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Depression, perceived risk of COVID-19, loneliness, and perceived social support from friends among university students in Poland, UK, and India

  • Anna Bokszczanin
    ,
  • Marek Palace
    ,
  • William Brown
    ,
  • Olga Gladysh
    ,
  • Rakhi Tripathi
    ,
  • Divya Shree
  • University of Opole
    ,
  • Liverpool John Moores University
    ,
  • Polish Academy of Sciences
    ,
  • FORE School of Management
    ,
  • Rashtriya Raksha University Lavad
Research Output: Contribution to journal Article Peer-review

Open access

Abstract

The study examines the prevalence of depression among university students in Poland, the UK and India in the face of the second pandemic wave of COVID-19. The paper also examines the protective role of perceived social support, the hypothesis being that social support from friends would reduce depression. The data from university students (N=732) in Poland (N=335), UK (N= 198), and India (N=199) were collected online during of the fall/winter 2021. Participants completed measures of depression (CES-D), COVID-19 risk perception index, loneliness (DJGLS), and perceived social support (MSPSS). Almost 52% of all participants (58.5% in Poland, 62.6% in the UK, and 29.1% in India) met the criteria for major depression. The higher levels of depression symptoms were associated with a higher perceived risk of COVID-19, greater loneliness, female gender, younger students' age, and the lower levels of perceived social support. The greater family support predicted lower levels of depression symptoms in the Polish and Indian samples. Structural equation analyses (SEM) revealed the indirect effect of perceived social support from friends on the association between social loneliness and depression and between age and depression. This result shows that the support from friends significantly reduced depression, regardless of age, the level of social loneliness, and the perceived risk of COVID-19. Our conclusions link to university specialists' enhancement of psychological help for students with depression. We also recommend information campaigns on depression and treatment options.

Publication Information

Output type

Research Output: Contribution to journal Article Peer-review

Original language

English

Pages from-to (Number of pages)

Pages 651-663 (13 pages)

Journal (Volume, Issue Number)

Psychology Research and Behavior Management (Volume 16)

Publication milestones

  • Accepted/In press - 17/10/2022
  • Published - 09/03/2023

Publication status

Published - 09/03/2023

External Publication IDs

  • handle.net: 10547/625700
  • Scopus: 85150174407
  • PubMed: 36923297

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