Impact of Academic Support on Anxiety and Depression of Chinese Graduate Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Mediating Role of Academic Performance

Anxiety, Depression, Perceived Stress, and Burnout Among Chinese Researchers: A Cross-Sectional Nationwide Study

Purpose

Depression and anxiety have a significant impact on an individuals' work and personal life alike. The mental health of researchers is a significant concern worldwide. This study investigated the mental health status of Chinese researchers specifically and explored the moderating effects of perceived stress on the influence of low self-accomplishment on anxiety and depression.

Methods

The online survey platform "Survey Star" was used to create a questionnaire to be distributed to researchers, with 949 questionnaires retrieved. The general information questionnaire, 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey (MBI-GS) were used for this investigation. Pearson's correlation analysis was performed to investigate correlations among the relevant variables. Model 8 of PROCESS 3.3 program was used to analyze the moderating effects of perceived stress.

Results

Among the 949 participants, 570 (60.1%) reported symptoms of depression and 431 (45.4%) had symptoms of anxiety, with about one in six reporting symptoms of self-harm or suicidal ideation. Perceived stress was found to moderate the effect of low self-accomplishment on depression and anxiety.

Conclusion

Here we show that researchers exhibit a high rate of depression and anxiety symptoms. Perceived stress is also shown to play a moderating role on the influence of low self-accomplishment on anxiety and depression. Thus, reducing perceived stress levels can help to improve the mental health of researchers.

Psychological Health and Risk Factors of College Students within the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND

Students are a priority population in mental health research. This study aimed to explore the risk factors of anxiety and depression symptoms among college students in Chongqing, a megacity under the impact of COVID-19, and to provide a basis for determining the priorities of public health policies and implementing effective educational health care interventions.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study conducted in Chongqing, China, the data came from web-based stratified random sampling. Anxiety and depression symptoms were measured by the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), respectively, and risk factors were analyzed by logistic regression.

RESULTS

Data were obtained from 915 college students (34.75% were male, and 65.25% were female) with age (20.29 ± 1.51) in Chongqing, China. The prevalence rates of anxiety and depression were 19.78% and 22.62%, respectively. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the risk factors of anxiety symptoms were associated with junior years, sleep time of less than 6 h a day, influence on career planning, and depression symptoms. Comprehensive, science and engineering, and medicine disciplines, having siblings, poorer mastery of study, and anxiety symptoms were risk factors for developing depression symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

During the pandemic, college students experienced varying degrees of anxiety and depression. Our research findings highlight the necessity of universities and relevant departments providing precise mental health education for college students under major public health emergencies.

Academic performance and mental health among Chinese middle and high school students after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions

Background

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly changed the way students studied, it is still unknown about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students' academic performance and mental health.

Objective

To explore the academic performance and mental health status of middle and high school students after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in China.

Methods

An online survey was conducted in Sichuan province, China from Dec 14, 2022 to Feb 28, 2023. All participants were students in middle and high schools, recruited via their teachers. The general information, COVID-19-related information, and academic performance were collected. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Internet Addiction Test (IAT) were used to assess the mental health problems.

Results

Of 60,268 participants, 36,247 (60.2%) middle and high school students reported that their studies were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and 24,864 (41.2%) reported that their academic performance had worsened. The prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms was 38.4 and 32.7%, respectively. There was a significant association between academic performance change and mental health problems. The logistic regression analysis showed that improved academic performance was a protective factor for depression, and declined academic performance was a risk factor for depression and anxiety. Being COVID-19 infected, family members being infected, with quarantine experience, and with COVID-19-related stigma were risk factors for depression and anxiety.

Conclusion

Academic studies and mental health status of middle and high school students in Sichuan, China have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, even after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. Students' academic performance, academic concerns, and mental health status should be considered for educational policymakers and institutions to improve students' academic studies and mental well-being.

