Predicting Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Based on Mental Health, Covid-19 Anxiety and Sleep Quality in University Students

Studying the predictors of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during the Covid-19 pandemic is a new research field.  The current study was conducted in order to evaluate the predictors of PTSD based on mental health, Covid-19 anxiety and sleep quality in the students of the Lorestan province, Iran. In order to carry out this study, 200 students (143 females and 57 males) were selected by convince sampling and participated in this study. The participants completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Covid-19 Anxiety Scale, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and demographic information questionnaire. The data was analyzed by independent t-student and stepwise regression using SPSS 24. Findings revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between Covid-19 anxiety, general sleep quality and mental health with PTSD symptoms (p<0.05). Also, stepwise regression analysis showed that sleep quality and mental health were predictors of PTSD and mental health is the best predictor of PTSD and could determine 0.27 of PTSD variance. Finally, the 46.5 % prevalence of PTSD symptoms in students was an important finding of this study. Necessity to pay attention to dimensions of mental health as an influential factor in the spread of other psychological disorders is recommended. Due to the high prevalence of PTSD symptoms, the inclusion of health-oriented programs becomes more important.