Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Medical Students' Social and Mental Health: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract Objectives: This study assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the social relationships and mental health of university students, the new habits learned by the students during the lockdown period, the level of happiness of students during and after the lockdown period, and what type of communication and teaching the students preferred after the lockdown period. Method: We conducted a cross-sectional study among 367 students at Gulf Medical University. Informed consent was obtained. A validated self-anxiety stress questionnaire was used. The data were analyzed, and descriptive statistics were used to explain the socio-demographic characteristics. The Chi-square test was used to determine whether the distribution of observed frequencies differed from the theoretically expected frequencies, the T-test assessed the association between variables, and the logistic analysis assessed predictors of the results. Results: 125 students (62.6%) less than 20 years of age reported that social distancing affected their social relationships; there were mainly 147 females (64.2%). Regarding mental health, 134 people (73.6%) aged less than 20 years old were reported unmotivated with distance digital learning, and they were mainly 164 females (78.1%), who reported they were affected, and also females reported to be learning new habits during lockdown more than males, with 133 (60.7%) females, and they were 119 (62%) of the age group < 20. Regarding happiness levels, 159 (70.7%) females reported that quarantine affected their level of happiness, and they were under 20 years of age. Lastly, 159 females (72.6%) said no to online learning over face-to-face teaching methods, and they were of both age groups < 20 and 20 years or older. Conclusion University students are at risk for mental disorders. Our study implies that universities and health care providers need to take action to continuously assess, prevent, identify, and manage the mental health conditions of university students adequately, since students' mental health was impacted negatively. Females reported that they are worried about going into a state of depression more often than men, and both age groups faced the same problem equally.