Bibliographic Details
Title: |
Prevalence, correlates of psychological distress and mental health challenges among college and university students during the COVID-19 lockdowns in South Africa |
Authors: |
Sibusiso Sifunda, Ronel Sewpaul, Tholang Mokhele, Musawenkosi Mabaso, Inbarani Naidoo, Natisha Dukhi, Saahier Parker, Adlai Davids, Nompumelelo Zungu, Olive Shisana, Ruth Makgalemane, Semone Thakoordeen-Reddy, Priscilla Reddy |
Source: |
Frontiers in Education, Vol 9 (2024) |
Publisher Information: |
Frontiers Media S.A., 2024. |
Publication Year: |
2024 |
Collection: |
LCC:Education (General) |
Subject Terms: |
youth, mental health, psychological distress, COVID-19, South Africa, Education (General), L7-991 |
More Details: |
IntroductionThe outbreak of the SARS COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019 led to a total disruption of life and impacted mental health negatively worldwide. Studies across many countries showed the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health status of students enrolled in higher institutions due to the disruption of the school year and learning. This study was aimed a measuring the prevalence and psychosocial determinants of psychological distress experienced by college and university students during the COVID-19 lockdowns in South Africa.MethodsStudents aged 18–35 years that were enrolled at tertiary institutions nationally were invited to participate in the online survey. The survey was conducted at the peak of the epidemic in South Africa from 18 June till 18 September 2020. The Kessler −10 (K10) screening scale was used to measure psychological distress among students.ResultsA total of 6,810 young people aged of between 18 and 35 years participated in the study. The majority of these students were aged between 18 and 24 years old (83.9%). About one third (66.7%) of the youth reported that they had mild to severe distress (MSD). The prevalence of psychological distress among the youth differed significantly by age group, gender, risk perception of contracting COVID-19, year of study, institution and community type (p |
Document Type: |
article |
File Description: |
electronic resource |
Language: |
English |
ISSN: |
2504-284X |
Relation: |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2024.1484849/full; https://doaj.org/toc/2504-284X |
DOI: |
10.3389/feduc.2024.1484849 |
Access URL: |
https://doaj.org/article/f2311a58be0b4da4b30ba8274b96f196 |
Accession Number: |
edsdoj.f2311a58be0b4da4b30ba8274b96f196 |
Database: |
Directory of Open Access Journals |