Background

The continuous psychological decline caused by COVID-19 has become a serious social problem. Notably, a new word, “Corona Blue”, has been coined by combining “Corona” and “blue”, which symbolises depression, to describe the psychological difficulties people are facing.

Objectives

This study aimed to confirm the effect of anxiety experienced during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the psychological decline and social participation levels of college students.

Material and methods

A questionnaire was provided to 130 university students aged 20–29 years. The questionnaire was prepared using the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale, Athens Insomnia Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Perceived Stress Scale and Maastricht Social Participation Profile to measure COVID-19 anxiety, sleep status, depression, stress and social participation levels. The survey was conducted online from June to July 2021 when the spread of COVID-19 in South Korea was continuous and social distancing was implemented as a government guideline.

Results

COVID-19 anxiety correlated with sleep, depression and stress. However, social participation levels were not correlated with COVID-19 anxiety. A comparison of the psychological exhaustion variables (sleep, depression and stress) between the potential risk group and the normal group confirmed a statistically significant difference for sleep, depression and stress; however, the difference in social participation variables was not statistically significant.

Conclusions

In addition, the public also needs to find ways to cope with psychological atrophy in preparation for a prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.