The university student population is particularly vulnerable to depression, which was identified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding how depressive symptoms are interrelated with mental and physical health in students is essential. The aim of this study was to reveal the network of depressive and anxiety symptoms with respect to well-being (life satisfaction, physical health, physical activity, and perceived stress) during a difficult situation-the COVID-19 pandemic-at two measurement points of different pandemic severities. A repeated cross-sectional study was conducted in June 2020 (T1) (lower pandemic severity) and March 2021 (T2) (higher pandemic severity) among 592 and 1230 Czech university students, respectively. The measurements used were the PHQ-9, GAD-7, PSS-10, SWLS, self-rated physical health (SRH), and sociodemographic survey. The network analysis approach was utilized. For the significance of differences, the χ2 test, Student's t test, and ANOVA were performed. The results revealed that scale-level depression, stress, and worse SRH increased over time, whereas life satisfaction decreased. Scale-level anxiety and physical activity were stable over time. PHQ2 Sad mood was the most central and influential node at T1 and T2. PHQ9 Suicidal Ideation was closely related to other variables at T1, whereas PHQ1 Anhedonia was closely related to other variables at T2. The most influential risk factors were the PHQ-2 score and the GAD-2 score, which are associated with uncontrollable worrying, whereas life satisfaction, physical health, and physical activity were the most protective factors. It is crucial to recognize and decrease the PHQ2 score and increase life satisfaction to improve the mental health of university students.

• MeSH
• COVID-19 * psychology   epidemiology   MeSH
• Exercise psychology   MeSH
• Depression * epidemiology   psychology   MeSH
• Adult MeSH
• Mental Health MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Adolescent MeSH
• Young Adult MeSH
• Personal Satisfaction MeSH
• Pandemics MeSH
• Cross-Sectional Studies MeSH
• Surveys and Questionnaires MeSH
• Stress, Psychological epidemiology   psychology   MeSH
• SARS-CoV-2 isolation & purification   MeSH
• Suicidal Ideation MeSH
• Students * psychology   MeSH
• Universities MeSH
• Anxiety * epidemiology   psychology   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Adult MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Adolescent MeSH
• Young Adult MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Geographicals
• Czech Republic epidemiology   MeSH

Poor mental health is a growing concern among young people during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess the associations of Internet addiction with depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and stress in higher education students during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to examine these mental health problems in the context of study-related characteristics. The research sample consisted of 3,099 participants from the Czech Republic (CZ: 1,422) and Slovak Republic (SK: 1,677). The Internet Addiction Test (IAT), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire for depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) were used to measure mental health problems. The analyses also included demographic data (gender and age) and study-related characteristics (form of study, degree of study, field of study, distance between college and home, and housing during the semester). Based on the results of frequency and descriptive analyses, the prevalence of mental health problems was high. The most serious levels of Internet addiction (IAT cut-off point ≥ 50), to which attention should be paid, were found in 3.5% of Czech and 6.2% of Slovak students. Using the standard cut-off point of GAD-7 ≥ 10, 14.1% of Czech and 11.6% of Slovak students were identified with anxiety symptoms. Regarding the PHQ-9 with the cut-off point ≥ 10, 23.4% of Czech and 19.1% of Slovak students had depressive symptoms, which should be addressed. Using the PSS cut-off point ≥ 27, 12.9% of Czech students and 9.1% of Slovak students perceived high stress. The quantile regression analysis showed that Internet addiction was positively associated with anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and stress in all of the analyzed cases (p-value < 0.001). In terms of study-related characteristics, the binomial logistic regression analysis revealed that risk factors for mental health problems in Czech and Slovak students were mainly full-time form of study and living away from home during the semester. Internet addiction, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and stress are issues that require increased attention, and professionals and policy-makers should implement interventions to effectively prevent and help students with psychological problems.

• Keywords
• GAD-7, IAT, PHQ-9, PSS, college, mental health problems, young people,
• MeSH
• COVID-19 * epidemiology   MeSH
• Depression epidemiology   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Adolescent MeSH
• Internet Addiction Disorder epidemiology   MeSH
• Pandemics * MeSH
• Stress, Psychological epidemiology   MeSH
• Students psychology   MeSH
• Anxiety epidemiology   MeSH
• Anxiety Disorders epidemiology   MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Adolescent MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH

The student population has been highly vulnerable to the risk of mental health deterioration during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This study aimed to reveal the prevalence and predictors of mental health among students in Poland, Slovenia, Czechia, Ukraine, Russia, Germany, Turkey, Israel, and Colombia in a socioeconomic context during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was conducted among 2349 students (69% women) from May-July 2020. Data were collected by means of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Gender Inequality Index (GII), Standard & Poor's Global Ratings, the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT), and a sociodemographic survey. Descriptive statistics and Bayesian multilevel skew-normal regression analyses were conducted. The prevalence of high stress, depression, and generalized anxiety symptoms in the total sample was 61.30%, 40.3%, and 30%, respectively. The multilevel Bayesian model showed that female sex was a credible predictor of PSS-10, GAD-7, and PHQ-8 scores. In addition, place of residence (town) and educational level (first-cycle studies) were risk factors for the PHQ-8. This study showed that mental health issues are alarming in the student population. Regular psychological support should be provided to students by universities.

• MeSH
• Bayes Theorem MeSH
• COVID-19 epidemiology   psychology   MeSH
• Depression epidemiology   psychology   MeSH
• Mental Health * MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Pandemics * MeSH
• Prevalence MeSH
• Stress, Psychological epidemiology   psychology   MeSH
• Regression Analysis MeSH
• Students psychology   MeSH
• Universities * MeSH
• Anxiety Disorders epidemiology   psychology   MeSH
• Multilevel Analysis MeSH
• Geography MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Male MeSH
• Female MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH