Mental health’s description of Jenderal Soedirman University students pasca Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

Mental health can affect a person's physical health and productivity, so mental health aspects are important to pay attention to. Ironically, the prevalence of mental health problems continues to increase with the COVID-19 pandemic, including among adolescents. This is indicated by the increasing number of anxiety disorders, depression, and suicide attempts. The purpose of this study was to find out the picture of mental health among college students after the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was conducted on 174 students in Banyumas Regency who were selected using a consecutive technique with 2 weeks of data collection. Mental health conditions are measured by the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ) instrument. The data were analyzed univariately by displaying the frequency distribution values. The results of the study showed that 60.7% of the respondents had mental health problems, and only 29.3% were mentally healthy. The most common symptoms of mental health problems experienced by respondents were fatigue (77.6%), anxiety, tension, and worry (65.6%), and difficulty making decisions (58.6%). It was also found that 24 respondents had thoughts of ending their lives. Based on these results, it can be concluded that the majority of respondents have mental health problems, as indicated by physical, psychological, and cognitive symptoms. Mental health services are needed to reduce symptoms and restore students' mental health.