Ego-Resiliency, Life Satisfaction and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression Among Students of Pro-Health Faculties During COVID-19 Pandemic

TL;DR

This study found that students in health-related fields during the pandemic had higher life satisfaction and lower anxiety and depression when they had higher ego-resiliency.

Contribution

The study identifies ego-resiliency as a protective factor against mental health issues in health students during the pandemic.

Findings

Medical students had significantly higher ego-resiliency scores than APhE students.

Higher ego-resiliency was associated with lower anxiety and depression symptoms and higher life satisfaction.

The correlation between ego-resiliency and mental health outcomes was consistent across both student groups.

Abstract

Background: Ego-resiliency could play a protective role, especially in stressful situations. Such a situation is certainly the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The beginning of the pandemic period was a source of significant stress for many people. Students, especially of medical faculties, were one of the social groups that could be particularly affected by the reorganization of everyday functioning. Effective coping with stress during this period could have been important for minimizing its negative effects. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess ego-resiliency as a factor enhancing life satisfaction and a protective factor against symptoms of anxiety and depression in a group of health students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods and Material: This study was conducted in the period from October 2020 to June 2021. The study group included 362 students of the medical faculty and 249 students of the Academy of Physical Education (APhE). The Ego Resiliency Scale (ER89-R12), the Life Satisfaction Scale (SWLS) and the Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were used in this study. Among the statistical methods, the Mann–Whitney U test and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient were used. Results: In the study group, medical students obtained an average score of 34.96 ± 5.19 points and APhE students obtained 36.49 ± 5.22 points on the ER-89-R12; the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.003). On the SWLS, the mean score was 23.65 ± 5.9 points for medical students and 22.35 ± 5.67 points for students of the APhE; the difference was also statistically significant (p = 0.005). In the assessment of anxiety, medical students obtained an average of 8.43 ± 4.34 points and students of the APhE 7.60 ± 4.27 points; the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.012). In the assessment of depression, medical students achieved 5.10 ± 3.77 points and students of APhE obtained about 4.77 ± 3.26 points; the difference was not statistically significant. There were significant, negative correlations in the scope of the results obtained on the ER-89-R12 with the results of anxiety and depression, and positive correlations with the results obtained on the SWLS scale for both groups. Conclusions: Life during the pandemic was assessed by students of pro-health faculties as moderately satisfactory. The severity of symptoms of anxiety and depression correlated negatively with life satisfaction. Ego-resiliency may be a factor enhancing life satisfaction and may be a protective factor against anxiety and depression symptoms.