Status of mental health among college and university students during first and second wave of COVID-19 outbreak in India: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: India has been badly affected by Covid-19 not only in terms of human lives but also has a long-term effect on mental health of the population. This paper is an attempt to understand the psychological effects of the pandemic on the college and university students in India after the second wave of COVID-19 outbreak and its associated factors. METHOD: A web-based survey was conducted to collect information from the students both at individual and household level. The study applied binary and multivariate logistic regression to estimate the adjusted and unadjusted marginal effects of the predictor variables. RESULT: Results show a significant increase in mental health concerns during the second wave of the pandemic, as compared to the first year. The key factors contributing to the higher prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress are the difficulties faced in the adaptation to the new way of learning, fear of discontinuation of education due to financial constraints faced by household, limited physical interaction, and prolonged screen-time during the pandemic. LIMITATION: The study has some limitations regarding selection of the sample as the survey was web-based. Also, the mental health situation of the students is self-reported and the study does not consider the prevailing mental health issues before the pandemic. CONCLUSION: The study recommends initiatives like offering counselling classes and strategies to cope up with mental health disorders. Further, there is a need to conduct follow-up studies to assess the long-term impacts of prolonged home quarantine on the mental health of the students.