Psychological Characteristics and Coping Strategies Among College Students During the Covid-19 Lockdown and its Correlation with Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (Bdnf): A Retrospective Longitudinal Study in China

Due to in a vulnerable period of behaviour, cognition, and emotion transition, college students may experience more psychological problems during the COVID-19 lock-down. There are little longitudinal studies on the psychological characteristics, coping strategies, and biomarkers of college students during the COVID-19 lockdown. A retrospective longitudinal study was conducted among 166 college students before and after the COVID-19 lockdown from October 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020. The psychological characteristics were assessed by the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), and 20-item Self-reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20). The coping strategies were measured by the COVID-19 Psychology and Coping Questionnaire (COV-PCQ). Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was evaluated as a biomarker. The results showed that the depressive symptoms of college students increased before and after the COVID-19 lockdown, and the predictive value of mental health indicators on college students' coping strategies during the COVID-19 lockdown. However, BDNF was not correlated with psychological characteristics and coping strategies among college students during the COVID-19 lockdown. This study aims to provide more practical solutions for mental health practitioners and policy-makers in the case of public health emergencies.