A longitudinal study on generalized anxiety among university students during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland

Amendola, Simone; von Wyl, Agnes; Volken, Thomas; Zysset, Annina; Huber, Marion; Dratva, Julia

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643171

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-22105

Publication type:	Article in scientific journal
Type of review:	Peer review (publication)
Title:	A longitudinal study on generalized anxiety among university students during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland
Authors:	Amendola, Simone von Wyl, Agnes Volken, Thomas Zysset, Annina Huber, Marion Dratva, Julia
et. al:	No
DOI:	10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643171 10.21256/zhaw-22105
Published in:	Frontiers in Psychology
Volume(Issue):	12
Issue:	643171
Issue Date:	11-Mar-2021
Publisher / Ed. Institution:	Frontiers Research Foundation
ISSN:	1664-1078
Language:	English
Subjects:	Anxiety; Longitudinal; Lockdown; Coronavirus; COVID-19 pandemic; Linear mixed model
Subject (DDC):	158: Applied psychology 305: Groups (age, origine, gender, income)
Abstract:	Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic and government measures implemented to counter the spread of the infection may be a major stressor affecting the psychological health of university students. This study aimed to explore how anxiety symptoms changed during the pandemic. Methods: 676 students (76% females) at Zurich University of Applied Sciences participated in the first (T0) and second (T1) survey waves. Anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-Scale-7 (GAD-7). Risk and protective factors (e.g., COVID-19-related variables) were examined. Results: GAD-7 scores decreased significantly from T0 to T1 (mean change:-0.446, SE = 0.132, 95% CI: -0.706, -0.186, t = -3.371, df = 659, p = 0.001). Participants with moderate-to-severe anxiety score were 20.2 and 15.6% at T0 and T1, respectively. The following positively predicted anxiety: older age, female gender, non-Swiss nationality, loneliness, participants’ concern about their own health, and interaction between time and participants’ concern about their own health. Resilience and social support negatively predicted anxiety. Conclusions: Our findings provide information for public health measures and psychological interventions supporting the mental health of university students during the COVID-19 emergency.
URI:	https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/22105
Fulltext version:	Published version
License (according to publishing contract):	CC BY 4.0: Attribution 4.0 International
Departement:	Applied Psychology School of Health Sciences
Organisational Unit:	Psychological Institute (PI) Institute of Public Health (IPH)
Published as part of the ZHAW project:	Gesundheit von Studierenden in Zeiten der Corona-Pandemie
Appears in collections:	Publikationen Gesundheit

Files in This Item:

File	Description	Size	Format
2021_Amendola-etal_Longitudinal-study-on-generalized-anxiety.pdf		1.5 MB	Adobe PDF	View/Open

Show full item record

Amendola, S., von Wyl, A., Volken, T., Zysset, A., Huber, M., & Dratva, J. (2021). A longitudinal study on generalized anxiety among university students during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland. Frontiers in Psychology, 12(643171). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643171

Amendola, S. et al. (2021) ‘A longitudinal study on generalized anxiety among university students during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland’, Frontiers in Psychology, 12(643171). Available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643171.

S. Amendola, A. von Wyl, T. Volken, A. Zysset, M. Huber, and J. Dratva, “A longitudinal study on generalized anxiety among university students during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland,” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 12, no. 643171, Mar. 2021, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643171.

AMENDOLA, Simone, Agnes VON WYL, Thomas VOLKEN, Annina ZYSSET, Marion HUBER und Julia DRATVA, 2021. A longitudinal study on generalized anxiety among university students during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland. Frontiers in Psychology. 11 März 2021. Bd. 12, Nr. 643171. DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643171

Amendola, Simone, Agnes von Wyl, Thomas Volken, Annina Zysset, Marion Huber, and Julia Dratva. 2021. “A Longitudinal Study on Generalized Anxiety among University Students during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Switzerland.” Frontiers in Psychology 12 (643171). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643171.

Amendola, Simone, et al. “A Longitudinal Study on Generalized Anxiety among University Students during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Switzerland.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 12, no. 643171, Mar. 2021, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643171.