Prevalence of depression amongst university students during the 2nd wave of the Covid 19 pandemic in Zimbabwe.

Abstract

Tertiary education is associated with newly found freedom, experimenting with drugs, multiple sexual relations, pressure of schoolwork and many other life challenges with potential painful consequences. With the advent of COVID-19, many uncertainties were raised in the student body. This study sought to unveil the pervasiveness of depression during the 2nd wave of the COVID-19 imposed lockdown in Social Science students of different ages, marital status and academic year of study at Great Zimbabwe University, Zimbabwe. A quantitative, cross-sectional design was adopted, riding on a stratified random sampling technique in recruiting 200 participants. An online Shona Symptoms Questionnaire (SSQ-14) was used to collect data. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 16.0. The study established a 37.5 % general prevalence of depression in the student body. Furthermore, suicidal ideation was a cause for concern. The study recommended the establishment of strong institutional mental health services accessible to the entire student body.