Emotional Functioning in the Context of Health Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Health Sciences Students: The Polish Case

Figures & data

Table 1 Sociodemographic Characteristics of the Study Group

Variables	Total (n=493)	Female (n=314)	Male (n=179)
	f (rf)	f (rf)	f (rf)
Gender
Female	314 (63.7%)	–	–
Male	179 (36.3%)	–	–
Age
≤25 years	453 (91.9)	288 (91.7)	165 (92.2)^ns
>25 years	40 (8.1)	26 (8.3)	14 (7.8)
Marital status
Single	284 (57.6%)	164 (52.2%)	120 (67.0%)**
In a relationship	209 (42.4%)	150 (47.8%)	59 (33.0%)
Place of residence
Urban	389 (78.9%)	248 (79.0%)	141 (78.8%)^ns
Rural	104 (21.1%)	66 (21.0%)	38 (21.2%)
Faculty
Non-medical faculty	249 (50.5%)	160 (51.0%)	89 (49.7%)^ns
Medical faculty	244 (49.5%)	154 (49.0%)	90 (50.3%)
Chronic diseases
No	413 (83.8%)	254 (80.9%)	159 (88.8%)*
Yes	80 (16.2%)	60 (19.1%)	20 (11.2%)
Healthy lifestyle as an important factor of maintaining health during pandemic SARS-CoV-2
Yes	468 (94.9%)	303 (96.8%)	165 (92.2%)*
No	25 (5.1%)	11 (3.5%)	14 (7.8%)
Efectiveness of actions againtsSARS-CoV-2 pandemic undertaken by state and local authorities
Effective	396 (80.3%)	260 (82.8%)	136 (76.0%)^ns
Not effective	97 (19.7%)	54 (17.2%)	43 (24.0%)
Trust in the information in media about the extent of COVID-19 pandemic
Yes	169 (34.3%)	95 (30.3%)	74 (41.3%)*
No	324 (65.7%)	210 (69.7%)	105 (58.7%)
Believe in the conspiracy theories related to the development of the SARS-CoV2 virus
Yes	154 (31.2%)	117 (37.3%)	37 (20.7%)***
No	339 (68.8%)	197 (62.7%)	142 (79.3%)

Notes: *p≤.05; **p≤.01; ***p≤.001; ^nsNot significant for the difference between female and male by χ² test of independence.

Abbreviations: f, frequency; rf, relative frequency.

Table 2 Characteristics of Emotional Functioning and Health Behaviors During the Third Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Examined Students

Variables	Total (n=493) Raw Scores STENs		Female (n=314) Raw Scores STENs		Male (n=179) Raw Scores STENs
	M (SD)		M (SD)		M (SD)
Anxiety and depression
Anxiety scale (pts.)	8.0 (4.3)	–	9.0 (4.2)	–	6.2 (3.9)***	–
Depression scale (pts.)	5.0 (3.5)	–	5.1 (3.5)	–	4.8 (3.5)^ns	–
Stress
Stress scale (pts.)	22.2 (4.1)	6.5 (2.2)	23.0 (3.9)	7.0 (2.1)	20.6 (4.0)***	5.7 (2.2)^ns
Health behaviors
Health behavior inventory (pts.)	81.4 (13.7)	5.4 (1.9)	82.7 (13.9)	5.3 (1.9)	79.1 (12.9)**	5.5 (1.8)^ns
Positive mental attitude (pts.)	20.3 (4.6)	–	20.2 (4.6)	–	20.5 (4.4)^ns	–
Proper eating habits (pts.)	20.3 (5.0)	–	20.1 (5.0)	–	19.2 (4.8)***	–
Preventive actions (pts.)	20.4 (4.4)	–	21.1 (4.4)	–	19.3 (4.2)***	–
Pro-health activities (pts.)	20.3 (4.1)	–	20.4 (4.3)	–	20.1 (3.9)^ns	–

Notes: **p≤.01; ***p≤.001; ^nsNot significant for the difference between females and males by independent sample t-test.

