Sentimientos de soledad y síntomas depresivos presentes en los estudiantes de la carrera de Psicología de la Universidad de Cuenca durante la pandemia COVID-19. Cuenca, 2020

Abstract

Loneliness and depression are highly prevalent problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, generating difficulties in the mental health of the general population due to a drastic change in lifestyle that isolation and social distancing have represented; being of importance for this study is university students who have had to leave attending classes to receive their classes "safely" from home. Young adults and university students are more vulnerable to suffer from depression and loneliness. This research aims to determine if there is a significant relationship between the levels of loneliness and depressive symptoms in Psychology students at the University of Cuenca during the COVID-19 pandemic. For this, the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale measuring instruments and the Beck II Depression Inventory were used; in addition to a sociodemographic record prepared for this study, to delve into some individual variables such as age, gender, marital status, a cycle that it attends and people with whom it lives. The study is quantitative, with a correlational scope and a non-experimental design, which included 332 young adult students. The results showed a moderate level, on average, of feelings of loneliness, while depressive symptoms were located at mild levels; at the same time, a moderate correlation was observed between the levels of feelings of loneliness and depressive symptoms. It is concluded that there is a significant relationship between feelings of loneliness and depressive symptoms in students.