Mental Health Burden of the Russian–Ukrainian War 2022 (RUW-22): Anxiety and Depression Levels among Young Adults in Central Europe

Abanoub Riad, Anton Drobov, Martin Krobot, Natália Antalová, Muhammad Abdullatif Alkasaby, Aleš Peřina and Michal Koščík
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Abanoub Riad: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
Anton Drobov: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
Martin Krobot: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
Natália Antalová: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
Muhammad Abdullatif Alkasaby: Centre for Global Mental Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel St., London WC1E 7HT, UK
Aleš Peřina: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
Michal Koščík: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 14, 1-14

Abstract: Armed conflicts are public health emergencies that affect human lives at multiple levels. The mental health of adolescents and young adults is at high risk during crisis settings; therefore, this cross-sectional survey-based study aimed to evaluate anxiety and depressive symptoms among university students in the Czech Republic following the Russian-Ukrainian war of 2022 (RUW-22). The study used standardized screening instruments; the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) for anxiety and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for depression. Of 591 students who participated in this study, 67.7% were females, 68.2% held Czech citizenship, and 63.8% were enrolled in medical or healthcare programs. The participants were highly concerned about the RUW-22 news, with a mean score of 7.17 ± 2.50 (0–10). While 34% and 40.7% of the participants in this study manifested moderate to severe levels of anxiety and depression, respectively, the mental health burden of the RUW-22 was confirmed by the positive correlation between “feeling concerned”, GAD-7 (ρ = 0.454), and PHQ-9 (ρ = 0.326). Female gender, higher frequency of news following, and social media use were associated with higher levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms; thus, proposing them to be risk factors for psychological disorders following the RUW-22.

Keywords: anxiety; armed conflicts; Czech Republic; depression; patient health questionnaire; students; Ukraine (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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