COVID-19 e saúde mental: preocupações de estudantes do ensino superior do estado do Ceará

COVID-19 and mental health: concerns of higher education students in the state of Ceará

Abstract

Objective: The objective was to present the main concerns of higher education students in the state of Ceará, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: This is part of a larger research called “Repercussions of the new coronavirus pandemic on the mental health of higher education students”. Descriptive and exploratory study that used a cross-sectional approach. The research had a sample of 3,691 students who participated in the study. Due to the context of the pandemic, data collection was carried out remotely, via Google Forms. Results: The state of Mental Health, in a global way, the Positive Well-Being and Distress dimensions and the primary dimensions tended to decrease with the increase in the concern with the continuity of the course in person. The study showed insecurity on the part of university students about the return of classes and what the “new normal” would be like. As for the fear of being infected and in relation to the concern when leaving home, respectively, 76.72% and 84.85% had a lower mental health status, thus demonstrating how the pandemic weakened mental health. Conclusion: The results showed statistically significant validation for both the Global Scale and the primary dimensions. In view of this panorama, it can be seen how much the pandemic and social isolation had an impact on emotions of fear and concern, and these feelings negatively interfered with the mental health of the academics surveyed.