The Effects Of The Covid-19 Pandemic And Covid-19 Measures On University Students Related To Levels Of Anxiety And Depression

Abstract

Introduction: Epidemics are infectious diseases. Pandemic is defined as epidemic diseases that spread to many continents and cause fatal cases on humans and animals. Although most infectious diseases can be transmitted to humans or animals in one or more ways, the priority in the fight against Covid-19 is to avoid contact and contamination routes, to protect the areas of the body that are open to contamination, and to effectively disinfect. The quarantine environment, which is taken as a precautionary measure to protect against Covid-19, affects human psychology and leads to the emergence of some situations. It is aimed to examine the relationship between the depression and anxiety levels seen in university students and the measures taken with the Covid-19 pandemic, taking into account the demographic variables. Materials and Methods: It was conducted as a descriptive study at a foundation university in Ankara between July-December 2020. “Sociodemographic Data Collection Form”, “Covid-19 Isolation Process Examining Questionnaire” and “Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale” were used to collect data. Due to the Covid-19 street restrictions and to reduce contact, data were collected by using "Google Forms" and sharing links to students via mail and WhatsApp groups. Data analysis was done using SPSS 25.0 package program, p<0.05 was considered significant. Results: In the results of the study, it was observed that the anxiety levels of the students were 15.45 ± 4.50, and the depression levels were 10.85 ± 3.06. The level of being affected by Covid-19 was found to be 68.43 ± 11.91. It was determined that there was a weak and negative significant relationship between the level of being affected by Covid-19 and anxiety levels (p=0.01). It was determined that there was a weak and negative significant relationship between the students' level of being affected by Covid-19 and their depression levels (p=0.01). Conclusion: It can be stated that students who are less affected by Covid-19 will have higher levels of anxiety and depression. Due to the uncertainty when the Covid-19 pandemic first emerged, it was thought that there was a weak negative significant relationship between Covid-19 and anxiety and depression levels. It is recommended that the study be conducted with more students in similar sample groups.