Mental health and individual differences in the short- and long-term adaptation processes of university students during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study presents a meta-analysis on the prevalence of clinically significant symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a systematic search in four databases (PsycINFO, PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science), 73 studies with a total of 209,761 participants were identified, covering research published between January 2020 and May 2022. The results indicate that approximately one-third of university students experienced psychological distress in both the short and long term, with prevalence rates of 34% for anxiety, 38% for depression, and 54% for stress in the short term. In the long term, the rates remained similar, with 37% for anxiety, 31% for depression, and 41% for stress. A high degree of heterogeneity was found among studies, mainly influenced by geographic location and the measurement instruments used. While these findings highlight the vulnerability of university students to psychological distress in confinement contexts, the data suggest that there was no cumulative effect worsening their mental health during the early months of the pandemic.