Psychological Implications of Covid-19 Pandemic in College Students-A Systematic Review

Author(s): Olufunlola Titilayo Adefalu, David Otuada, Hafiz Olatunde, Mujidat Hammed, Egbebalakhamen Osa, Nkwocha Bernard Ikenna, Matthew Oluwafemi Owolabi, Arthur Dilibe, Dolly Ogwu, Aswa Gondal, Philip Oreo

Background: College students are a vulnerable group of the population due to the unique nature of challenges they encounter during the course of their studies and are especially at risk for developing psychological disturbances due to the outbreak of COVID-19. This review article highlights the nature and prevalence of psychological implications experienced by college students due to the pandemic over the last year.

Materials and Methods: The literature search was performed on Pubmed and Google Scholar using the following combination of keywords: “psychological OR psychiatry”, “mental health”, “college students”, and “COVID-19 OR corona OR SARS-CoV-2”.

Conclusion: Our study revealed a high incidence of stress, anxiety, and depression among college students with a greater tendency for the female gender. The college administration should be vigilant enough to take precautionary steps in controlling the factors that elevate the psychological stress among the college students. These include promoting awareness among the students regarding the psychological stress that they may experience, advising counseling sessions on experiencing such symptoms, and limiting the use of social media.