ArticlePloS one2021
Depression, anxiety and stress symptoms in Brazilian university students during the COVID-19 pandemic: Predictors and association with life satisfaction, psychological well-being and coping strategies.
Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 90 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
90 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 218 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of stress and associated factors among students in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- How do machine learning models perform in the detection of depression, anxiety, and stress among undergraduate students? A systematic review.Cadernos de saude publica · 2024Pooled it
- Turning to Religion During COVID-19 (Part II): A Systematic Review, Meta-analysis and Meta-regression of Studies on the Relationship between Religious Coping and Mental Health throughout COVID-19.Journal of religion and health · 2023Pooled it
- Understanding the journey of patients with depression in Brazil: A systematic review.Clinics (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2023Pooled it
- The psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic and associated factors among college and university students in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis, 2022.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- The impact of COVID-19 on students' anxiety and its clarification: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Pooled it
- The prevalence of psychological stress in student populations during the COVID-19 epidemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of different types of badminton training on sleep quality, anxiety, and related baseline physiological markers in graduate students with sleep disorders: a randomized controlled trial.BMC public health · 2025Trial
- The Association Between Online Education and Mental Health Among Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- A study on the factors influencing university students' subjective well-being based on machine learning methods.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Uncertainty and Well-Being in Turkish Adults: Exploring the Role of Religiosity and Psychological Symptoms.Journal of religion and health · 2025Article
- The COVID-19 Pandemic as a Global Crisis: Aspects of University Students' Well-Being During the Quarantine in Greece.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Young Adults with Chronic Conditions During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparison with Healthy Peers, Risk and Resilience Factors.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Association Between Academic, Cognitive and Health-Related Variables with Academic Stress in Health Sciences University Students.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Exploring anxiety and sleep disorders among Edna Adan university students in Somaliland: associated stressors and insights.BMC psychology · 2025Article
- Burnout among VET pathway university students: The role of academic stress and school-life satisfaction.BMC public health · 2025Article
- What influences the people's trust on public healthcare system in Bihar, India? A mixed methods study.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- The Longitudinal Relationship Between Self-Esteem, Life Satisfaction, and Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms Among Chinese Adolescents: Within- and Between-Person Effects.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Impact of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of university students and recommendations for the post-pandemic period: A systematic review.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2025Review
- Prevalence and level of stress among final-year students at a health science institute in Bangladesh.Discover mental health · 2025Article
30 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic raises concerns about the mental health of the world population. Protection measures to prevention the disease impacted education and undergraduate students were exposed to additional stressors.
objectivesAnalyze depression, anxiety and stress symptoms in undergraduates, their respective predictors and the association with satisfaction with life, psychological well-being and coping strategies.
methodsAn online cross-sectional study was conducted from September 14 to October 19, 2020, involving undergraduate students enrolled in 33 courses from 5 public university campuses in the state of Parana, Brazil, using: questionnaire with sociodemographic, academic, health and pandemic effects variables; Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21); Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS); Psychological Well-Being (PWB); BriefCOPE. The convenience sample was composed of 1,224 participants, with 18 years old or older, that completed all research instruments. Spearman correlation and logistic analysis (univariate and multivariate) were applied to the collected data.
resultsMost of the undergraduates presented symptoms of depression (60.5%), anxiety (52.5%) and stress (57.5%). Depression, anxiety and stress presented significant correlations in common: negative with satisfaction with life, all dimensions of psychological well-being, and 3 adaptive copings (active coping, planning, positive reframing); positive with 5 maladaptive copings (behavioral disengagement, denial, self-blame, self-distraction, substance use). In addition, there were 7 common predictors for symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress: female; age 18-24 years old; having a chronic disease; lower scores in 2 dimensions of psychological well-being (positive relations with others, self-acceptance); higher scores in 2 maladaptive copings (self-blame, substance use).
conclusionsThe data indicate a high prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, and suggest that higher scores of satisfaction with life, psychological well-being dimensions and adaptive copings may present protective effects in undergraduates during a pandemic crisis.
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