Anxiety and depression symptoms in university students from public institutions of higher education in Brazil during the covid-19 pandemic: a multicenter study

• Main Author: Barbosa, Bruna Carolina Rafael
• Publication Date: 2023
• Other Authors: Paula, Waléria de, Ferreira, Aline Dayrell, Freitas, Eulilian Dias de, Chagas, Carolina Martins dos Santos, Oliveira, Helian Nunes de, Ferreira, Lívia Garcia, Silva, Luciana Saraiva da, Vidigal, Fernanda de Carvalho, Nobre, Luciana Neri, Machado, Elaine Leandro, Cardoso, Clareci Silva, Meireles, Adriana Lúcia
• Format: preprint
• Language: eng
• Source: SciELO Preprints
• Download full: https://preprints.scielo.org/index.php/scielo/preprint/view/6080
• topic: Mental health; covid-19; Anxiety; Depression; Students; Multicenter study

This is a multicenter, cross-sectional study carried out with students regularly enrolled in undergraduate courses at eight Brazilian IFES. Data collection was conducted between October 2021 and February 2022 using an online self-completed questionnaire, which addressed sociodemographic and academic characteristics, lifestyle habits, and health conditions. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Variables were analyzed descriptively using frequency distribution and Pearson’s chi-square test. To estimate the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression, the proportion and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) were used. The level of adopted statistical significance was 5%.