Anxiety and functional impairment affects undergraduate psychology students' learning in remote emergency teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study aimed to explore the impact of anxiety and functional impairment measures on a sample of undergraduate psychology students. Learning performance was evaluated during the emergency remote teaching during the first wave and in the post-vaccination period of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. Data modeling revealed that psychometric indicators of severe anxiety and severe functional impairment predicted students with lower learning performance in pairs of pre- and post-test multiple-choice questions. This is the first study to highlight the association between measures of generalized anxiety and functional impairment having a deleterious impact on students' learning performance. This manuscript highlights that educational policies should be designed to deal with students' mental health under stressful situations.

Relationship between Entrepreneurship Education and Entrepreneurial Intention among College Students: A Meta-Analysis

Meta-analysis was used to investigate the impact of entrepreneurship education on college students' entrepreneurial intention. Based on the rules of meta-analysis, 389 empirical studies were selected from more than 1000 entrepreneurship education-related documents. The current study processed and analyzed data from 36 records (including 24 journal articles, 11 master's theses, and 1 doctoral thesis) with a total sample of 29,736 students. The results suggested that: (1) entrepreneurship education is positively associated with entrepreneurial intention; (2) national context differences among students have a significant and moderating effect on the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intention. As compared to other countries, Chinese college students' entrepreneurial intention is more strongly related with entrepreneurship education.

Depression, anxiety, and academic performance in COVID-19: a cross-sectional study

Depression and anxiety are common after months of social isolation, and they can have a negative impact on anyone's quality of life if they are not treated promptly and appropriately. The aim of this study was to determine if the change to online modality courses and the presence of depression or anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a difference in the college student's academic achievement. This study was a cross-sectional survey in which we used the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7). Also, we examined the students' perceptions of their academic performance using the Academic Self-Concept Scale (ASCS). A total of 610 students responded to the survey. The average score on the Academic Self-Concept Scale was 2.76 ± 0.35, the students presented a risk of 61.5% for possible depressive disorder and 52.1% for possible generalized anxiety disorder. The intensity of depression and anxiety symptoms had a significant effect on Academic Self-Concept Scale scores (p < 0.001 and p < 0.05, respectively). The findings indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a direct effect on students' mental health and academic performance.

College Students’ Entrepreneurial Intention and Alertness in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

This research aims to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected college students’ entrepreneurial intention (EI), as well as whether the well-studied link between entrepreneurial alertness (EA) and EI is involved. Data were collected from 612 respondents, and using the stepwise regression method we examined the moderating role of college students’ perceived risk of COVID-19 on the connection between EA and EI. The results show that students’ perceived risk of COVID-19 reduces their EI. Furthermore, the perceived risk of COVID-19 attenuates the relationship between EA and EI. Specifically, those who perceived a greater risk tended to show lower EI. This article contributes to a better understanding of how the relationship between EA and EI has changed during the pandemic.

Family Socioeconomic Status and Internalizing Problem Behavior Among Chinese Adolescents: The Chain Mediation Effect of Academic Performance and Peer Conflict

This study aims to provide a new perspective on the relationship between family socioeconomic status (SES) and internalizing problem behavior (IPB) among adolescents. Many studies have focused on the relationship between family SES and IPB among adolescents; however, research on the underlying mechanism is still insufficient, and peer conflict has been ignored as a crucial social relationship factor for adolescents. This study identifies two new mediating variables and a chain mediating mechanism model between them. Using national longitudinal data from 2,467 adolescents aged 10–15 published in the China Family Panel Studies of wave 2018, this study found the following: (1) higher family SES can significantly reduce peer conflict and IPB among adolescents; (2) adolescents with better academic performance were less likely to be involved in peer conflict; (3) peer conflict mediated 30.41% of the relationship between family SES and adolescent’s IPB; and (4) there was a chain mediating mechanism, and the mediating effect of peer conflict was much stronger than the mediating effect of both academic performance and the chain mediation pathways. This is the first study to develop a chain mediation model to examine the roles of academic achievement and peer conflict in the relationship between family SES and IPB. These findings are significant in that they highlight the importance of providing adolescents with proper emotional de-escalation and peer conflict resolution strategies, contributing to the management of adolescent mental health in urban governance and rural development.