Emotional “inflection point” in public health emergencies with the 2019 new coronavirus pneumonia (NCP) in China

BACKGROUND: The outbreak of the new coronavirus pneumonia (NCP) in Wuhan, Hubei, has caused very serious consequences and severely affected people's lives and mental health. The outbreak will cause bad emotions such as tension, anxiety, fear, and so on. College students who have returned home from school face infection, isolation, and delay in starting school, and thus, their emotional stress should be observed. METHODS: This study used self-designed questionnaires and artificial intelligence (AI) to assess and analyze the emotional state of over 30,000 college students during the outbreak period in January (T1) and home quarantine in February (T2). This survey used online questionnaire (www.wjx.cn) to investigate the emotion information of college students. RESULTS: In the T1 survey, the "Typhoon Eye Effect" appeared. College students in Hubei are calmer than those outside Hubei in T1. However, in T2, an emotional "infection point" appeared, there was an "Exposure Effect", the negative emotions of students in Hubei largely increased and became higher than students outside Hubei. CONCLUSION: This survey found that there is an emotional "infection point" in February among college students, especially in the Hubei area. College students in Hubei are calmer than those outside Hubei in T1. In contrast, college students in Hubei were more nervous and scared than those outside Hubei in T2. This epidemic has caused the students to experience significant pressure and negative emotions. Therefore, universities and society should pay attention to their emotional adjustment, there are some suggestions such as establish the mental health organizations, test students' emotion status regularly.