sciences, Engineering, Humanities and Social Sciences, Management and Finance, and Medicine using a web-based questionnaires (Google Forms) from June-August 2022. In the questionnaire, stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms were assessed using the validated 21-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress scale (DASS-21) and coping strategies were evaluated by the validated Brief COPE scale. Results: The majority were females (62.1%). The sample's mean(SD) age was 23.67 (1.6) years. Undergraduates were found to have a high prevalence of stress (53.7%), anxiety (41.8%), and depressive symptoms (63.8%), respectively. It revealed a significant positive correlation between anxiety and depressive symptoms (r=0.64, p0.001), anxiety and stress (r=0.86, p0.001), and stress and anxiety (r=0.78, p0.001). Undergraduates reported high levels of adaptive coping at a rate of 33.2%, compared to undergraduates who coped with maladaptive coping (9.1%). Active coping, acceptance, and religion were the most popular adaptive coping strategies. Self-distraction techniques were used as maladaptive coping strategies. Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic, most undergraduates reported high levels of stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, and relationships between these variables were positive. Undergraduates employed more adaptive coping strategies than maladaptive coping strategies. Mental health development programs, stress management programs, and counseling are very important events to initiate in universities to cope with unexpected situations.