Effects of Full Cycle Pandemic on Psycho - Physiological Conditions of College Students in West Bengal, India

Abstract

The COVID - 19 pandemic has led to significant changes in daily routines and lifestyles worldwide and mental health issues appeared as one of the consequences of it. This study aimed to assess the presence of several psycho - physiological parameters among young college - going undergraduate and postgraduate students due to the lockdown situation. Besides these, the evaluation of autonomous learning capacity as a positive effect of lockdown was also an important aspect of this work. Cross - sectional data were collected through Google - based questionnaires from different college and university students in West Bengal, India from late May to 1st week of July 2021. A total of 315 complete responses were obtained. Among them, 11.42% of students were under moderate depressive conditions, while 27% were suffering from moderate anxiety. Students have to use digital devices for about 7.5±3.74 hours/day, where 16.13% of respondents reported an increase in their screen time since the lockdown was declared. Sleep disorders have been reported as 19% of respondents referred to have suffered from highly variable sleeping patterns, and 15.90% suffered from insomnia. From this study, it can be concluded that social isolation as home confinement had detrimental psycho - physiological effects on college students.