A cross-sectional study about coronavirus fear of Chinese college students in school lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVE: To remove the phobic psychological situation of Chinese college students who were in school lockdowns during the COVID-19 outbreak, and to provide a theoretical basis for college student psychological intervention. METHODS: Online survey conducted from December 9, 2021, to December 11, 2021. The seven-item Fcv-19s was employed to assess fear of COVID-19 on a Likert five-point scale. Categorical data were reported as number and percentage, whereas continuous data were reported as mean ± standard deviation. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess the association between different factors and anxiety symptoms. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 26.02% (268) male and 73.98% (762) female, of whom approximately 84% were undergraduates. The overall mean score of the questionnaire was 16.04 ± 5.28. Significantly more study populations reported high levels of fear (54.8%), while age, cost of life, professional category, education background (P < 0.05) revealed significant differences based on fear levels. CONCLUSIONS: More than half of the Chinese college students developed fear symptoms during the COVID-19 epidemic. Appropriate psychological interventions for college students should be implemented promptly to reduce the psychological harm induced by the COVID-19 epidemic.