(Converted as ePoster, See Poster Gallery) Depression and Anxiety Among Graduate Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Examining Risk and Protective Factors

Background and Purpose: Depression and anxiety among university and college students is a well-established public health concern with rates that have steadily increased over the past several decades. The global pandemic lockdown caused the need for rapid transition on campuses to on-line learning, a disruption of research, and an uncertainty about meeting program requirements, grant requirements, and employment. Graduate students often feel overlooked in the best of times and the potential for the pandemic to worsen this perception cannot be understated.

This study examined the rates of depression and anxiety among graduate students at Stony Brook University which was at the national epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, looking for vulnerable groups within this population. We examined demographic characteristics, loneliness, and coping to determine potential risk and protective factors.

Method: A comprehensive online survey was created including the UCLA 3-item Loneliness Scale, PHQ-9 Depression Scale, and GAD-7 Anxiety Scale. The survey was disseminated to graduate students via email, social media, and/or program-specific department newsletters from June through August 2020. Coping was based on self-perception of coping with the pandemic on a scale of 1 (not coping well at all) – 10 (coping extremely well). Standard cut-offs for both the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 were used to define moderate to severe, as well as, severe depression and anxiety, respectively. Data was analyzed using Pearson Chi square and Spearman correlation.

Results: A total of 421 surveys were collected and 361 were analyzed using a cut-off completion rate of 80%. Graduate students had a mean age of 32.07 (SD = 10.47). Students were 69% female, 63% White, 13% Hispanic, 25% married, 19% international students, and 22% LGBTQ. Among graduate students, 89.5% reported moderate to severe depression and 29.1% reported severe depression. Approximately 76% of students reported moderate to severe anxiety and 39% reported severe anxiety. Depression symptoms had a positive correlation with loneliness (r = .501, p<.01) and a negative correlation with coping (r = -.446, p<.01), household income (r = -.257, p<.01), and age (r = -.320, p<.01). Anxiety symptoms had a positive correlation with loneliness (r = .507, p<.01) and a negative correlation with coping (r = -.426, p<.01), household income (r = -.253, p<.01), and age (r = -.251, p<.01). LGBTQ identification was associated with higher rates of depression (98.8% ) and anxiety (91.3%) compared to those that identified as heterosexual (86.9% for depression and 70.4% for anxiety respectively, p values <0.01).

Conclusions and Implications: Data from this research study demonstrate high rates of moderate to severe anxiety and depression in graduate student populations. Our sample came from a single New York State university in an area that was significantly impacted by the pandemic. Consistent with prior research, we found that coping had a strong negative association with depression and anxiety while loneliness had a strong positive correlation. These results should guide interventions to address the mental health needs to graduate students during this extremely important public health crisis.