Psychological consequences of coronavirus (COVID-19) in students: A systematic review study

Covid-19 pandemic as an acute respiratory disease that emerged in Wuhan, China on 30 January 2020 was declared a public health emergency of international concern. The World Health Organization has introduced this disease as a great threat to physical and mental health because of changing in families’ normal lifestyle. It has seriously damaged people's mental health due to fear, uncertainty, quarantine measures, staying at home, social isolation, inappropriate information or pouring out news from various media, including social media, etc. With the spread of the Covid-19 disease, various centers including schools and universities were closed, social relations were severely limited, and leisure activities outside the home were canceled or greatly reduced. Virtual training, the suspension of end-of-semester final exams, and the unavailability of books, computers, and low-speed internet at home, affected students' mental health. The students were exposed to a significant risk of adverse consequences of quarantine, such as hopelessness and boredom, and financial loss to the family. Also the change in the daily schedule, including the lack of outdoor activities, disruption of sleep patterns and social distance, has affected the students’ mental health. The aim of the present study was to investigate the psychological consequences of Covid 19 virus on students.

The research findings from the outbreak of Covid 19 during 2019 to 2023 in the PupMed, Science direct, Google Scholar and ProQuest databases were searched through the keywords quarantine, mental health, psychological problems and students. Finally among 70 articles, 34 articles entered the research and the results were summarized and reported.

The results showed that post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, fear, practical obsession, social isolation, suicidal ideation, poor sleep quality, mood disorder, social dysfunction, wrong and risky diet, alcohol abuse, interpersonal conflicts, limitations of social communication, lack of concentration and loneliness are among the psychological consequences of Covid 19 virus in students.

So it was concluded that due to the negative psychological effects of the corona pandemic on students, it is necessary to plan and implement effective intterventions in order to improve thid future generation of society’s health physical and mentale.