DETERMINING THE DEPRESSION, ANXIETY AND STRESS LEVELS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23207010Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on depression, anxiety, and stress levels among university students in Türkiye.
Methods: This descriptive and correlational study was conducted with 359 students from Istanbul Gelisim University between July 2021 and May 2022. Data were collected using a sociodemographic form and the 21-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21).
Results: The mean age of participants was 21.76±1.87 years, and 70.2% were female. The findings revealed that 66.9% of students experienced mild to extremely severe depression and anxiety, while 47.4% reported mild to extremely severe stress. Students with a pre-existing psychological disorder exhibited extremely severe anxiety, along with severe depression and stress. Those who underwent quarantine or felt psychologically negative effects reported moderate anxiety and depression with mild stress. Students who described their psychological state during the pandemic as "very bad" experienced severe depression and anxiety, alongside moderate stress.
Conclusion: These results demonstrate a significant psychological burden on university students during the pandemic. The study underscores the critical need to identify psychosocial distress in this population and highlights the importance of developing targeted mental health interventions and support strategies for students in Türkiye and similar contexts facing global emergencies.
Keywords: Covid-19, depression, anxiety, stress, university student.
References
Afrin, S., Nasrullah, S. M., Dalal, K., Tasnim, Z., Benzadid, M. S., Humayra, F., & Hossain, M. J. (2022). Mental health status of adolescents in-home quarantine: A multi-region, cross-sectional study during COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. BMC Psychology, 10(1), 116. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-022-00819-3
Arafat, S. M. Y., Baminiwatta, A., Menon, V., Sharma, P., Htay, M. N. N., Akter, H., & Kabir, R. (2024). Prevalence of suicidal behavior among students in South-East Asia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives of Suicide Research, 28(1), 50–70. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2023.2176272
Barğı, G., Şahin, E., & Çimenli, Ç. (2021). COVID-19 pandemisi sebebi ile uzaktan eğitim gören üniversite öğrencilerinde stres, anksiyete, depresyon ve fiziksel aktivite düzeylerinin incelenmesi. İzmir Demokrasi Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi, 4(2), 159–168. https://doi.org/10.52538/iduhes.941379
Bayar, B. D., Can, S. Y., Erten, M., & Ekmen, M. (2021). Covid-19 pandemi sürecinde üniversite öğrencilerinin depresyon ve stres düzeylerinin belirlenmesi. Paramedik ve Acil Sağlık Hizmetleri Dergisi, 2(1), 12–25.
Brooks, S. K., Webster, R. K., Smith, L. E., Woodland, L., Wessely, S., Greenberg, N., & Rubin, G. J. (2020). The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: Rapid review of the evidence. The Lancet, 395(10227), 912–920. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30460-8
Browning, M. H., Larson, L. R., Sharaievska, I., Rigolon, A., McAnirlin, O., Mullenbach, L., & Alvarez, H. O. (2021). Psychological impacts from COVID-19 among university students: Risk factors across seven states in the United States. PLOS ONE, 16(1), e0245327. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245327
Casagrande, M., Favieri, F., Tambelli, R., & Forte, G. (2020). The enemy who sealed the world: Effects quarantine due to the COVID-19 on sleep quality, anxiety, and psychological distress in the Italian population. Sleep Medicine, 75, 12–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2020.05.011
Doğan, E., & İmamoğlu, O. (2020). Üniversite eğitimi alan öğrencilerin koronavirüs salgını sürecinde sabır eğilimlerinin araştırılması. Turkish Studies, 15(4), 315–324. https://doi.org/10.7827/TurkishStudies.44382
Duman, N. (2020). COVID-19 fear and intolerance to uncertainty in university students. Türkiye Sosyal Bilimler Araştırmaları Dergisi, 4(8), 426–437. https://doi.org/10.30520/tjsosci.748404
Hakami, Z., Khanagar, S. B., Vishwanathaiah, S., Hakami, A., Bokhari, A. M., Jabali, A. H., & Aldrees, A. M. (2021). Psychological impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on dental students: A nationwide study. Journal of Dental Education, 85(4), 494–503. https://doi.org/10.1002/jdd.12470
Hamaideh, S. H., Al-Modallal, H., Tanash, M. A., & Hamdan-Mansour, A. (2022). Depression, anxiety and stress among undergraduate students during COVID-19 outbreak and "home-quarantine". Nursing Open, 9(2), 1423–1431. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.918
Kavvadas, D., Kavvada, A., Karachrysafi, S., Papaliagkas, V., Cheristanidis, S., Chatzidimitriou, M., & Papamitsou, T. (2022). Stress, anxiety and depression prevalence among Greek university students during COVID-19 pandemic: A two-year survey. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 11(15), 4263. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11154263
Keskin, A. Y., & Birsel, M. (2021). Hemşirelik öğrencilerinin Covid-19 pandemi sürecinde sağlık bilişleri ile depresyon anksiyete stres düzeyleri arasındaki ilişkisi. Celal Bayar Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Enstitüsü Dergisi, 8(2), 241–249. https://doi.org/10.34087/cbusbed.796470
Koç, A., Tok, H. H., Uzun, L. N., & Ensari, H. (2021). Depression, anxiety and state guilt in individuals under quarantine in an institution due to COVID-19 and the related factors. Archives of Neuropsychiatry, 58(2), 146–152. https://doi.org/10.29399/npa.27402
Kumar, A., Singh, R., Kaur, J., Pandey, S., Sharma, V., Thakur, L., & Patel, R. (2021). Wuhan to world: The COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 11, 596201. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2021.596201
Kurt, S., & Karaaziz, M. (2021). COVID-19 pandemisinin psikososyal alandaki etkileri. YDÜ Mimarlık Fakültesi Dergisi, 3(2), 81–91.