Abbreviation: M, mean; SD, standard deviation.

Table 3 Intensity of Health Behaviors and Anxiety Levels in Health Sciences Students

Anxiety Level	Predictor	Model1	Model2	Model3
		OR (± 95% CI)	OR (± 95% CI)	OR (± 95% CI)
Non-minimal vs Moderate-Severe	Health behaviors
	High vs low	4.05 (2.36–6.96)	5.57 (3.11–9.98)	5.45 (3.04–9.78)
	Average vs low	2.67 (1.60–4.46)	2.86 (1.66–4.93)	2.85 (1.65–4.92)
	Gender
	Female vs male		0.20 (0.12–0.34)	0.20 (0.12–0.34)
	Faculty
	Non-medical vs medical faculty			1.35 (0.86–2.12)
Mild vs Moderate-Severe	Health behaviors
	High vs low	0.79 (0.38–1.62)	0.79 (0.38–1.64)	0.79 (0.38–1.62)
	Average vs low	1.68 (0.95–2.98)	1.69 (0.95–2.99)	1.69 (0.95–2.99)
	Gender
	Female vs male		0.95 (0.51–1.77)	0.95 (0.51–1.77)
	Faculty
	Non-medical vs medical faculty			0.13 (0.68–1.89)

Abbreviations: OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval for OR.

Table 4 Intensity of Health Behaviors and the Level of Depression in Health Sciences Students

Depression Level	Predictor	Model1	Model2	Model3
		OR (± 95% CI)	OR (± 95% CI)	OR (± 95% CI)
Non-minimal vs Moderate-Severe	Health behaviors
	High vs low	7.34 (2.73–19.73)	7.42 (2.76–19.97)	7.21 (2.67–19.43)
	Average vs low	6.80 (2.71–17.05)	6.78 (2.70–17.01)	6.77 (2.69–17.01)
	Gender
	Female vs male		0.88 (0.43–1.82)	0.88 (0.43–1.83)
	Faculty
	Non-medical vs medical faculty			1.79 (0.88–3.65)
Mild vs Moderate-Severe	Health behaviors
	High vs low	2.40 (0.74–7.75)	2.44 (0.76–7.90)	2.39 (0.74–7.72)
	Average vs low	4.83 (1.73–13.52)	4.81 (1.72–13.45)	4.80 (1.72–13.45)
	Gender
	Female vs male		0.80 (0.34–1.85)	0.80 (0.34–1.85)
	Faculty
	Non-medical vs medical faculty			1.59 (0.70–3.63)

Note: low and 51% less likely to have average stress levels when compared to men (Table 5).

Abbreviations: OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval for OR.

Table 5 Intensity of Health Behaviors and Stress Levels in Examined Students

Stress level	Predictor	Model1	Model2	Model3
		OR (± 95% CI)	OR (± 95% CI)	OR (± 95% CI)
Low vs High	Health behaviors
	High vs low	9.71 (5.13–18.37)	13.98 (7.04–27.77)	13.77 (6.93–27.35)
	Average vs low	3.67 (2.07–6.52)	4.05 (2.21–7.44)	4.05 (2.21–7.45)
	Gender
	Female vs male		0.18 (0.10–0.30)	0.18 (0.10–0.30)
	Faculty
	Non-medical vs medical faculty			1.16 (0.71–1.89)
Moderate vs High	Health behaviors
	High vs low	4.30 (2.36–7.84)	4.89 (2.65–9.02)	4.77 (2.58–8.82)
	Average vs low	2.51 (1.51–4.16)	2.60 (1.56–4.35)	2.60 (1.55–4.35)
	Gender
	Female vs male		0.49 (0.29–0.81)	0.49 (0.29–0.81)
	Faculty
	Non-medical vs medical faculty			1.38 (0.88–2.16)

Abbreviations: OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval for OR.