コロナ禍における医学部新入生のメンタルヘルス:2020年～2022年の推移

type:Article

コロナ禍における大学生のメンタルヘルスの状態を把握することを目的に、2020年～2022年度に所属する大学の医学部に入学した学生399名に対して調査を実施した。その結果、2022年度入学生は過去2年に比べてより精神的健康度が高く、ストレス反応が低いこと、COVID-19をストレッサーと認識する者がほとんどいないこと、睡眠障害の発生頻度が低いことが明らかになった。学生のメンタルヘルスの状態がパンデミック前に近くなったのは、対面授業が再開したことも関連している可能性がある。しかし、いずれの年度もUPI、SRS-18のスコアと食欲不振や睡眠障害との相関が高いため、これらの兆候のある者に対しては、メンタル不調の早期発見とケアに注意を払う必要がある。

The COVID-19 pandemic that started in 2020 has significantly affected university students' life. The authors surveyed 399 university students who entered a medical faculty between 2020 and 2022 and examined their mental health conditions during the pandemic. The results indicated that 2022 first-year students had better health, as assessed by the University Personality Inventory (UPI), and lower stress responses, assessed by the Stress Response Scale-18 (SRS-18). Moreover, only a few students recognized COVID-19 as a stressor. Furthermore, they also had fewer sleep disorders than 2020 and 2021 first-year students. These results suggest that students' mental health had returned close to the pre-pandemic level, possibly due to increased vaccination and resuming face-to-face classes, even though the infection was still spreading. Nevertheless, every year there is a high correlation between UPI and SRS-18 scores and the onset of anorexia and sleep disorders. Therefore, the early detection of mental health problems and caring for people with these symptoms are indispensable.