Journal of the Korean Society of School Health (한국학교보건학회지)

The Korean Society of School Health (한국학교보건학회)
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Association between Changes in Daily Life during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Depressive Symptoms in Korean University Students

  • Young-Mee Kim (Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University) ;
  • Sung-il Cho (Department of Public Health Science, Graduate School of Public Health and Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University)
  • Received : 2023.12.05
  • Accepted : 2023.12.22
  • Published : 2023.12.31
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Abstract

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic, which emerged in late 2019, had a profound impact on global public health and disrupted the daily lives of people worldwide. Particularly, university students faced a challenging situation as their university life underwent a drastic transformation due to long-term remote learning and isolation measures. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between changes in daily life during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and depressive symptoms among university students aged between 19 and 29 in Korea. Methods: We analyzed data from the nationally representative 2020 Community Health Survey (CHS). Among the 229,269 participants, 9,279 university students aged 19-29, either enrolled or on leave, were selected. After excluding 401 cases with missing values, the final sample comprised 8,878 individuals. Using multivariate logistic regression with a complex sample design, we explored the association between daily life changes during the COVID-19 pandemic and depressive symptoms. Results: Changes in daily life during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with depressive symptoms in Korean university students aged 19 to 29, even after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, health-related factors, and COVID-19-related aspects (OR=1.28, 95% CI=1.09~1.50). Conclusion: Our study suggests that when examining the impact of COVID-19 on health issues, it is crucial to consider the changes in daily life caused by the pandemic. These findings can provide insights into the psychological well-being of university students during times of crisis.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No.2022R1C1C2006424)

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