Table 1.
Literature on different interventions evaluated in this study.
| Study | Participants | Instrumentation/procedure | Main outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chan et al. (2022) | A total of 202 university students in Hong Kong, 70.8% of whom were medical students | (1) Basic information about stress and psychological disorders, (2) The Ryff Scale (18 items), (3) Brief list of coping skills. | The Ryff score of the students who used proximity coping strategies was higher than that of the students who used avoidance coping strategies. Proximity coping strategies are more effective in managing stress. |
| Banstola et al. (2021) | A total of 144 students at the Manipal College of Medical Sciences in Pokhara, Nepal | Clinical and COVID-19 related questions; Beck Anxiety Inventory; Brief-COPE questionnaire to assess coping strategies. | The most common coping strategy was religion; adopting adaptive coping strategies helps reduce mental health problems. |
| Rizvi et al. (2022) | A total of 153 U.S. undergraduates. They were randomly divided into an intervention group (n = 99) and a control group (n = 54) | (1) Demographic survey, (2) Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-18, (3) Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), (4) Intervention via brief Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skill videos. | Four assessments per day. After the intervention, negative emotions were significantly reduced, while positive emotions were significantly increased. Increased emotional tolerance. DBT technology videos can help college students avoid mental health deterioration. |
| Lin et al. (2021) | A total of 869 middle- and long-distance running students at a university in Guangzhou, China | (1) Civilian version of the PTSD questionnaire (PCL-C), (2) Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), (3) Civilian version of the PTSD Questionnaire (PCL-C). (4) Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS). |
Middle and long-distance running exercise has no direct effect on students’ PTSD, anxiety, and depression, but it does have an effect on students’ body scores. At the same time, body score has an effect on students’ PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Furthermore, it played an interconnected role in promoting the mental health of students during the epidemic. |
| Deng et al. (2020) | A total of 1,607 college students in Wuhan, China, including 1,041 men and 566 women | Mental health status was assessed using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). | Participants’ mean scores on the DASS-21 subscale after the intervention were significantly lower than in the previous study. Lower DASS-21 scores were significantly associated with an active exercise-related lifestyle. |
| Gabrovec et al. (2022) | A total of 4,661 Slovenian post-secondary students, with 72.5% women, 26.7% men, and 0.8% identifying as another gender. | (1) Patient Health Questionnaire Generalized Anxiety Disorder questionnaire, (2) Perceived Stress Scale-4 10-item Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, (3) Satisfaction with Online Study Scale (SAT-5)-5 |
Distance learning satisfaction and resilience can be used as protective factors to influence students’ mental health. Increasing distance learning satisfaction and enhancing psychological resilience can indirectly reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. Female students need greater mental resilience to combat negative mental states. |
| Jain et al. (2021) | A total of 699 Indian university students, with 239 women and 460 men. | Mental health status was determined using the Coronavirus Anxiety Screening (CAS), GHQ-12, GAD-7, and PHQ-9 scales. | The prevalence of self-medication was found to be very low as compared to other studies, and a growing tendency towards homemade remedies was noted. This inclination is expected to come out as endorsements and guidelines of homemade remedies going around these days. |
| Li and Peng (2021) | A total of 2,640 college students in China | (1) Sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire (SCQ), (2) Coping strategy questionnaire (CSQ), (3) Social support questionnaire (SSQ), (4) Self-rating anxiety scale (SAS). | Anxiety was negatively associated with coping and social support. Social support played as a mediator in the relationships between cognitive coping, behavioral coping, and anxiety, with family support and counselor support exerting a stronger negative influence against anxiety than subjective support. |
| Liang et al. (2021) | A total of 52 students from Anhui Medical University in China, divided into two groups of 26 respondents, with 10 men and 16 women. | (1) PHQ-9 scale, (2) GAD-7 scale, (3) Somatic Self-rating Scale (SSS), (4) Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). | Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) was more effective than traditional psychological intervention. DBT could effectively alleviate the depression and anxiety of medical students during the normalization of epidemic prevention and control. |
| Liu et al. (2021) | A total of 29,663 medical students in China, with 10,185 men (34.3%) and 19,478 women (65.7%) | (1) Perceived Stress Scale 14 (PSS-14), (2) Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), (3) Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9). | Perceived stress was associated with depression, and insomnia played a mediating role when included in the association. Interventions or strategies that improve insomnia may help reduce the severity of depression both directly and indirectly in medical students. |
| Seffrin et al. (2022) | A total of 40 students at the Federal University of São Paulo, with 10 men and 30 women | (1) Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9), (2) General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7). | Returning to online classes may mitigate the high frequency of depression symptoms observed during the social distancing measures adopted during the outbreak of COVID-19. |
| Simegn et al. (2021) | A total of 423 Ethiopian university students, with 272 men and 151 women | Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 | Mental health could be improved by the provision of adequate and accurate information and by increasing the self-efficacy of students. |
| Simonsson et al. (2021) | A total of 177 students from the University of Oxford | Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) anxiety and depression scales | Participants randomized to mindfulness programs showed a greater reduction in anxiety after 8 weeks of intervention. |
| Song et al. (2022) | A total of 666 medical college students in Shenyang, China, with 262 men and 404 women | (1) GAD-7, (2) Smartphone addiction scale–short version (SAS-SV), (3) PROMIS Sleep Disturbance scale (short form) | Smartphone addiction may increase the likelihood of experiencing sleep disturbances, which in turn may lead to elevated levels of anxiety. |
| Franzen et al. (2021) | A total of 433 students from the University of Geneva with 76 men and 357 women. | (1) Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), (2) 14-item Cohen Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), (3) Psychological Well-Being Scale (BEP), (4) Scale of Satisfaction with Studies (SSS). | Compared to COVID-19-related stress, academic satisfaction was a stronger predictor of depression, anxiety, stress, and psychological well-being among students at the end of the academic year. |
| Yildirim et al. (2021) | A total of 115 Turkish university students, with 23 men and 92 women | Death Anxiety Scale (DAS) | This would be an effective method to provide training to nursing students, in order to change their negative attitudes and increase their awareness of COVID-19-related death anxiety. This training would also improve their coping skills for dealing with death anxiety and reduce the burden of anxiety. |
| Zhang et al. (2020) | A total of 66 college students in China, with 25 men and 41 women | (1) Short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-S), (2) Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), (3) DASS-21, (4) Buss-Perry Aggressive Questionnaire (BPAQ). | The COVID-19 death toll has had an indirect impact on general negative emotions, stress, and anxiety, with sleep quality acting as a mediator. Moreover, physical activity directly alleviated general negative emotions, and the maximum mitigation effect occurred when weekly physical activity reached approximately 2,500 METs. |