Dataset Information

Network analysis of anxiety and depressive symptoms among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the mental health and well-being of medical personnel, including nursing students. Network analysis provides a deeper characterization of symptom-symptom interactions in mental disorders. The aim of this study was to elucidate characteristics of anxiety and depressive symptom networks of Chinese nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method

A total of 932 nursing students were included. Anxiety and depressive symptom were measured using the seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and two-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2), respectively. Central symptoms and bridge symptoms were identified via centrality indices and bridge centrality indices, respectively. Network stability was examined using the case-dropping procedure.

Results

Irritability, Uncontrollable worry, Trouble relaxing, and Depressed mood had the highest centrality values. Three bridge symptoms (Depressed mood, Nervousness, and Anhedonia) were also identified. Neither gender nor region of residence was associated with network global strength, distribution of edge weights or individual edge weights.

Limitations

Data were collected in a cross-sectional study design, therefore, causal relations and dynamic changes between anxiety and depressive symptoms over time could not be inferred. Generalizability of findings may be limited to Chinese nursing students during a particular phase of the current pandemic.

Conclusions

Irritability, Uncontrollable worry, Trouble relaxing, and Depressed mood constituted central symptoms maintaining the anxiety-depression network structure of Chinese nursing students during the pandemic. Timely, systemic multi-level interventions targeting central symptoms and bridge symptoms may be effective in alleviating co-occurring experiences of anxiety and depression in this population.

SUBMITTER: Bai W

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8433813 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:Poor mental health is a growing concern among young people during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess the associations of Internet addiction with depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and stress in higher education students during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to examine these mental health problems in the context of study-related characteristics. The research sample consisted of 3,099 participants from the Czech Republic (CZ: 1,422) and Slovak Republic (SK: 1,677). The Internet Addiction Test (IAT), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire for depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) were used to measure mental health problems. The analyses also included demographic data (gender and age) and study-related characteristics (form of study, degree of study, field of study, distance between college and home, and housing during the semester). Based on the results of frequency and descriptive analyses, the prevalence of mental health problems was high. The most serious levels of Internet addiction (IAT cut-off point ≥ 50), to which attention should be paid, were found in 3.5% of Czech and 6.2% of Slovak students. Using the standard cut-off point of GAD-7 ≥ 10, 14.1% of Czech and 11.6% of Slovak students were identified with anxiety symptoms. Regarding the PHQ-9 with the cut-off point ≥ 10, 23.4% of Czech and 19.1% of Slovak students had depressive symptoms, which should be addressed. Using the PSS cut-off point ≥ 27, 12.9% of Czech students and 9.1% of Slovak students perceived high stress. The quantile regression analysis showed that Internet addiction was positively associated with anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and stress in all of the analyzed cases (p-value < 0.001). In terms of study-related characteristics, the binomial logistic regression analysis revealed that risk factors for mental health problems in Czech and Slovak students were mainly full-time form of study and living away from home during the semester. Internet addiction, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and stress are issues that require increased attention, and professionals and policy-makers should implement interventions to effectively prevent and help students with psychological problems.