Li, W. W., Miller, D., Rouen, C., Yang, F., & Yu, H. (2025). Mental health among Chinese university students during COVID-19: 28-month, ten-wave longitudinal study. BJPsych Open, 11(2), e56. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2024.869
Lovibond, P. F., & Lovibond, S. H. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33(3), 335–343. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(94)00075-U
Mukantwali, M. B., Niyonsenga, J., Uwingeneye, L., Kanyamanza, C. U., & Mutabaruka, J. (2024). Prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress and their risk and protective factors among secondary students in Rwanda during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic. PLOS ONE, 19(7), e0306389. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0306389
Priego-Parra, B. A., Triana-Romero, A., Pinto-Gálvez, S. M., Ramos, C. D., Salas-Nolasco, O., Reyes, M. M., & Remes-Troche, J. M. (2020). Anxiety, depression, attitudes, and internet addiction during the initial phase of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic: A cross-sectional study in México. medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.10.20095844
Sahu, P. (2020). Closure of universities due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Impact on education and mental health of students and academic staff. Cureus, 12(4), e7541. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.7541
Topçu, A. E., Yasak, Y., Kalafat, T., & Dikmeer, İ. A. (2021). COVID-19 sürecinde demografik, sosyal, akademik ve hastalıkla ilgili faktörlerin üniversite öğrencilerinin psikolojik iyi oluşları ile ilişkisi. Eğitimde Kuram ve Uygulama, 17(1), 67–83. https://doi.org/10.17244/eku.926595
Tükel, R. (2020). COVID-19 pandemi sürecinde ruh sağlığı. In Türk Tabipleri Birliği, *COVID-19 pandemisi altıncı ay değerlendirme raporu* (pp. 617–628).
UNICEF. (2020a). *The impact of COVID-19 on children*. https://www.unicef.org/turkiye/en/documents/impact-covid-19-children
UNICEF. (2020b). *Promising practices for equitable remote learning emerging lessons from COVID-19 education responses in 127 countries*. https://www.unicef.org/innocenti/documents/promising-practices-equitable-remote-learning
Wald, A., Muennig, P. A., O’Connell, K. A., & Garber, C. E. (2014). Associations between healthy lifestyle behaviors and academic performance in U.S. undergraduates: A secondary analysis of the American College Health Association’s National College Health Assessment II. American Journal of Health Promotion, 28(5), 298–305. https://doi.org/10.4278/ajhp.120518-QUAN-265
Wang, C., Pan, R., Wan, X., Tan, Y., Xu, L., Ho, C. S., & Ho, R. C. (2020). Immediate psychological responses and associated factors during the initial stage of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic among the general population in China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(5), 1729. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17051729
Wang, X., Hegde, S., Son, C., Keller, B., Smith, A., & Sasangohar, F. (2020). Investigating mental health of US college students during the COVID-19 pandemic: Cross-sectional survey study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(9), e22817. https://doi.org/10.2196/22817
Wiljer, D., Shi, J., Lo, B., Sanches, M., Hollenberg, E., Johnson, A., & Abi-Jaoude, A. (2020). Effects of a mobile and web app (Thought Spot) on mental health help-seeking among college and university students: Randomized controlled trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(10), e20790. https://doi.org/10.2196/20790
World Health Organization. (2025). *WHO COVID-19 dashboard*. Retrieved March 24, 2025, from https://data.who.int/dashboards/covid19/cases
Yılmaz, O., Boz, H., & Arslan, A. (2017). The validity and reliability of depression stress and anxiety scale (DASS 21) Turkish short form. Research in Finance, Economics, and Social Studies, 2(2), 78–91.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 GEVHER NESIBE JOURNAL OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The journal is licensed under a 