Mental health of college students of different specialties during the epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019

Objective: To investigate the mental health status of college students of different specialties during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) so as to provide the basis for college students' mental health assessment and psychological crisis intervention Methods: The survey conducted among students of a university in Xi'an was composed of common questionnaires like the Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Self-Depression Rating Scale (SDS), and the students' understanding of COVID-19 The differences among students of different specialties were compared by ANOVA and LSD-test Results: A total of 456 students' questionnaires were collected online, with an effective rate of 93 68% During the outbreak of the epidemic, the depression score was 42 51±10 65 points while the overall anxiety score was 38 37±7 46 points, which was higher than the Chinese adult norm score Students of clinical medicine had a higher level of concern over and stress response to COVID-19 than those of other specialties The average SAS and SDS sores differed significantly between the three groups (P< 0 001 for SAS, and P=0 004 for SDS) Anxiety score reached 36 28±7 25 for students of clinical medicine, 39 75±7 00 for students of specialties related to clinical medicine, and 39 35±7 89 for other non-clinical majored students The SAS score of clinical students was significantly lower than that of students of specialties related to clinical medicine (P< 0 001) and non-clinical majored students (P=0 001) The SDS scores were significantly higher for clinical medicine related students (P=0 001) and non-clinical majored students (P=0 027) than for clinical students Conclusion: College students had higher levels of anxiety and depression than the norm score of other adults in China during the epidemic of COVID-19 Compared with students of other specialties, those of clinical medicine were found to have a high level of concern about and stress response to the epidemic of COVID-19, but a lower level of anxiety and depression