Level of depression and anxiety among the students of University of Dhaka and Jahangirnagar University during Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease caused by the SARS-Co V-2 virus. COVID-19 was originally discovered in Wuhan (China) in mid-December of 2019. It causes widespread anxiety, depression, fear and distress. Purpose: To identify the prevalence of depression and anxiety among the students of Dhaka University and Jahangirnagar University during COVID-19 Pandemic. Objective: To identify the percent of students who are suffering from depression and anxiety, explore the socio-demographic characteristics of the students, identify vulnerable gender affected from depression and depression, assess the severity of depression and anxiety and evaluate the possible causes that might be responsible for developing depression. Methodology: It was a cross sectional study. Total 300 participants were attended willingly and conveniently for this study from University of Dhaka and Jahangirnagar University. Data was collected Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) with Socio-demographic questions. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS version 23) was used for data analysis. Results: The findings revealed that students have significant rates of anxiety and depression symptoms, as well as moderate to poor mental health scores based on the cut scores for their respective measures. The findings of the cross-sectional survey indicate that more than two-thirds of the students were experiencing mild to severe depression (77.67%) and mild to severe anxiety (80%). Researcher also found significant association between depression and anxiety with age, gender, education status, monthly family income, COVID – 19 infection of the participants and family members. Conclusion: The COVID-19's confinement, self-isolation, and social alienation have exacerbated psychological issues among Bangladeshis. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused mental stress among college and university students because of academic delays, virus dread, financial instability, and career insecurity. This study helps to collect information from the students about depression and anxiety which further may help to establish an effective treatment protocol for them and improve student’s mental health. Key words: Depression, anxiety, COVID – 19.