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Grief during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional online survey in university students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

M.J. Soares ,
D. Pereira ,
A.P. Amaral ,
J. Azevedo ,
S. Bos ,
A.T. Pereira ,
N. Madeira  and
A. Macedo
M.J. Soares
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, Portugal
D. Pereira*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, Portugal Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Department Of Psychiatry, Coimbra, Portugal
A.P. Amaral
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, Portugal Polytechnical Institute of Coimbra, Coimbra Health School, Coimbra, Portugal
J. Azevedo
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, Portugal
S. Bos
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, Portugal
A.T. Pereira
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, Portugal
N. Madeira
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, Portugal Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Department Of Psychiatry, Coimbra, Portugal
A. Macedo
Affiliation:
Faculty of Medicine of University of Coimbra, Institute Of Psychological Medicine, Coimbra, Portugal Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Department Of Psychiatry, Coimbra, Portugal
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Almost 5 million people worldwide have lost their lives due to SARS-CoV-2 (source: WHO coronavirus (COVID-19) dashboard, data of 1.10.2021; https://covid19.who.int/) and therefore, globally, there is an increase of people in grief due to the death of a significant other.

Objectives

To study psychological correlates of grief during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

591 university students, with a mean age of 23.84±7.95 years (range 18-65 years; 76.8% women; 91.2% Portuguese) completed an online questionnaire during the second COVID-19 confinement (from 15.02 to 13.03.2021), with sociodemographic questions, the Pandemic Stress Index, the Mental Health Inventory, Insomnia Scale, questions on physical/ psychological health, and social isolation.

Results

Students bereaving the death of a significant other (n=93, 15.7%; n=25, 26.9% reported cause was SARS-CoV-2; time since death: < 3 months to 1-year), compared to those who did not (n= 498; 84.3%), described poorer psychological health, higher psychological distress (depression, anxiety, lack of control) and sleep difficulties, higher levels of stress (higher impact of COVID pandemic in daily life, and higher behavior changes in response to COVID-19) and more social isolation.

Conclusions

COVID-19 pandemic-related stress is a source of additional stress for bereaved students. Grief is also associated with social isolation, poor mental health (depression, anxiety, lack of control) and sleep difficulties. Screening efforts, guidance, and counseling from professionals of mental health care, primary health care, and universities health care services during and after the COVID-19 pandemic could be extremely beneficial for bereaved students, particularly for those at higher risk of developing prolonged grief disorder.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

griefstudentsCovid-19
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S264 - S265
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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