Introduction:
The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is a public health
emergency that represents a challenge to psychological health
(1). Saudi Arabia is among the most
affected countries in the Middle East with 229,480 confirmed cases and
2181 related deaths as of the 12th of July 2020
(2).To respond to the COVID-19 pandemic,
Saudi Arabia has taken preventive precautions including quarantine
measures, suspending education at schools and universities before
starting distance learning and virtual classrooms later, and closing the
mosques including the Holy Mosque of Mecca
(3, 4)
Literature showed that such measures can result in several psychological
problems (5), and students, in particular,
are more vulnerable (6). In addition,
isolation from campus life, the need to adapt to the new online
educational environment, and the uncertainty about the academic and
occupational future can carry additional burdens
(5, 7-9). A
study in Jordan, , found that the level of anxiety among university
students was higher than in medical professions and the general
population (6). Other studies conducted on
university students from China and Spain showed varying degrees of
psychological problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic
(1, 10-13)
Despite the urgency of this topic worldwide, the psychological problems
among university students in Saudi Arabia were not assessed during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Determining the psychological impacts of the COVID-19
on university students and the correlating factors can help in
initiating risk-prevention procedures and counseling programs to relieve
this burden. Herein, we investigated the prevalence of depression,
anxiety, and stress among university students in
Umm AlQura University in the holy
city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia and studied the associating factors